Mappy

For other uses, see Mappy (disambiguation).

Mappy
U.S. arcade flyer for Mappy. U.S. arcade flyer of Mappy.
Developer(s)	Namco Dempa Shunbunsha Epoch
Publisher(s)
Distributor(s)
Composer(s)	Nobuyuki Ohnogi
Platforms	Arcade Super Cassette Vision, iOS, MSX, PC-6001, PC-8801, Family Computer, Palm OS, X1, Game Gear, Wii (Virtual Console), Windows Phone
Release date(s)	March 1983 Arcade MSX Family Computer PC-8801 Super Cassette Vision Game Gear Game Boy Advance Windows Mobile Palm OS Virtual Console Family Computer Arcade (Wii) EU/NA: March 25, 2009 iOS
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Cabinet	Upright and cocktail
Arcade system	Namco Super Pac-Man
CPU	2x Motorola M6809 @ 1.536 MHz
Sound	1x Namco WSG @ 1.536 MHz
Display	Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288 resolution

Mappy (マッピー, Mappī) is a 1983 arcade game by Namco. In the United States, it was distributed by Bally/Midway. Mappy is a side-scrolling platform game that features cartoon-like animals, primarily cats and mice. The game's main character itself is a mouse. Mappy runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware, modified to support horizontal scrolling. The name "Mappy" is likely derived from mappo, a Japanese slang term (slightly insulting) for a policeman.

Gameplay

File:Mappy In-Game.png

Screenshot of Mappy (arcade version)

The player guides Mappy the police mouse through the mansion of the cats called the Mewkies (Meowky in the U.S. version) to retrieve stolen goods. The player uses a left-right joystick to move Mappy and a single button to operate doors. The mansion has six floors, four or five in some other versions, of hallways in which the stolen items are stashed. Mappy and the cats move between floors by bouncing on trampolines at various places in the house. Both Mappy and the cats can land on a floor on the way up, but not on the way down. When they pass in the air, Mappy is unharmed by the cats, but if Mappy runs into a cat anywhere else, he will lose a life. The trampolines will break if Mappy bounces on them four times in a row. The trampolines change color depending on how many times Mappy has used them without a rest. In addition to the Mewkies, the boss cat Goro also roams around. He is faster, but less aggressive than the Mewkies. Throughout the levels, Goro hides behind the different recoverable objects. Should Mappy recover an item which Goro is hiding behind, the player receives bonus points.

A round is completed when all the loot is retrieved. If Mappy tarries too long, a "Hurry" message appears after which the music and the cats speed up, and more Mewkies are added (two will appear ready to drop as the Mewkies normally do immediately following the "hurry" message, and more Mewkies can arrive later on). If the player waits too long after this, the "Gosenzo" coin (a green disk shape with Goro's face on it) will drop onto the top-middle platform and chase Mappy in a manner similar to the Mewkies, but more effectively. The "Gosenzo" coin can kill Mappy even if he is in the air. The third round and every fourth round after that is a bonus round. Mappy, unbothered by the cats, must bounce across a series of trampolines, popping fifteen different suspended red balloons, with a "Goro" along the way. A bonus is awarded if all the balloons are popped before the music ends. After every bonus round, a new feature is added to the gameplay, such as bells that freeze cats. The "Hurry" message will also appear sooner. There are 256 levels.

Cartoon Mappy: The Beat

In 2012, ShiftyLook announced the release of an animated retelling of the series, which places Mappy as a security cop for Goro's company NYAMCO (a portmanteau of nyan, the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow, and NAMCO's name). This comedic take on classic NAMCO characters was handled in the irreverent style of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. It featured several other NAMCO characters like Dig-Dug, Sky Kid and the Prince from Katamari. The series was co-produced by Scott Kurtz (PvP) and Kris Straub (Broodhollow), who also voiced the characters. The show premiered in the summer of 2013, alongside ShiftyLook's sister series Bravoman: Super Unequaled Hero of Excellence! The series ran for 13 episodes.

Mappy: The Movie

The long awaited Mappy Movie! It featured several other Namco characters such as Dig-Dug, Sky Kid, & the Prince from Katamari. The movie consists of 24 scenes. It takes up 95 minutes.

Ports and sequels

A Japan-only port of the game was initially released for the Famicom (Japanese version of the NES) and MSX in 1984, followed by a later port to the Sega Game Gear in 1991. This was followed by a video game console-only sequel called Mappy-Land in 1986 (released in the United States by Taxan). In 1998, it was re-released as part of Microsoft Revenge of Arcade for the PC. Mappy also had several Japan-only sequels, including Hopping Mappy in 1986 for the arcades and Mappy Kids in 1989 for the Famicom. There is also a version called Mappy Arrangement which was released in 1995 as part of Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 in 1995 for the arcades. The Famicom version of the original Mappy was re-released in Japan as part of the Famicom Mini Series in 2004. Mappy is included on the Ms. Pac-Man collection manufactured by Jakks Pacific. It is also featured in the 1996 Game Boy compilation Namco Gallery Vol. 1 and on the later Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection, released on the Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC, and PlayStation 2 in 2005 (it did not appear in the Game Boy Advance version), and also appears on Namco Museum DS. Mappy was also re-released as part of the Pac-Man's Arcade Party arcade machine in 2010. Mappy is playable in the PlayStation Portable version of Namco Museum Battle Collection, and there is a Mappy game for the Palm OS by NI. Mappy was included as a Dot-S set. It is also one of the first arcade titles to have been released on the Virtual Console. In 2002, it was released in Japan as a pachinko under the title of Mappy Park. In 2003, two mobile games were released in Japan with the titles Teku-Teku Mappy (テクテクマッピー) and Mappy De Puzzle (マッピーDEパズル), in 2009 titled MAPPY trampoline puzzle (MAPPYトランポリンパズル) and the September 2011, the new mobile game titled Mappy World (マッピーワールド).

External links

• Mappy at the Killer List of Videogames