Pengo (c) 1982 Sega.
the Penguin is the eponymous star of the video game. The basic layout of is akin to that of Namco's legendary 'Pac-Man'; featuring, as it does, a top down, single screen, maze-like arrangement. 's enemies, the Sno-Bees, are also similar to the Blinky, Inky, Clyde etc. - the ghosts that pursued Pac-man; not least because Sno-bees also come in 4 different varieties, each represented by a different colour.
One aspect that distinguishes from the Namco classic is that the Maze itself is a wholly interactive environment. Each section of wall is represented as a block of ice, which can be pushed onto the Sno-bees to destroy them. The Sno-bees themselves will destroy the ice blocks as they move around each level, so speed is of the essence. Some of the blocks are 'Diamond blocks' which cannot be destroyed, and can be re-used by .
The outer wall of each level can also be utilized; if the player pushes against the wall when a Sno-bee is next to it, The Sno-bee will be temporarily stunned; allowing to move in for the kill.
- TECHNICAL -
Game ID : 834-0386
Main CPU : Z80 (@ 3.02 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 3-channel WSG (@ 96 Khz)
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 288 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.61 Hz
Palette colors : 32
Players : 2
Control : 4-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (PUSH)
- TRIVIA -
Released during September 1982. Developed by Coreland Technology.
makes a cameo appearance in "Up'n Down". If a player manages to pass the first 4 rounds in under a minute each, he will appear in the water of round 5 riding a surf-board.
Rodney Day holds the official record for this game with 1,110,370 points.
A bootleg of this game is known as "Penta".
- UPDATES -
(Set 2) draws its maze much more quickly and has snappy original music, whereas (Set 1)'s music is a copy of an instrumental pop song (Hot Butter - Popcorn - 1972).
- SCORING -
Vibrating a wall : 30 points.
Smashing an ice block : 30 points.
Smashing an ice block with a Sno-bee inside : 500 points.
Walking over a stunned Snow-bee : 100 points.
Killing a Snow-bee with an ice block : 400 points.
Killing two Snow-bees at once with one ice block : 1,600 points.
Killing three Snow-bees at once with one ice block : 3,200 points.
Killing four Snow-bees at once with one ice block : 6,400 points.
Lining up the three diamond blocks with none of them touching a wall : 10,000 points.
Lining up the three diamond blocks with one or more touching a wall : 5,000 points.
Completing screen in under 20 seconds : 5,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 20-29 seconds : 2,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 30-39 seconds : 1,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 40-49 seconds : 500 bonus points.
Completing screen in 50-59 seconds : 10 bonus points.
Completing screen in 60 seconds and over : no bonus points.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
* The last remaining Sno-bee on the screen will try to escape. If you do not kill it before it reaches one of the corners it will disappear.
* The indicator at the top of the screen tells you how many Sno-Bees are remaining on the level, including those still in ice blocks.
* At the start of each level some ice blocks will flash. This indicates that there is a Sno-Bee inside and you can destroy the ice block to kill the Sno-Bee before it emerges.
* When you kill the last Sno-bee you have a couple of seconds before the level ends. Use this time to crush an ice block for an extra 30 points.
* Concentrate your efforts on lining up the diamond blocks. The 10,000 points are the biggest single score in the game, and stunning all the Sno-bees is also a valuable side effect. You can then kill them easily by pushing ice blocks onto them rather than running over them (400 points as opposed to 100).
* Try to kill more than one Sno-bee at a time, as 2 or more together are worth more points than killing them individually.
* Easter Egg : Into attract mode, push the two joys to up, press the two action buttons and one button of start game, and it will show the credits of the game. After a few seconds, the game will reset. The wait can be stopped pushing the Start 1 button.
- SERIES -
1. (1982)
2. ! (2010)
- STAFF -
Designed & programmed by : Nobuo Kodera, Tsutomu Iwane, Akira Nakakuma, Shinji Egi
- PORTS -
* Consoles :
Atari 2600 (1983)
Atari 5200 (1983)
Atari XEGS
Sega Game Gear (1990)
Sega Saturn (1997, "Sega Memorial Selection Vol.1")
* Computers :
Atari 800 (1983)
Commodore C64 (1983)
Commodore C64 (1983, "Petch")
Tandy Color Computer (1983, "n")
Amstrad CPC (1986, "Troglo")
* Others :
LCD handheld game (1982) by Bandai.
VFD portable game (1983) by Bandai.
Mobile phones (2001)
- SOURCES -
Game's rom.
Machine's picture.