Popeye (arcade game)
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Template:Infobox Arcade Game Popeye is a 1982 arcade game released by Nintendo, it is based on the Popeye comic/cartoon characters licensed from King Features Syndicate.
Two players can alternate playing or one player can play alone. The top five highest scores are kept along with the player's three initials. Popeye was available in standard and cocktail configurations. The cost of a game, the number of lives (1-4), the difficulty (0-3) and the number of points required for a bonus life were configurable by the video game's operator.
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Description
The object of the game was for Popeye to collect a certain number of items (24 hearts, 16 musical notes, the letters in the word "help" - depending on the level) while avoiding The Sea Hag, Brutus (Brutus was the character's name in the King Features shorts, not Bluto.) and other dangers. The player can make Popeye walk back and forth and up and down stairs and ladders with an 8-way joystick. There is a punch button, but unlike similar games of the period, no jump button. Each level has a can of spinach. If Popeye punches the spinach, he can temporarily turn the tables on Brutus by punching him.
Other licensed Popeye characters in the game are Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, and Wimpy though they are decorative and do not add to the gameplay.
License
The game was licensed by Atari for exclusive release in the UK and Ireland and featured in an Atari designed and manufactured cabinet.
Trivia
Donkey Kong originally started out with Popeye characters in the roles, with Popeye originally in the role of Jumpman/Mario, Bluto as the role of Donkey Kong, and Olive Oyl as the captive. But due to licensing disagreements with King Features, this idea was scrubbed. When Donkey Kong went on to have great success, King Features agreed to license the characters again.
Ports
The game was ported to the Commodore 64 home computer as well as various home game consoles (Intellivision/Intellivision II/Tandyvision/Sears Super Video Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 2600, Colecovision, and Odyssey²). There was even a board game based on the arcade game (released by Parker Brothers in 1983). A tabletop video game was even made, and it was the one of the first notable devices to have a color LCD.
External links
Categories: 1982 arcade games | 1982 computer and video games | Arcade games | Atari 8-bit family games | Atari 2600 games | Atari 5200 games | Nintendo games | NES games | Commodore 64 games | ColecoVision games | Intellivision games | Game & Watch games | Computer and video games based on licensed properties