Mappy Mame Rom
Hopping Mappy Review by: - 7/10 Hopping Mad? More like Hopping Happy! OVERALL RATING: 7/10 Who's not a fan of the underdog?
Or in this case, the under-mouse? In 'Hopping Mappy', you play a policeman mouse named Mappy. Hopping around on a pogo stick, it's your job to avoid hungry cats while gathering loot the cats have stolen. Items exist in pairs, so you can get a bonus for collecting pairs together.
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The cats follow pre- determined paths, so the task in the game is strategizing how to maximize your points while choosing a convenient trail. ((For the Japanese and game history lovers: There are two types of cat: a large red one named Nyamco or Goro. and smaller ones called Mewskies. The reason the larger cat has two names is due to the fact that this game was released in both Japan and the United States. 'Nyanko' means 'kitty cat' in Japanese, so Namco decided to use a play on words and name the cat Nyamco. When the game moved to the United States, the large red cat was re- named.
For some strange reason however, the United States chose to keep Mappy's name despite the fact that it comes from the Japanese word for policeman, 'mappo', a slightly derogatory term.)) GRAPHICS (4/10): I've got to admit that this game doesn't have the best of graphics. That being said, the designers do at least deserve a few kudos for not giving the game an excessively dark palette. However, the colors which ARE given aren't all that attractive either. The game starts off with a bright green yard complete with a white fence and blue sky. There are some trees drawn in the background which are detail- less enough that I could have drawn them, and patches of garden have various shades and textures which causes the ground to resemble a checkerboard. All in all it's not so ugly that it hurts my eyes, but it's dull and uninteresting.
The caricatures aren't so bad however, and each sprite clearly represents what it is intended to: there's no mistaking the policeman mouse, or the enemy cats. I did find it amusing that the red cat (who is rather large) bounces just the same as Mappy and the Mewskies despite lacking a pogo stick. Pushing that little amusement aside, there was another aspect of the graphics I appreciated: when you collect an item, it's twin comes to life.
For example, if you collect one snowman, the other snowman begins waving. I like this little detail because it helps you more easily spot the item if the screen is chaotic, and it also helps you keep track of what you've last collected if you want to get the bonus for collecting clone items successively. Finally, one of the graphic cons is that every level looks exactly the same. Every five levels experience a change in color pallet, but players are always faced with a checkerboard yard, a white fence, and a sky background broken only by a few trees. I'm not sure if the color changes are supposed to denote change in the time of day, or a change of seasons. I suspect the former because the levels get darker and then lighter.
However, the choice of colors (in my own opinion of course) better suit a change of seasons. SOUND (7/10): This is probably the first game I've reviewed where I actually -enjoyed- the music! The same music is played throughout almost every level, but it's so catchy and cute that I didn't feel the need to mute my speakers.
The quality wasn't fantastic, but I feel it's important to show leniency consider that this game was designed for arcades back in the mid- 80s. I wasn't completely sold into the music until I hit the bonus round however. The bonus round music in Hopping Mappy is easily one of THE BEST tunes I have heard in a game, and it caused me to squeal in delight.
It's the majority of the reason I rated the sound category so high. Part of me wishes that song was played throughout the entire game, but the rest of me is glad it doesn't. Hearing it only during bonus rounds actually encouraged me to try harder to get to those rounds. The other sounds weren't impressive. They simply weren't terribly annoying, over- done, or boring. ADDICTIVENESS (6/10): A bit selling point to this game, for me at least, was how very playable it is. I'm not one that shows much skill when it comes to playing games and so I was thrilled to do well in this game.
Not only did I find it fun to play, but it also was not ridiculously easy. It offered me the challenge of developing a strategy while not fretting the nuances of controls.
I can imagine that younger kids and older ones alike could find this game enjoyable. The only negative aspect of game play was that re- playing the game doesn't offer anything new. The yards are the same size and shape, the Mewskies patrol the same columns and rows, and even Nyamco follows the same path.
The collectible items are always on the same grids as well. Thus, the game is only addictive as long as you are still trying to win it. It's a bit frustrating, also, if you get through 16 levels and then lose all your lives, because then you must start all over again. Through the same levels you just beat.
Once all 31 levels are beat, there's no point in playing the game unless you just want to waste time or work at earning a higher score. Until I got through the last level though, I was pretty hooked. STORY (3/10): There's nothing in the game which hints at the plot, so what I discovered was through research.
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I can't say I'm really impressed with the story line. I mean, I guess it's a bit cute, but much more could have been done with it. Hopping Mappy is the sequel to another arcade game called Mappy, so it would have been nice to have some dramatic continuation of the story, and perhaps even a few cut scenes to break up the monotony of a mouse on a pogo stick. Also, it would have been nice to differentiate the levels by offering other modes of travel, new enemies, or even new objects to collect. Why would these cats be interested in owning 62 snowmen and 62 weird looking cat toys? Why would they be spread all over a yard and why is Mappy as big as Nyamco? The story really needed some spice to hop it up.
It could have been insanely cute and/or funny, but the writers really fell short this time. DEPTH (3/10): The game is only 31 levels, and if you must replay any levels, nothing changes.
The story never develops, and if you're much better at games than I am, it probably wouldn't take you much time to beat. These three reasons pretty much sum up why I give this category such a low score. DIFFICULTY (5/10): As long as you are patient person or very adept to quick reflexes, this game shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you. This is especially the case if you die many times and have to repeat levels. Since Nyamco and the Mewskies follow set patterns, it's all too easy to avoid their paths while collecting items. However, there is a time limit you must adhere to and unfortunately nothing on the screen indicates the amount of time you have left. If you take too long on your levels, you simply hear a certain sound and the game speeds up until you die or lose.
Also, unless my controls weren't working properly, there is no way to fight the enemies. If Nyamco sits for a moment and takes a break, you can jump on him to earn points, but he gets back up and starts jumping again. Certain items from the bonus box also enable you to jump on Mewskies, but they too recuperate instead of dying. It's a little difficult to tell when it's safe to jump past a Mewsky, also. Several times, I thought I'd run into one and die, but I guess Mappy simply passed underneath the pink cat. However, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between a possible collision or safe passage. The only ways in which levels themselves became more difficult was by introducing more Mewskies.
However, the number of Mewskies did not steadily increase. Some levels included 1, while others included a dozen, easily. Bonus rounds took place after every four normal rounds.
They weren't a challenge at all and consisted of jumping through a scrolling screen and collecting red or blue balloons. Each blue balloon is worth almost 20 red balloons, but blue balloons were also less frequent. It took me a few bonus rounds to discover that you can in no way benefit unless you use the 'speed' option to get Mappy through.
Mappy Mame Rom
Otherwise, if edge of the screen scrolls into Mappy, the round ends. And the scrolling moves much faster than Mappy's normal pace. Overall, I'd say this game was fun and worth playing. I simply wouldn't recommend spending more than an hour playing it. That hour will be a quality one, but the game's value pretty much ends once that hour is up. Graphics 4 Sound 7 Addictive 6 Depth 3 Story 3 Difficulty 5.