Shobon no Action

Last updated
Shobon no Action
Syobon-action title.png
Title screen
Developer(s) Chiku
Series Mario (unofficial)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS
ReleaseOriginal: February 2007, [1] Chinese Bootleg: 2012-2013
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Shobon no Action, [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] also known as Cat Mario, is a Japanese freeware platform game released in February 2007. Its levels are known to cause extreme rage due to innocuous-looking objects that suddenly kill the character. [2] [3] Though the game is a parody of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System, it adds elements from other Mario games such as Super Mario World .

Contents

Gameplay

The player controls a white kitten-like character who must venture through side-scrolling platform levels similar to Super Mario Bros. The game consists of four levels (six in a version which was available at 4399, eighteen on Android and iOS versions) riddled with traps designed to trick the player, and abuse their previous knowledge of Super Mario Bros. gameplay, including normal-looking ground tiles that fall away into pits, blocks that sprout spikes when touched, a coin block at the start of a level that goes up when the players try to hit it, enemies that spawn nearly on top of the character, deadly background scenery, coin blocks rigged at the edge of a pit to cause the character to fall down, warp pipes flying, and a Mario-style flagpole that kills the character in two different ways, either by falling over or shooting a laser towards the player character. Despite the surprise factor of these traps, the levels do not change between plays, allowing the player to memorize their locations and patterns and eventually make progress. Some designers have commented on how the game requires the player to think logically through trial-and-error in order to complete the game at defeating the main antagonist called Onion King. The player has infinite lives. [3]

Development

Shobon no Action was released as freeware for Windows in February 2007. The game was designed by independent Japanese game developer "Chiku", and was inspired by The Big Adventure of Owata, a similar game released through the Japanese 2channel message board a year prior. Chiku chose to make his game a spoof of Super Mario Bros. due to its massive recognition and popularity. The first stage was completed in three days and presented at a cultural festival hosted at his college campus, becoming the most popular work presented. A video showcasing the demo was uploaded to his Niconico account a few days later and garnered over 1000 views shortly after, which prompted Chiku to make the demo a full game. Three new stages were produced within the span of two weeks. [1] The music of the game consists mainly of covers of songs created for other video games such as Action 52 , Spelunker , Ghosts 'n Goblins and Puyo Puyo . [4]

Reception

Shobon no Action was generally received positively, though the reviews note the intense and often frustrating difficulty of the game. [3] [5] [6] [7] It was recognized as a game that "systematically disrupts every convention of 2D platform gameplay", [2] and that success in the game often relies on both trial-and-error-like strategies and the player's ability to use counterintuitive strategies to avoid obstacles. [3] Open Syobon Action was downloaded alone via SourceForge.net over 150,000 times between 2010 and 2020. [8]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: しょぼんのアクション, Hepburn: Shobon no Akushon
  2. ↑ The game is known in Japan as Shobon no Action, but English-language sources misinterpret the title as Syobon Action due to the Nihon-shiki romanization system, and Chiki's GeoCities blog referring to the game as "syobon_action_description" in the URL. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platformer</span> Video game genre

A platformer is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels with uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, gliding through the air, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines.

<i>Super Mario Bros. 3</i> 1988 video game

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990 and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

<i>Tetris Attack</i> 1995 video game

Tetris Attack, also known as Panel de Pon in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A Game Boy version was released a year later. In the game, the player must arrange matching colored blocks in vertical or horizontal rows to clear them. The blocks steadily rise towards the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. Several gameplay modes are present, including a time attack and multiplayer mode.

<i>Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins</i> 1992 video game

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a 1992 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is the sequel to Super Mario Land. In Super Mario Land 2, the player assumes the role of the protagonist Mario, whose main objective is to reclaim his personal island, Mario Land, from the clutches of his greedy rival Wario. The gameplay builds and expands on that of its precursor with innovations carried over from Super Mario World.

<i>Super Mario Bros. 2</i> 1988 video game

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in North America in September 1988 and in the PAL region in 1989.

<i>Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels</i> 1986 video game

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is a 1986 platform game developed by Nintendo R&D4 and published by Nintendo. A sequel to Super Mario Bros. (1985), the game was originally released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System as Super Mario Bros. 2 on June 3, 1986. Nintendo of America deemed it too difficult for its North American audience and instead released an alternative sequel, also titled Super Mario Bros. 2, in 1988. The game was renamed The Lost Levels and first released internationally in the 1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System compilation Super Mario All-Stars. The game has since been ported to the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, along with being re-released through emulation for the Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Super Mario Land</i> 1989 video game

Super Mario Land is a 1989 platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch game for its Game Boy handheld game console. It is the first Mario platform game to have been released for a handheld console. In gameplay similar to that of the 1985 Super Mario Bros., but resized for the smaller device's screen, the player advances Mario to the end of 12 levels by moving to the right and jumping across platforms to avoid enemies and pitfalls. Unlike the other Mario games, Super Mario Land is set in Sarasaland, a new environment depicted in line art, and Mario pursues the debuting Princess Daisy. The game has two Gradius-style shooter levels.

<i>Mario & Wario</i> 1993 video game

Mario & Wario is a puzzle video game developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom. It was released exclusively in Japan in 1993. Mario & Wario requires the Super Famicom Mouse accessory to play. Despite being a Japan-only release, the game is entirely in English.

<i>New Super Mario Bros.</i> 2006 video game

New Super Mario Bros. is a 2006 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was first released in May 2006 in North America and Japan, and in PAL regions in June 2006. It is the first installment in the New Super Mario Bros. subseries of the Super Mario franchise and follows Mario as he fights his way through Bowser's henchmen to rescue Princess Peach. Mario has access to several old and new power-ups that help him complete his quest, including the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower, and the Super Star, each giving him unique abilities. While traveling through eight worlds with more than 80 levels, Mario has to defeat Bowser Jr. and Bowser before saving Princess Peach.

A side-scrolling video game is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphics during the golden age of arcade games was a pivotal leap in game design, comparable to the move to 3D graphics during the fifth generation.

<i>Super Mario</i> Video game series

Super Mario is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario franchise. At least one Super Mario game has been released for every major Nintendo video game console. However, there have also been a number of Super Mario video games released on non-Nintendo gaming platforms. There are more than 20 games in the series.

<i>Kid Icarus</i> (series) Video game series

Kid Icarus is a series of fantasy video games by Nintendo. The games are set in a Greco-Roman fantasy world called "Angel Land", which is a fictional setting that's loosely based on Greek mythology. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure and platform elements. The Kid Icarus franchise is known as a cult classic and a sibling series to the Metroid franchise.

<i>Mario</i> (franchise) Video game franchise

Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo, which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film, and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros. even though Mario made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers, including Nintendo, Hudson Soft, and AlphaDream. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.

<i>New Super Mario Bros. Wii</i> 2009 video game

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a 2009 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A follow-up to New Super Mario Bros., it was first released in Australia, North America, and Europe in November 2009, followed by Japan a month later. A high-definition port for the Nvidia Shield TV was released in China in December 2017. Like other side-scrolling Super Mario games, the player controls Mario as he travels eight worlds and fights Bowser's henchmen to rescue Princess Peach. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the first Super Mario game to feature simultaneous cooperative multiplayer gameplay; up to four people can play in cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, taking control of Mario as well as Luigi and one of two multicolored Toads. The game also introduced "Super Guide", which allows the player to watch a computer-controlled character complete a level.

Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ), previously known as Puyo Pop outside Japan, is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. Puyo Puyo was created as a spin-off franchise to Madō Monogatari, a series of first-person dungeon crawler role-playing games by Compile from which the Puyo Puyo characters originated. The series has sold over 10 million copies, including the Madō Monogatari games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World 1-1</span> Video game level

World 1-1 is the first level of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo's 1985 platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The level was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto to be a tutorial for new players, orienting them to platform jumping and to the rest of the game. It is one of the most iconic video game levels and has been widely imitated and parodied.

Super Mario Bros. Crossover is a fan-made crossover platform Flash video game launched on Newgrounds on April 27, 2010 by Exploding Rabbit. It is based mostly on the gameplay of Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. for the NES. The only major difference is the ability to control characters that debuted in other Nintendo Entertainment System games unrelated to the Mario series, plus the ability to use "skins" of levels and characters from other games and platforms. The latest version available (3.1.21) was released on December 27, 2013.

<i>Heberekes Popoitto</i> 1995 video game

Hebereke's Popoitto is a puzzle-type video game in the Hebereke series developed by Sunsoft for arcades, the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and SNES consoles. Although released in Japan and Europe from 1994 to 1996, it was never released in North America. The gameplay is reminiscent of video game titles like Dr. Mario and Puyo Puyo. Hebereke's Popoitto received generally positive reviews, and was mostly recommended for fans of the puzzle genre.

<i>Super Mario Bros.</i> 1985 video game

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published in 1985 by Nintendo for the Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and the first game in the Super Mario series. Following a US test market release for the NES, it was converted to international arcades on the Nintendo VS. System in early 1986. The NES version received a wide release in North America that year and in PAL regions in 1987.

<i>Kaizo Mario World</i> ROM hack series

Kaizo Mario World, also known as Asshole Mario, is a series of three ROM hacks of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Mario World, created by T. Takemoto. The term "Kaizo Mario World" is a shortened form of Jisaku no Kaizō Mario o Yūjin ni Play Saseru. The series was created by Takemoto for his friend R. Kiba.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chiku (13 July 2010). "しょぼんのアクションについてのどーでもいい話". GeoCities . Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 Bogost, Ian. "Persuasive Games: Video Game Pranks". Gamasutra . Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Patton, Ryan (2010). "Obstructing the view: An argument for the use of obstructions in art education pedagogy". The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education. 30: 49–59. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13.
  4. ↑ "Syobon Action (Cat Mario)". Know Your Meme . 3 April 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  5. ↑ Rasmussen, Povl. "Er det her verdens dårligste spil?" (in Danish). PC World Denmark. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Dave. "Syobon Action: un jeu hardcore de Mario Bros pour la Wii!" (in French). Amériquébec. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Game Reviews | Free Games | Independent Games | Game Culture". Play This Thing!. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  8. ↑ stats 2000-05-16+to+2020-12-31 on sourceforge.net (July 2021)
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.