Mappy

Last updated

Mappy
Mappy arcadeflyer.png
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s)
Artist(s) Hiroshi Ono [3]
Composer(s) Nobuyuki Ohnogi
SeriesMappy
Platform(s) Arcade, MSX, Famicom, Super Cassette Vision, Sharp X1, Game Gear, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, FM-7, MZ-700/MZ-1500, PC-88, X68000, Mobile phone, iOS
Release
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Mappy [lower-alpha 1] is an arcade game by Namco, originally released in 1983 and distributed in the United States by Bally Midway. Running on the Namco Super Pac-Man hardware modified to support horizontal scrolling, the game features a mouse protagonist and cat antagonists, similar to Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry cartoon series. The name "Mappy" is likely derived from mappo (マッポ), a slightly pejorative Japanese slang term for policeman. The game has been re-released in several Namco arcade compilations. It spawned a handful of sequels and a 2013 animated web series developed by cartoonists Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub.

Contents

Gameplay

Mappy launches a push wave at a pair of Meowkies (arcade version). Mappy In-Game.png
Mappy launches a push wave at a pair of Meowkies (arcade version).

The player guides Mappy the police mouse through the mansion of the cats called Meowkies (Mewkies in Japan) to retrieve stolen goods, such as the Mona Lisa or a TV. The player uses a left-right joystick to move Mappy and a single button to operate doors. The mansion has six floors of hallways (four or five in some other versions) in which the stolen items are stashed. Mappy and the cats move between floors by bouncing on trampolines at various places in the house. Both Mappy and the cats can land on a floor on the way up, but not on the way down. When Mappy passes cats in the air, he is unharmed, but if he touches a cat he will lose a life. The trampolines break when Mappy bounces on them four times in a row, and the trampolines change color depending on how many times Mappy has used them without a rest. In addition to the Meowkies, the boss cat Goro (Nyamco in Japanese) also roams around. He is faster but less aggressive than the Meowkies. Throughout the levels, Goro hides behind the different recoverable items. If Mappy recovers an item which Goro is hiding behind, the player receives 1000 points in addition to the score for the item. Items come in pairs; retrieving the second item in a pair immediately after the first multiplies the point value of the second item (x2, up to x6).

Doors only open towards their doorknobs. Hitting a cat with a door scores 50 points and stuns the cat. Meowkies and Goro can open doors but will get stunned unless the door opens away from them (doorknobs away), and they can walk through opened doors. They cannot open blue doors. Blue doors, when opened, blast a slow moving microwave in the direction of the doorknob that will trap any cats it touches and remove them from the board when the wave reaches the edge of the screen. The more cats caught, the more points gained. If Goro is trapped by a wave, the score is doubled. Cats removed in this way return shortly from above.

A round is completed when all the loot is retrieved. If the player takes longer than usual to clear a round, a "Hurry" message appears after which the music speeds up and the cats move quickly and aggressively, and more Meowkies are added (two will appear ready to drop as the Meowkies normally do immediately following the "Hurry" message, and more Meowkies can arrive later on). If the player takes much longer after this, a green disc with Goro's face on it named the "Gosenzo Coin" will drop onto the top-middle platform and chase Mappy more effectively than the Meowkies as it can kill him while jumping. The Gosenzo can open doors and cannot be stopped by microwave doors or any objects.

The third round and every fourth round after is a bonus round. Mappy, unbothered by the cats, must bounce across a series of trampolines, popping fifteen different suspended red balloons (200 pts), with a "Goro" (2000 points) along the way. A bonus (5000 pts) is awarded if all the balloons are popped before the music ends. After every bonus round, a new feature is added to the gameplay, such as bells that freeze cats. The "Hurry" message will also appear sooner.

Ports and sequels

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Mappy in its June 1, 1983 issue as the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. [13] It also topped the Game Machine chart for new table arcade cabinets in June 1983. [14] In 2015, Hardcore Gamer included Mappy on its 200 Best Video Games of All Time. [15]

Legacy

As part of Bandai Namco's ShiftyLook initiative, an animated Mappy web series, titled Mappy: The Beat was made. [16] The series was written and directed by Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub, who also performed all of the character voices, and it was designed with limited animation in the style of Kurtz and Straub's Blamimations series. The story follows Mappy, now working a thankless job as a security guard for his former foe Goro's company Nyamco. He is accompanied by his friends and fellow Nyamco employees, the laid-back digging-obsessed Dig Dug and the dim but good-natured Sky Kid, along with other Bandai Namco characters working at the office. [17] Mappy: The Beat premiered on ShiftyLook's YouTube channel on July 22, 2013, and ran for 13 episodes, each roughly eight minutes in length, with the final episode released on January 20, 2014. Kurtz also made a guest appearance as Mappy on the concurrent Bravoman animated series, with Bravoman in turn appearing in the final story arc of Mappy, portrayed by guest voice Dax Gordine. Following the closure of ShiftyLook, their channel was removed from YouTube, making the episodes no longer officially available.

A costume based on Mappy is in LittleBigPlanet 3 in the Namco Classics DLC.

A medley of tracks from Mappy is in the Pac-Land stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and in one of Pac-Man's taunts.

A theme based on Mappy, featuring the game's characters, is available as downloadable content in Pac-Man 99 .

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: マッピー, Hepburn: Mappī

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namco</span> Japanese video game developer and publisher

Namco Limited was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, and Shanghai Namco in mainland China.

<i>Dig Dug</i> 1982 video game

Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Kurtz</span> American cartoonist

Scott R. Kurtz is an American webcomic artist. Known for creating the daily online comic-strip PvP, Kurtz is among the first professional webcomic creators.

<i>Pac-Man Plus</i> 1982 video game

Pac-Man Plus is an arcade game that was released by Bally Midway in 1983. It is part of the Pac-Man series of games.

<i>Klonoa</i> Video game series

Klonoa is a platform video game series created by Namco in 1997. It stars Klonoa, an anthropomorphic creature who explores dream worlds. The series includes two main games: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997) for the PlayStation and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001) for the PlayStation 2. A remake of Door to Phantomile was released for the Wii in 2008, and remasters of both games were released in 2022. The series also includes a set of handheld games released between 1999 and 2002 for the WonderSwan and Game Boy Advance.

<i>Bravoman</i> 1988 video game

Chōzetsurin Jin Bravoman is a 1988 beat'em up arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Described as a "comical action game", the player controls the titular character, a bionic superhero with telescopic limbs, as he must defeat the villainous Dr. Bomb before he takes over the world. Bravoman can use his arms, legs and head to defeat enemies, and can also crouch and jump over them. The game ran on the Namco System 1 arcade board.

<i>The Tower of Druaga</i> 1984 video game

The Tower of Druaga is a 1984 arcade action role-playing maze game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling the golden-armored knight Gilgamesh, the player is tasked with scaling 60 floors of the titular tower in an effort to rescue the maiden Ki from Druaga, a demon with eight arms and four legs, who plans to use an artifact known as the Blue Crystal Rod to enslave all of mankind. It ran on the Namco Super Pac-Man arcade hardware, modified with a horizontal-scrolling video system used in Mappy.

Namco Museum is a series of video game compilations developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for home video game consoles. The first title in the series, Namco Museum Vol. 1, was released for the PlayStation in 1995. Entries in the series have been released for multiple platforms, including the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360. the latest being Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2, released in 2020.

<i>Wonder Momo</i> 1987 video game

Wonder Momo is a 1987 beat 'em up arcade game that was developed and published by Namco exclusively in Japan. It was ported to the PC-Engine in 1989, with both versions of the game later ported to the Wii Virtual Console, and ported to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Arcade Archives. The game was also included in Namco Museum Encore for the PlayStation. Wonder Momo inspired a webcomic series in 2012, an anime miniseries in 2014, and a sequel game by WayForward Technologies in May 2014.

<i>Hopping Mappy</i> 1986 video game

Hopping Mappy is an arcade game which was released by Namco in 1986. It is the sequel to Mappy, which was released three years earlier. The game was ported to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on June 2, 2009.

<i>Sky Kid</i> 1985 video game

Sky Kid is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Namco in 1985. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware but with a video system like that used in Dragon Buster. It is also the first game from Namco to allow two players to play simultaneously. The game was later released on the Famicom, and both this version for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U and the original arcade version for the Wii were later released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service, and for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line of digital releases. The NES version was also ported to arcades for the Nintendo VS. System as VS. Super Sky Kid, but promotional materials and the cabinet for this version just use the name VS. Sky Kid.

<i>Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2</i> 1996 video game

Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 is a 1996 compilation arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is a collection of four of Namco's popular games: Pac-Man (1980), Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981) and Dig Dug (1982). Alongside the original games, three new "Arrangement" games based on each game are included.

<i>Mappy-Land</i> 1986 video game

Mappy-Land is a video game console-only sequel to the 1983 Namco/Midway arcade game Mappy. The game was developed by TOSE and published by Namco in Japan and Taxan in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was later released by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Wii U Virtual Console worldwide in February 2015, and on the Nintendo Switch Online Service in March 2022.

<i>Namco Museum Virtual Arcade</i> 2008 video game

Namco Museum Virtual Arcade is a video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America in 2008 and in Europe and Japan in 2009. Part of its Namco Museum series, Virtual Arcade includes 34 titles; nine of these are Namco Bandai-published Xbox Live Arcade games, and the rest are arcade games that are only accessible through the disc. Players can access the Xbox Live Arcade games through their dashboard if the disc is in the console.

Let's! TV Play Classic is a series of Japan-only plug & play devices developed and distributed by Bandai programmed on XaviX software created by SSD Company Limited in 2006 that contain arcade games from either Namco or Taito, with Namco's being called "Namco Nostalgia" while Taito's are called "Taito Nostalgia". Each device in the series contains 4 games, with 2 being classic arcade games while the other 2 are new games using the original game's sprites developed by Bandai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ShiftyLook</span>

ShiftyLook was a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings that was focused on revitalizing older Namco franchises, with their first step being video game webcomics based on the company's various franchises. The subsidiary later offered webtoons, anime, playable games, music, message boards, and graphic novels as well. ShiftyLook regularly held substantial exhibitions at large US comics conventions, having a major booth presences and holding large giveaways of promotional merchandise.

<i>Namco Community Magazine NG</i> Japanese video game magazine

Namco Community Magazine NG was a video game magazine distributed by Namco in Japan. It was published quarterly from 1983 to 1986, and bimonthly from 1986 to 1993. Based on a suggestion made by company president Masaya Nakamura, its content relates to Namco video games and progressed to crafts, developer interviews, fan mail, and two manga series illustrated by Hiroshi Fuji.

<i>Cosmo Gang the Puzzle</i> 1992 video game

Cosmo Gang the Puzzle is a 1992 falling block puzzle arcade video game developed and published by Namco worldwide. The third game in its Cosmo Gang series, succeeding that year's Cosmo Gang the Video, players stack groups of blocks and aliens known as Jammers in a vertical-oriented well. The objective is to clear as many objects on the screen before they reach the top of the screen. Blocks are cleared by aligning them into complete horizontal rows, while Jammers are cleared by defeating them with blue-colored spheres.

The Namco 50th Anniversary was a celebration of the Japanese video game developer and publisher Namco, commemorating its establishment in 1955. Beginning on June 1, 2004, the anniversary included video games, toys, clothing, and events relating to Namco and its games. Games published under the 50th Anniversary label include Pac-Pix, Mr. Driller Drill Spirits, NamCollection, and Namco Museum 50th Anniversary. The Namco 50th Anniversary ended on March 31, 2006, when Namco was dissolved and merged into Namco Bandai Games.

References

  1. 1 2 Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 125. ISBN   978-4990251215.
  2. 1 2 "Video Game Flyers: Change Lanes / Mappy / Battle Cruiser M-12, Orion (Germany)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ↑ Scullion, Chris (October 18, 2021). "Legendary Namco pixel artist Hiroshi 'Mr Dotman' Ono has died". Video Games Chronicle . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Mappy (Registration Number PA0000216647)". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ "ナムコ、iモード「マッピーDEパズル」を配信開始". game.watch.impress.co.jp.
  6. ↑ Mappy: Namco's Forgotten Follow-Up to Pac-Man
  7. ↑ "ナムコ・ゲームス - バンダイナムコエンターテインメント公式サイト". www.bandainamcogames.co.jp. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Namco's Mappy is back, and this time, he's Hopping Mad". Destructoid. January 22, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ↑ Brett Alan Weiss (1998). "Mappy - Review". Allgame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  10. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (April 12, 2009). "Virtual Console Roundup". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  11. ↑ M. Thomas, Lucas (April 1, 2009). "Mappy Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  12. ↑ van Duyn, Marcel (March 26, 2009). "Mappy Review (VC Arcade)". Nintendo Life . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 213. Amusement Press. June 1, 1983. p. 29.
  14. ↑ "Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 214. Amusement Press. June 15, 1983. p. 27.
  15. ↑ Kalata, Kurt. "HG101 Presents: The 200 Best Video Games of All Time – Hardcore Gaming 101" . Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Rich (July 14, 2012). "ShiftyLook Moves Into Cartoons – Bravoman, Jim Zub, Scott Kurtz And More". Bleeding Cool .
  17. ↑ "There's A Cartoon Parody Of Namco Characters Working At Namco Bandai | Siliconera". Archived from the original on June 28, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.