Rompers (video game)

Last updated
Rompers
Rompers flyer.jpg
Advertising flyer
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Designer(s) Akira Usukura
Composer(s) Yoshie Takayanagi
Platform(s) Arcade, Mobile phone
Release
  • JP: February 1989
Genre(s) Maze
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Namco System 1

Rompers [lower-alpha 1] is an arcade game which was released by Namco in 1989, only in Japan; it runs on Namco System 1 hardware, and was designed by Akira Usukura (who had designed Splatterhouse the previous year).

Contents

Gameplay

In-game screenshot. Rompers screenshot.png
In-game screenshot.

The player takes control of Chap (チャップ, Chappu), a gardener wearing a straw hat, who must collect all the keys in 61 maze-inspired gardens in order to rescue his girlfriend, Rumina (ルミナ, Rumina); he can push the walls in the gardens over to crush the various enemies that pursue him, but they shall immediately be resurrected in the form of eggs which hatch after a few seconds. Each round also has a preset time limit to ensure that the player does not dawdle - and once it runs out, a green-haired female vampire known as Tsukaima (使い魔, Tsukaima) (who cannot be crushed by the walls) shows up and pursues Chap for his blood, as the Yamaha YM2151-generated song (and all the enemies) speed up. The game's enemies include white blobs known as Pyokorin (ピョコリン, Pyokorin), pink Triceratops-esque creatures known as Kerara (ケララ, Kerara) which can breathe flames, armadillos known as Gororin (ゴロリン, Gororin) which can roll over Chap, purple seals known as Todorin (トドリン, Todorin) which can breathe ice, sponges known as Bekabeka (ベカベカ, Bekabeka), which can push walls onto Chap, turquoise blobs known as Fumajime Pyokorin (ふまじめピョコリン, Fumajime Pyokorin), which occasionally pause to take a long drag on their cigarettes, helmet-wearing creatures known as Nachibo (ナチ坊, Nachibō), which take two crushes to kill, wolves known as Taggus (タッグス, Taggasu) which can throw bombs at Chap, spiders known as Oogumo (オオグモ, Oogumo), which can spin webs for Chap to run into - and this game's main antagonist, an evil scientist named Gurerin (グレリン, Gurerin) who only appears on the final round, where players not only have to collect all the keys, but also push the walls onto his four clones (two of whom can breathe fire, but the other two can breathe ice).

A cutscene called "The Rompers Show" also appears after every tenth round, and once Chap has rescued Rumina at the end of the game, they both go back to free Tsukaima (who, ironically, is trapped under a wall, given that she cannot be crushed by them in the game), and wrap her feet up with bandages; Chap then starts to carry Tsukaima off on his back, which angers Rumina as he went through a lot to save her.

Release

At the time of its release, Rompers was ported to many home video game consoles, and it was given an official North American release, possibly due to one of the enemies, Fumajime Pyokorin, being involved in drug use, and the Japanese voice samples; the game's soundtrack was released in two compilation discs known as Namco Video Game Graffiti Volume 5, and Namco Video Game Graffiti Volume 6, which included soundtracks for other Namco games as well. The first official home conversion for the game was in Namco Museum Encore , the series' only Japanese-exclusive installment (which also featured Wonder Momo and was released on the PlayStation) - and in 2009, Rompers went on to appear on the Nintendo Wii's Japanese Virtual Console market. The original arcade version finally got its first official North American release in June 2018, as one of the titles included in Pac-Man's Pixel Bash. Its second North American appearance came in March 2021, as one of the twelve titles included on the Namco Legacy Edition arcade cabinet from Arcade1Up. In September 2022, it was released as part of the Arcade Archives series by Hamster on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Rompers on their March 15, 1989 issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade game of the year. [1]

Notes

  1. Japanese: ロンパーズ, Hepburn: Ronpāzu

Related Research Articles

<i>Gradius</i> (video game) Sidescrolling shooter video game by Konami

Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami. The first game in the Gradius series, it was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1985. The player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game uses a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to purchase additional weapons.

<i>Mario Bros.</i> 1983 video game

Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as an arcade video game in 1983. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures emerging from the sewers by knocking them upside-down and kicking them away. The Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System version is the first game produced by Intelligent Systems. It is part of the Mario franchise, but originally began as a spin-off from the Donkey Kong series.

<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>BurgerTime</i> 1982 video game

BurgerTime, originally released as Hamburger in Japan, is a 1982 arcade video game from Data East released initially for its DECO Cassette System. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients in a maze of platforms and ladders while avoiding anthropomorphic hot dogs, fried eggs, and pickles which are in pursuit.

<i>Galaga</i> 1981 arcade game

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to Galaxian (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower.

<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.

<i>Xevious</i> Vertical scrolling shooter arcade game released in 1983

Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco in 1982. It was released in Japan and Europe by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious forces before they destroy all of mankind. The Solvalou has two weapons at its disposal: a zapper to destroy flying craft, and a blaster to bomb ground installations and enemies. It runs on the Namco Galaga arcade system.

<i>Battle City</i> 1985 video game

Battle City is a multi-directional shooter video game for the Family Computer produced and published in 1985 by Namco. It is a successor to Namco's 1980 Tank Battalion, and would be succeeded itself by the 1991 Tank Force.

<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.

<i>Dig Dug II</i> 1985 video game

Dig Dug II is an action arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco in 1985. It is a sequel to 1982's Dig Dug. Pookas and fire-breathing Fygars return as the enemies, but the side view tunneling of the original is replaced with an overhead view of an island maze.

<i>Yo! Noid</i> 1990 video game

Yo! Noid, known in Japan as Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru, is a platform video game developed by Now Production and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was first released in Japan on March 16, 1990, and was localized in the United States to promote the Noid, the mascot of Domino's Pizza. The game is in Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade series and was featured in the Japanese TV show GameCenter CX.

<i>Splatterhouse</i> 1988 video game

Splatterhouse is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco in 1988. It was the first in a series of games released in home console and personal computer formats. This game would later spawn the parody Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, the sequels Splatterhouse 2, Splatterhouse 3, and the 2010 remake Splatterhouse, with the classic games being added to Namco Museum since 2017.

<i>Gaplus</i> 1984 video game

Gaplus is a 1984 fixed shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco. It is the third game in the Galaxian series, serving as a direct sequel to Galaga (1981). In North America, a modification kit was later released to change the name to Galaga 3, possibly to reflect its position in the series. It was the only game other than Phozon to run on the Namco Phozon hardware. A contemporary home port for the Commodore 64 was released in 1988. A "demastered" version of the game was included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 as a bonus title.

<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>Dragon Spirit</i> 1987 video game

Dragon Spirit is a 1987 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was distributed by Atari Games. Controlling the dragon Amul, the player must complete each of the game's nine areas to rescue the princess Alicia from the demon Zawell. Similar to Namco's own Xevious, Amul has a projectile weapon for destroying air-based enemies and a bomb for destroying ground enemies. It ran on the Namco System 1 arcade board.

<i>Libble Rabble</i> 1983 video game

Libble Rabble is a 1983 puzzle arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco. The player is tasked with using two colored arrows, Libble and Rabble, to wrap them around pegs and surround small creatures known as Mushlins to "harvest" them under a time limit. The player can also uncover treasure chests that will have the player searching the stage for items in order to access a special bonus stage. It ran on the Namco Libble Rabble hardware, one of the only games to do so.

<i>Yokai Dochuki</i> 1987 video game

Yokai Dochuki, also known as Shadowland, is a 1987 platform arcade game developed and released by Namco in Japan and other parts of Asia. The player controls a young boy named Tarosuke as he must make his way through Jigoku, the Japanese concept of Hell, to reach Buddha, who will determine his fate. Tarosuke can fire small "ki" bullets at enemies to defeat them; he can also charge them to increase their power. Enemies will drop money when defeated, which can be used to purchase weapons and other items in stores. Two versions of the arcade original were released: a Japanese version and an English version which was released in other Asian countries outside Japan. The Arcade Archives release includes both versions.

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

Cosmo Gang the Video is a 1992 fixed shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. A home conversion for the Super Famicom was released the same year. Controlling the Hyper Beat starship, the player is tasked with ridding the galaxy of the Cosmo Gang, a race of aliens that cause mischief across Earth. Gameplay involves shooting enemies and avoiding projectiles. Power-up items can be collected to grant the player additional abilities. It ran on the Namco System 2 arcade board.

<i>Namcot Collection</i> 2020 video game

Namcot Collection, also known as Namco Museum Archives, is a 2020 video game compilation published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Originally released in Japan for the Nintendo Switch, it was localized for international territories as two separate collections, Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, for the Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows. Namcot Collection includes a wide array of video games published by Namco for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System, with save states, achievements, and homebrew ports of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Gaplus.

References

  1. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 352. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 March 1989. p. 21.