Penguin Adventure
Encyclopedia
is an action-adventure
platform video game
released by Konami
in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure
and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima
worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX
action games for its gameplay, depth, variety and rich pseudo-3D sprite-based graphics. The story follows Penta, a penguin
who has to bring home a golden apple in order to cure Penguette (Penko Hime in the Japanese version), the Penguin Princess.
This title significantly expanded upon the gameplay of Antarctic Adventure by most notably adding a greater variety of stages and enemies and RPG elements: boss fights, purchasable items, and several mini-games
. Items can be purchased through three different fisherman, in exchange for fish, that give Penta new abilities. One of the items that can be bought is a gun, which reflects the charactization Pentarou (Penta's son) will be given in his appearances in the Parodius series
. Level design and variety has increased from Antarctic Adventure; there are forest levels, ice levels, water-based levels, caves, and even an outer-space bonus level. There are several shortcuts, usually hidden underneath holes (which are typically harmful hazards) in the game, that allow the player to go on almost completely different paths. The game also featured multiple endings
, with the hidden good ending available when the player pauses the game a certain number of times.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
platform video game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure
Antarctic Adventure
Antarctic Adventure, known in Japan as Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibōken is a video game developed by Konami in 1983 for MSX, and later for video game consoles, such as NES...
and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima
is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011...
worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
action games for its gameplay, depth, variety and rich pseudo-3D sprite-based graphics. The story follows Penta, a penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
who has to bring home a golden apple in order to cure Penguette (Penko Hime in the Japanese version), the Penguin Princess.
This title significantly expanded upon the gameplay of Antarctic Adventure by most notably adding a greater variety of stages and enemies and RPG elements: boss fights, purchasable items, and several mini-games
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
. Items can be purchased through three different fisherman, in exchange for fish, that give Penta new abilities. One of the items that can be bought is a gun, which reflects the charactization Pentarou (Penta's son) will be given in his appearances in the Parodius series
Parodius series
The Parodius series is a series of horizontally-scrolling shooters developed by Konami. The games are tongue-in-cheek parodies of Gradius, hence the name...
. Level design and variety has increased from Antarctic Adventure; there are forest levels, ice levels, water-based levels, caves, and even an outer-space bonus level. There are several shortcuts, usually hidden underneath holes (which are typically harmful hazards) in the game, that allow the player to go on almost completely different paths. The game also featured multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
, with the hidden good ending available when the player pauses the game a certain number of times.