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| Mappy-Land | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer | Tose |
| Publishers | |
| Series | Mappy |
| Platform | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Release | |
| Genre | Platform |
| Mode | Single-player |
Mappy-Land [a] is a platform game developed by Tose and published by Namco for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a sequel to Namco's 1983 arcade video game Mappy . Originally released in 1986, it was released by Taxan in North America in 1989.
Mappy must travel through various themed areas, collecting six target items in each one, while attempting to avoid Goro and his gang of Meowkies. The target items differ depending on the story:
After completing Story 4, it loops back to the first story.
There are eight areas with various unique features, and Goro wears costumes corresponding to each theme:
The gameplay is similar to the original Mappy, where the player must collect items and avoid enemies with the assistance of trampolines that will break if jumped on too many times before landing (Jungle World being the one exception to this). Unlike the original, the doors and Microwave Doors are not present, and instead stage specific counterattack items can be used. Mappy can perform a short jump to trigger these items as well as collect the target items; he can also jump over the Meowkies if timed well. In addition, Mappy can carry a number of distraction items (up to 15) to temporarily stop enemies from pursuing:
In the Ghost Town, Mappy will use a flashlight to ward off the ghosts, and can travel the stage with a balloon.
In order to finish a stage, the player must collect all six target items and then proceed to the exit on the right. Sometimes in certain stories is necessary to locate a subarea to obtain a special item before exiting. If takes too long to finish an area, a warning chime will sound and the music will speed up, and eventually a Goro Coin will chase Mappy as well, which cannot be attacked or distracted.
Once reaching the last area (Milky Town) and collecting all the items, they must enter the castle and play an extra area; the six target items within must be collected and brought to Mapico or Mappy Jr. before the music ends. Failing to do this, the players must retry the extra area until they are successful. When successful, bonus points are awarded and the game starts the next story in the first area. Later stories alter the stage layouts and the enemies become much faster.
In some areas a bonus subarea can be found. These bonus subareas can reward with additional distraction items and extra lives. In order to access these, Mappy must be carrying no distraction items and must jump on a particular trampoline without any controller input; if successful, Mappy will then be sent upwards to the bonus subarea.
Mappy-Land was released in Japan on November 27, 1986. [1] Taxan presented Mappy-Land at the Winter Consumer Electronic Show (CES) along with Mystery Quest (1987) and Fist of the North Star (1987). [2] It was released in the United States in April 1989. [3] Ed Harris of Electronic Gaming Monthly critiqued the marketing of the game, saying that the game looks like its for small children, but won't be fully appreciated by players under the age of 16. [4]
Mappy-Land was released on the Wii U Virtual Console worldwide in February 2015, [5] and on the Nintendo Classics service in March 2022. [6] It was also included in the compilation Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2. [7]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 2/5 [8] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7/10, 4/10, 6/10, 6/10 [4] |
| Nintendo Life | 6/10 [9] |
From contemporary reviews, the four reviewers in Electronic Gaming Monthly found the game appealing for different reasons. One said the game isn't revolutionary, but better than most and was loaded with content to discover. One found it positively addictive and appropriately challenging. A third said the game stars out slow, but its graphics and other features brought it all together appropriately. [4]
From retrospective reviews, Skyler Miller of Allgame said that fans of the original arcade game Mappy would feel at home with Mappy-Land but said that the flat and simple visuals which would have looked dated by the American release of the game would hurt the overall appeal of the game. [8]