Chack'n Pop / Dig Dug / Flappy retrospective: The inside dirt | NES Works Gaiden
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- A real sense of deja vu this week as we look at three games that have all appeared on this channel in other versions. I would like to say that these iterations are all the superior works, but Mom taught me not to be a liar.
Now, this version of Dig Dug is far and away the best 8-bit home version ever published, an almost arcade-perfect rendition that captures both the broad strokes and the tiny little details that made it a classic (vexing enemy A.I.! Musical walking!). And Flappy is much better on Famicom than it was on Game Boy, its one major downside moving that it moves more quickly to the point of almost being TOO fast.
Chack'n Pop, though. That's a tough one. In terms of looks and animation, this version is much slicker than the SG-1000 release. But in terms of gameplay, it's weirdly worse. The levels have all been redesigned in unfortunate ways, ramping up the difficulty quickly and demanding almost expert-level play right from the start. I suppose for Chack'n Pop pros, this would be the equivalent of Championship Lode Runner, but how many kids out there in 1985 were demanding a hyper-challenging variant of this game!?
Production notes:
SG-1000 footage captured from a combination of Sega SG-1000 II with (with Card Catcher) and @analogueinc Mega Sg with card adapter module and DAC. Vintage hardware mods courtesy of @iFixRetro. NES/Famicom footage captured from @analogueinc Nt Mini Noir. Video upscaled to 720 with @retrotink339 5X.
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6:38 “You define the maze yourself with the choices you make as you dig.”
I could easily see that on a motivational poster.
Love it. Sure beats the cat hanging off the tree branch!
The thing about Flappy is it's the first Famicom game that was 512 kilobits. The previous largest games were Xevious and Soccer which were at 320 kilobits and every other game to that point was 192 kilobits. That's part of why it boasted 240 levels on the box; it had to justify the high price for the game. It retailed for 5500 yen when no other game to that point had broken the 5000 yen barrier. That seems to have worked since Japanese fans noted the high price but still considered the game worth it.
It's been 0 days since Jeremy has mentioned Sokoban
A tip for Dig Dug I’ve appreciated over time is holding a direction while firing repeatedly the harpoon at an enemy, and not actually standing to pump. They inflate each time it hits them, and can be dealt with significantly faster with that in mind.
(Learned that from Dig Dug 2!)
Dig Dug is one of those games I just assumed came to the NES in the states because of how many other ports there were. It was a trip realizing it never did.
The arcade version of Chack’n Pop is included on the PS2/Xbox Taito Legends 2 disc - possibly the best arcade collection ever released.
Dig Dug, so timeless that Japan references the dig-through-dirt-to-drop-boulders mechanic to this day in media.
Amazing that they still use it as their method for selecting Prime Ministers
"The review for Chack'n Pop on Famicom is just a two word review: Chack'n Poop."
"They can't print that, can they? You can't print that!"
Yeah, advantage SG-1000 for Chack 'N Pop,the better version of that game to be released that month. Dig Dug is fun and a good start to the Mr. Driller universe. And Flappy reminds us that Video Works stalwart frenemy Sokoban never really is that far away.
I only knew Dig Dug from the 2600 port and my mind was blown to see the arcade, with graphics that actually resembled the art on the cartridge. That moment also seared the cabinet's art into my brain.
The strange gravity in Flappy used to bother me, until I saw the Sharp x68000 sequel which (retroactively?) explains that the game takes place on an incline, which Flappy and enemies can traverse in any direction while boulders roll downward. Also just interesting to see when a franchise had such a life in Japan but no presence here.
Flappy was dB-SOFT's claim to fame on Japanese PCs, balanced out by their infamous Macadamia Soft erotic games. Not hard to see why Flappy was beloved, as it essentially combined Sokoban with more typical action/maze game mechanics. The game saw plenty of ports and re-releases, plus the X68k sequel of course.
Considering how close Mr. Do is to Dig Dug, I still haven't found a definitive answer about if both games were inspired by the same concept from elsewhere, or if one company copied the other, or that they simply had coincidentally the same ideas. I prefer Mr. Do over Dig Dug because it's just quicker and there's a lot more action to it. Dig Dug is a little troddy/ploddy and Mr. Do feels like a proper action game.
I have a soft spot for Mr. Do and would buy it on a modern console if released, bur DD is definitely a more polished game. Game companies shamelessly ripped off each other back then. It was a more innocent time.
Mr. Do! Also score points for (possibly) being the first gender fluid game character... Although that aspect was not explored until 1995's Neo Mr. Do!
I like them both. They each have their own vibe, with Mr. Do! being faster and more urgent, and Dig Dug being more relaxing and straightforward, but I'm glad they exist as two sides of the same coin.
I would also argue that Mr. Do! has more gameplay dynamics and depth compared to Dig Dug. My only issue with it from a game design perspective is that the increasing cooldown for the bouncing ball doesn't feel that elegant.
The EXTRA lives system is great along with the food item mechanic that stops all the red monsters but also spawns the more aggressive blue monsters and an alpha monster. Kill the alpha monster and all of the blue monsters turn into apples that can fall on the red monsters for more bonus points. It allows for a lot of strategic play.
It's funny how much I scoffed at the game when I was a kid - "just a Dig Dug clone with a dumb clown". Only later as an adult did I find out just how good the game is.
@@Zeffarian Yeah, this is the 'faster action' gameplay I enjoy. Some parts feel clumsy, but at the same time not so clumsy as to ruin the entire experience. I personally like the score chasing aspect of consecutive fruit chasing vs. kill all enemies of Dig Dug. Keeping the attack limited feels a more 'true' follow on to the pac man paradigm.
Also, the ability for the ball to go around corners makes that dynamic both strategic and personally for me, more fun. I end up in Dig Dug doing the 'rapid pump' which is to hold a direction while pushing the pump button which 'short cuts' the entire strategic element of the game that blowing up an enemy requires pausing the player to do so at a steady rate of pumping. In all versions (that are accurate) of the game, hold direction toward enemy and mash the pump button is a short cut to rapid kills. Obviously Namco knew this was in the game and intended it as a late stage strategy for both high score and survival but it does make for rather lopsided game play in the early stages, at least for me.
Idk, just some thoughts. I think both games are great, but personally, I do prefer Mr. Do.
Your videos give me new appreciation for and understanding of the classics. It's almost like seeing the games for the first time again. Thank you.
Dig Dug, along with Galaga and Ms Pac-Man is an all-time arcade classic
I hadn't really thought about it, but Dig Dug is pretty mechanically elaborate for an arcade game developed in 1981.
What was it with characters from Japanese One-Screen Maze Puzzle Platformers looking the same? Chak'n, Nuts and Milk and even leading into things like Adventures of Lolo all have the same vibes. Is it just a natural design evolution of Pac-Man being just a circle?
Easier to fit a circular hero into one meta-sprite on Famicom than cram in a more humanoid design, especially on these earlier, smaller cartridges. The same principle goes for most maze games of the time, even in arcades. And there's the fact that kawaii designs like these have an innate appeal, so everyone tried to do their own spin on it.
These are so fun to watch with a coffee and biscuit.
Dig Dug was a ♥️ favorite from my Famiclone 60-pin multicarts back in the day
Idk if the camera quality is a purposeful choice or just a limitation, but please, never change it.
It gives me that classic 2008-12 TH-cam aesthetic I've been missing for years
It's a purposeful choice to make the videos match the retro feel of the games he talks about
I find it's best to rapidly tap the pump button and a direction of the joystick in concert to clear away multiple foes in Dig Dug. That way you can get rid of the monsters quickly without being frozen in place, or committing yourself to destroying just one individual in the cluster. This strategy isn't airtight, though, and the Fygar's fiery breath complicates matters somewhat.
You're right at any rate... Dig Dug is a darned good game. Even the lesser ports tend to be a lot of fun, and the NES/Famicom version is the best home conversion you were going to get in the 1980s. It's a shame we Americans got Dig Dug II instead, which attempts to bring the action above ground but winds up being more confusing than compelling. Which island am I going to sink again? Oh, the one I'm currently standing on... lovely. And don't even get me started on Dig Dug: Digging Strike.
Haha, I remember my father always switching the channel in that Goonies scene, and because of that, I grew up thinking "tongue" was a naughty word.
Turns out he was just shielding me from violent scenes or allusion of violence.
Figures!
I always thought that "Chac'n Pop ¡" meant "chack and pop", and assumed that the little bird was called Chack, while that disguisting potato like thing was Pop. This is a game that we all had in Argentina
I'm guessing "Chack'n" is a cutesy variation of chicken, while "Pop" refers to his bombs
Por fin alguien de Argentina que reconoce que Chack n Pop existió.
@@raulbargas5021 es que estaba en todos los multiples! creo que con suerte pase el nivel 1 que juego jodido...
@@nicocucsi si, el juego era insoportablemente difícil. Y ahora sabemos porque. Muchas gracias, Tose...
DigDug is such a horrifying villain, invading the homes of the poor little Fygars and Pookas, harpooning them, then inflating them to death.
Great vid as always! I'm really enjoying the journey through Famicom releases. Some months ago I tried playing Dig Dug to see what the fuss was about only to discover the harsh truth that I'm terrible at it lol
Also today on NES Works Gaiden: the debut of Namco’s Famicom-era game packaging.
Yeah, those clamshells appear to have come into circulation in 1986... maybe after Nintendo and Namco had their falling out and the latter started acting out? Dig Dug was originally released in the small cardboard box; this version is a reissue/later release.
@@JeremyParish in any case, it just goes to show how much of a trail-blazer Namco was.
@@JeremyParish Namco stopped using the tiny cardboard boxes when they stopped numbering their carts with #18, Sky Kid. The first clamshell case was Super Xevious which released a month later in September of 1986 and that's what they used for everything going forward.
Given the circumstances, my assumption was they were looking for a trade dress that stood out more on the shelves. Mappy Land a few months after that was the first to use their striped spine that Namco stuck with until around '90.
Another excellent video jeremy. The only game I never played out of these three would definitely be flicky, but strangely enough the only opportunity that I ever had to play Crack'n Pop and Dig Dug was on the bootleg multicarts that I use get at my video rental store in the late 80;s to early 90's. Even to this day I'm still a big fan of Dig Dug, and it's one of those quintessential arcade classics that I'll always find time to play.
I've always sucked at Dig Dug, and I've played it since it hit arcades in the US. Also, I never would have thought that he shot a "harpoon" at the enemies. For whatever reason, I thought it was a sharp nozzle of some sort lol.
Dang, there was some solid Dig Dug play in that B-Roll. I'm trash at it so it's nice to see 😎
Dig Dig is also the first ever video game divorcee too!
I only believe this because you're the one saying it. With anyone else I'd be thinking 'surely some weird British home computer game would've done that', but no, Larry would make it his business to know if there was a game about a divorcee on the ZX Spectrum.
@@EinDose Well, co-first divorcee, as you need two people to be divorced. He was married to the main character in the game, Baraduke according to Namco lore.
(did a piece about it in my book :P)
No lost love between him and Kissy, it seems. I bristled slightly at Taizo being turned into a Dan Hibiki-like loser in Dig Dug: Digging Strike, but eh, what are you gonna do.
"Next time: More games that we've already seen before." I think that's the best argument for returning to NES Works instead of following multiple consoles that share many of the same titles.
I like that we're getting additional context like Hyper Olympics having a weird controller to go along with the constant button mashing. I have a feeling NES Works on Adventure Island and Milon's Secret Castle are coming soon.
I’m not taking notes on my coverage. You’ll live.
I wonder if Chack'n inspired the mechanics for the Metal Storm mech.
5:07 I'm pretty sure Dig Dug *is* a spaceman, and a member of the Galaga organization according to the lore.
7:06 Not exactly, most versions allow you to cancel the pump by just walking forward, which pumps them much quicker than remaining stationary. It allows for some pretty tight escapes when you have a horde of enemies chasing you. If you're skilled enough with your pathing, you can rapidly turn around, pump, and continue moving forward to gain ground on your enemies
When I read "Flappy" I truly thought this was gonna be about Flappy Bird
If it helps, there are unlicensed Flappy Bird ports on the Sega Megadrive. Not really relevant to anything here, but I thought it was worth saying.
The thing I always thought was most memorable about Dig Dug (having first experienced it on the Game Boy well into the nineties) was how the background music only plays while you're moving, as if you're somehow producing it with your movement.
monsta time!
The Goonies tho~
I had all those in a Family 90 games cartridge
Chack'n Pop was scary to me when I was a kid. Especially when you run out of time and the whole screen goes black. Oh, and those whale-like monsters.
Are you gonna be doing Famicom videos up until the release of the NES or will you be continuing up through the entire lifespan?
Oh lord, the former. The full run would kill me
Is it as painful to push boulders as opposed to blocks?
Was Mr. Do one the NES or Famicom. I love that game... Dig Dug... never really played it.
Mr. Do! was on the Super Famicom / SNES, don't know of any other (official) home ports. There was a clone of Mr. Do! called Digger on PC, not to be confused with Digger on Amiga (a DigDug clone) or Digger on DOS (a Boulderdash clone).
I’ve played a good deal of Dig Dug, but not on NES, rather via the Namco Museum on GBA. Despite the screen resolution crunch, that one ostensibly is supposed to be more arcade accurate
The ever-dependable touhou romhack
Doh!! haha, 8:29
It's nitpicky, but something that always annoyed me about Famicom DigDug is that there is no blue sky above ground (or this version takes place at night) - an issue none of the Atari system ports had.
Before bubble bobble
Dig Dug.
While most of the games on the Chinese multicarts my mom brought home were....filler
Dig Dug, Flipull and Devil World all seemed better than average.
Never could figure out Q-taro or some of the others
I was not expecting to see something like "Macadam" in this video, what the hell am I looking at?
Smut
The same kind of erotic games Koei made before hitting it big time with Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other classics.
silly little games like this just aren't made anymore
Nintendo should have released those three games in the first place. 😀👍🎮