Mappy
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 Now on to the story
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Mappy is an arcade game by Namco. This is a side-scrolling platforming game featuring a mouse and a group of cat antagonists.
Why It's The Ultimate Cat-And-Mouse Game
- The graphics here are colorful. Despite being an 8-bit game, it does have this feel of a typical old school cartoon from the golden age of animation much like Disney, Warner Bros., MGM, Fleischer Studios, UPA, Jay Ward, and Hanna Barbera. Even the artwork can prove it.
- The controls are easy to use as the only thing you need is the move Mappy and close the doors.
- The object of the game is simple, all you need to do is to take the role of a police officer mouse and get the stolen goods that were taken from the Mewokies
- The enemy variety may be limited, but it's put into good use on how many enemies can appear on the screen as well as the gameplay. Most of the bad guys happen to be cats who are pink called a Meowky who attempted to go after Mappy. Then there is another character named Goro (Nyamco in the Japanese version) who often hides from the stolen loot.
- Sometimes you will see the Gosenzo token appear after the time is about to run out. Unlike the cats, the token can kill Mappy when he's on the air. You better be aware that the Gosenzo token will also open the blue doors.
- The best part about Goro is that you can still get the stolen good even if Goro is hiding behind it.
- The stolen goods consist of a radio, a television, a computer, the Mona Lisa painting, and a safe. Safes are often the ones that cost the most. Items here come in pars so getting the second item in a pair immediately after the first multiply the point value of the second item.
- Doors are everywhere in the mansion. They can be used to knock out the cats away if they were to go after Mappy. However, there is a special door that is very powerful compared to your typical door and that is the blue door. The blue door shows off a wave of noise that will trap the cats. The more cats you catch, the more points (gets even bigger when you go after Goro).
- There is some challenge in this game. The Hurry message will appear and more cats will show up and the Gosenzo Coin will appear. When you realize that the time is about to run out, you still need to watch out and that's the bottom line.
- After every third and every fourth round after is a bonus round. Mappy isn't bothered by the cats so he would need to get as many red balloons as possible with the ability to get the Goro balloon.
- Some rounds have bells being placed in the mansion. Hitting the bell can cause the cats to be stunned. Others have trapdoors that will stun cats and could be useful for using the blue door's wave on the stuck cats.
- Trampolines are placed in the mansion just to give Mappy better mobility to reach high places. Though they do have limited durability thanks to the balance, Mappy can still make the trampolines go back to green once Mappy goes to a ledge in the main game. Jumping can also help you be protected by the cats.
- Mappy's death animation is pretty funny.
- The spirits for Mappy and especially the Mewokies do look cute. This is for those who like cute things.
- The layout of the mansion often changes just to give players some new strategy on how to avoid the cats and get the goods.
- Catchy soundtrack that plays during the game. The main theme that plays most of the time appears to be a calm nostalgic song while the song that plays when you go to the bonus round becomes so energetic.
- Thanks to the board the game supports. Scrolling is existent there because of the hardware the arcade uses called Namco Super Pac-Man.
The Only Bad Quality
- There is a glitch that occurs due to the points giving you 1,010 points when 6000x2 points are earned.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Mappy as the third most successful table arcade unit of the month for its time. AllGame gave the game a 4 and a half stars while Nintendo Life gave the game 7/10 stars
Trivia
- It was one of the first arcade titles to be on the Virtual Console.
- The PSP version of Pac-Man World Rally features Mappy as a playable character.
- Mappy's name is likely derived from mappo which is a Japanese slang for policeman.
- As part of Bandai Namco's ShiftyLook initiative, an animated Mappy web series called Mappy: The Beat was made. The series focuses on Mappy who works at a thankless job as a security guard for his former foe Goro's company Namco. He is accompanied by Dig Dug and Sky Kid alongside other Namco characters.
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