Friday, August 17, 2012

Acquisition #141: Banana (Famicom)

Those of you who've already listened to the second episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever likely heard me mention this game during the "Cheerleading" segment. You also likely heard me say that I recently picked up a copy of this 1986 release, published by Victor Interactive.

Well, our friendly neighborhood mailman delivered the copy in question a few days ago, so I thought I'd snap and share a couple of photos of it (one of which can be seen below) and also strike up a bit of a conversation about this little-known--to non-Japanese audiences, at least--Famicom title.

As I said during the podcast, Banana's closest competitor in terms of gameplay is First Star Software's Boulder Dash, which tasks players with digging through caves, collecting gems and reaching exits while avoiding various dangerous creatures as well as obstacles like falling rocks.



Even that comparison is a bit of a stretch, though, since Boulder Dash is more action-oriented, while Banana is more of a puzzler.

As for why that is: In Banana, players also have to work their way to each level's exit, but here they're often forced to hash out their start-to-finish paths before they ever--or, rather, the game's anthropomorphic mole of a protagonist--take a step due to the sense of gravity that prevents them from moving upward unless they're near a ladder. In addition, a level can't be completed until every scattered piece of food (yes, including bananas) has been gathered and Mr. Mole's busty, bedressed wife has been retrieved and escorted to the aforementioned exit.

Should that description not make a lick of sense to you, take a look at this gameplay video, which, beginning at the 25-second mark, walks through Banana's first six stages.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

20 comments:

Josef said...

I must admit to never having heard of this game before you mentioned it on NPE2, but your description certainly piqued my interest.

It does look like a neat little game, and I could certainly see myself going after a copy if/when I ever expand my collecting into Famicom territory.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

That game looks HARD!!! Wow. I can see that being something I play 4 levels of and give up on because it makes me feel stupid.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Oh, but I love the font used in the score screens! Classic.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Josef! Well, that's what I'm here (and on NPE) for -- to spread my knowledge of obscure retro games to all who are interested :P

Seriously, though, I'm glad I turned you on to this game. You should give it a try via emulation at some point, if you're OK with going that route. Just be aware that the main emulators seem to have some problems with it (or at least they have in my experience).

Bryan Ochalla said...

Justin: Oh, it's definitely hard. As is often the case, it starts off easy enough (the first four or five stages) and then, bam!, it shows its fangs. I'm still trying to figure out one of the stages. Argh! Anyway, you should try it at some point.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, and about that font: Yes! I've always loved it, too :)

2D2Will said...

Looks like my kind of game. I'll probably buy from ebay now.

I have to ask, why is is called "Banana"?

warp said...

That pink cartridge is stunning.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hello, 2D2Will! Loose copies of this game seem to pop up on eBay quite frequently, and they're usually pretty cheap, so I think you should pick one up soon :)

As for why it's called Banana: Well, I can't say for sure, as I don't own a copy of the game's manual (which hopefully shares its backstory), but I'm guessing it's because bananas are one of the main foods that Mr. Mole collects as he works his way through each stage. Also, bananas are the only pieces of food/fruit that give the player special items like bombs (which can be used to get rid of boulders) and extra ladders.

So, I'm guessing the official story suggests that Mr. Mole's favorite fruit is the banana, or something along those lines :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Isn't it, warp? Pink Famicom cartridges for the win!! :)

Adam said...

I love how they didn't mind calling a game just Banana.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Me, too, Adam. I'm sure the name, combined with the box art, made quite a few gamers go "huh?" back in the day, just as it does today :)

Kaze said...

Japanese retro games have the best art! XD I wonder how many Famicom games have pink carts? You should go on a quest to collect them all! ^^

I have an old Chinese pirate NES cartridge with a bunch of games on it including this one so I remember playing it a bit when I was younger! The name puzzled me too along with another Famicom puzzler game called "Nuts & Milk" which was also on there. lol

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hello, Marty! Ah, yes, pink Fami carts ... there aren't that many, as far as I'm aware. As such, maybe I *should* try to find/buy all of them!

Thankfully, a number of them are on my 'to buy' list already, like Binary Land and Penguin Kun Wars and Super Mario Bros. USA.

As for Nuts & Milk: Oh, I know of that game. Very cute :) Actually, it has cute box art, too. I'll have to buy it soon and then show it to you.

Kaze said...

I just found a picture of the box art on google! z0mg!! Cuteness explosion! lol

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yeah, I especially like the "Help!" in the upper-right corner, for some reason :P

BARTO said...

looks like a great game, never heard of it! i should watch out for it on the next retrogaming-fair! :-)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Barto! Yes, keep an eye out for it. It's fun, but also a bit of a brain-buster, if you know what I mean :)

2D2Will said...

Well, I just won an auction for it on ebay. It's funny, when I won I received an email saying "Enoy Your Banana"!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Congrats, 2D2Will! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it :)