DoctorSpuds Reviews Things

By "only version released in the US", are you strictly thinking of video game versions? I see on Mobygames that it was released for Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64 and TRS-80 CoCo, to name a few home computers definitely available in the US. Otherwise it seems to mostly have been a Japanese affair in terms of Sord M5, Famicom, MSX, Casio PV-1000 and Tomy Tutor.

By "only version released in the US", are you strictly thinking of video game versions?

Yes I am strictly remaining in the realm of home videogame consoles, I will not lump home computers in with the rest of this, since they are a whole different beast all together and I am not ready to even consider jumping into retro computing.

I will amend the review to state this. And I see now that I clearly need to rethink my research methods.

As for potential additional home console versions of Pooyan:

 

The ColecoVision is very similar to the Sord M5 so it probably had been doable too, given that despite the "video game crash", Konami games like Antarctic Adventure, Roc'n'Rope, Super Cobra and Time Pilot eventually were released on the CV.

The Atari 5200 is so close to the Atari 8-bit that technically it probably had worked out. The 5200 didn't see as many Konami games as the ColecoVision did, though Gyruss and Super Cobra appeared on that format.

 

The Intellivision probably was the least likely of the major US consoles around 1983 to expect a home version of this game.

As for potential additional home console versions of Pooyan:

 

The ColecoVision is very similar to the Sord M5 so it probably had been doable too, given that despite the "video game crash", Konami games like Antarctic Adventure, Roc'n'Rope, Super Cobra and Time Pilot eventually were released on the CV.

The Atari 5200 is so close to the Atari 8-bit that technically it probably had worked out. The 5200 didn't see as many Konami games as the ColecoVision did, though Gyruss and Super Cobra appeared on that format.

 

The Intellivision probably was the least likely of the major US consoles around 1983 to expect a home version of this game.

Perhaps there are prototypes tucked away in somebody's attic... but it's still interesting to imagine what could have been, versus what we got. Though I doubt porting the game would be too difficult if the systems are as similar as you say, I don't have the technical know how to do so and I doubt that Konami would allow a re-release, so no cartridges for us, even if somebody ported the games.

Homebrew version for the Atari 5200: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/222141-mistery-5200-game

CollectorVision version for the ColecoVision: http://cvaddict.com/profile.php?gameid=170

 

So while those versions didn't exist in 1983 and never have been commercially released, the game itself has in modern years been ported.

So while those versions didn't exist in 1983 and never have been commercially released, the game itself has in modern years been ported.

You amazing human being...

Just played it... I still don't like this game, though it's nice to see that this game still has a following.

A life without search engines is not a life worth living.

 

I can't recall if I came across Pooyan in my youth, or rediscovered it in the 21st century. In the past 5 years, I've spent a total of 76 minutes on it so not my first choice go-to game neither, though I kind of enjoy it in short sessions. Nearly all of that was the M5 version, which is inferior to the MSX version, which is pretty much similar or a little below the Famicom version.

A life without search engines is not a life worth living.

 

I can't recall if I came across Pooyan in my youth, or rediscovered it in the 21st century. In the past 5 years, I've spent a total of 76 minutes on it so not my first choice go-to game neither, though I kind of enjoy it in short sessions. Nearly all of that was the M5 version, which is inferior to the MSX version, which is pretty much similar or a little below the Famicom version.

But can we both agree that the 2600 version is probably the worst version of the game out there... Or is it possible that there is something worse?

Probably. The TRS-80 CoCo version doesn't look so hot, so the two could be contenders for the title.

Probably. The TRS-80 CoCo version doesn't look so hot, so the two could be contenders for the title.

I don't know... Despite it being in CGA it still has more detail than the 2600, and judging by the positioning of the wolves in the screenshot, the movement is smooth instead of segmented, it likely plays better than the Atari.

I just looked at some gameplay footage and it miles better than the 2600 version.

I bought this new. After the crash, probably in '84. Bargain bin at Kay•Bee toys.

 

I probably played it twice.

 

The box is nice.

I liked it at the arcade back in the day, also played it at home on my C= 64. The modern VIC-20 port is pretty good too.

 

I saw that the Wikipedia entry for Pooyan (any version including the arcade) used to say it was the "worst game in the world" but that wording has since been removed, probably because it could not be sourced or objectively claimed. Perhaps it was too strange for the US gamers, more used to straightforward space shooters and when it comes to obscurity would stop at Pac-Man and possibly Q*Bert.

 

There doesn't seem to have been a sequel, only partly remakes and clones. Now I am thinking about if there is a way to link together Pooyan with Butamaru Pants, both being contemporary Japanese games (though from different companies) featuring pigs as the protagonists.

Perhaps it was too strange for the US gamers, more used to straightforward space shooters

I think that argument is absolutely hilarious..."Oh no they wont like it because it's too weird" I feel the same thing goes for Europe, Have you ever read any of Grimm's Fairy Tales? There is actually a tale in there called Donkey Cabbages.. read the Wikipedia synopsis please, and tell me if we aren't sufficiently weird for Japan.

Pooyan is one of those games that doesn't cross my mind very often. It's interesting in that it was one of the few licensed arcade titles that appeared on the TRS-80 Color, but I think it's just okay as a game. The Atari VCS version is a good effort IMO.

Well, true about the Donkey Cabbages. I wonder if anyone has attempted to base a video game on it. Perhaps as a ColecoVision game, having some licenses to both Donkey Kong and Cabbage Patch Kids?

 

Technically, we don't have to look further than Alice in Wonderland for a fairly trippy story, though that is a story already well known in the Western world and thus would be received differently as a video game than something based on Grimm's fairy tales or Japanese fantasies and comics. As far as I can see, while there were a couple of computer games based on Alice in Wonderland, nothing for consoles until Fushigi no Yume no Alice for the TG-16 in 1990, followed by Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland for the Game Boy Color in 2000, which is very late and by when even the US customers would have gotten used to weird games. I don't think that Alice in Cyberland for the PlayStation in 1996 really counts here.