Yuyuki
Encyclopedia
, often simply titled as , is a text-based adventure
video game title developed by Nintendo EAD
and Pax Softnica
and published by Nintendo
exclusively in Japan
for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the second of the Famicom Mukashibanashi series, following the release of Shin Onigashima
.
The driving force behind the series, Tatsuya Hishida of Nintendo EAD
, was responsible for directing the game, creating the characters, and crafting the story line. The game consists of two disks, released on October 14, 1989 and November 14, 1989 respectively.
, where two main characters, Goku and Chao, embark upon separate journeys to find one another.
In Yuyuki, the "Change Character" command can switch between a maximum of five different characters. However, there are very few points in the game where it can actually be used to such extent. Its main use is to switch between Goku and the others accompanying him. Like Shin Onigashima, the character in use can greatly affect the descriptive text shown on screen, and the significant increase in number of characters allowed for more variety in each scene. It is possible to enjoy the game by viewing the reactions towards choosing completely unrelated characters or commands in certain situations.
While Shin Onigashima demanded rather complex puzzle-solving abilities, Yuyuki mainly focuses on having the player carefully read and understand the story-line. Puzzles are solved easily in this game, and very few choices actually lead to a "game over" screen. Easy trivia questions and simple action gameplay emerge at certain points, and players may find themselves searching for the obvious answer on screen more often than thinking hard to solve the puzzle at hand.
Main changes in gameplay from Shin Onigashima include the implementation of the "Ittaisan" command, which saves progress at any point during the game, and faster animation of game text. The shortening in load time after choosing commands, and an overall decrease in difficulty allowed Yuyuki to run at a much quicker tempo than its predecessor.
. One night, a meteor fell near Chao's home, which burst open to reveal a monkey inside. Chao named the monkey "Goku," and took care of him for a while. However, Goku is led away and imprisoned by Oshakasama for the various crimes he has committed, and Chao sets off to find the "Gavel of Light" in order to save him. Several years later, the world is put under peril at the hands of the bull-monster Gyumaou, and Goku is called upon to save the world...
. Descriptions given here may differ significantly with that of the actual novel.
The player has the option of choosing different names for Goku and Chao at the start of the game. The "Change Character" command can be used with the first five characters listed below.
Goku
Chao
Sanzo
Hakkai
Gojo
Gyumaou
Oshakasama
Rasetsujo
Kougaiji
Kinkaku & Ginkaku
Kumojijii (Cloud Geezer)
Katyusha
Sunajijii (Sand Geezer)
Gyudon store owner
Gyudon store owner's daughter
Dancing people
Ittaisan
, located in India
)such as Japan
, Hawaii
and Siberia
. The most striking part was the commercial's jingle
; the developers employed a strange song of no particular meaning that chanted the names of the main characters. This was the last Disk System game advertised on television.
and Game Boy Advance
, no talk of porting or remaking Yuyuki for other systems has ever emerged. The explanation given was that the game lacked proper copyright clearance from developers and writers, but this explanation is dubious because Shin Onigashima was created by the same company and staff. The Disk System's rewriting service ended in September, 2003, but rewriting for Yuyuki was terminated a year earlier in October, 2002.
series. The appearances do not add to the game's storyline, but they play key roles in finishing each game.
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
video game title developed by Nintendo EAD
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
, commonly abbreviated as EAD, is the largest division inside Nintendo. It was preceded by the , a team of designers with an art background responsible for many different tasks, which Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka originally belonged to...
and Pax Softnica
Pax Softnica
is a Japanese video game developer founded in 1983 under the name Image Soft and based in Kanagawa, Japan. Pax Softnica developed strong ties with Nintendo, and was hired often as a subcontracted programmer to work with Nintendo EAD and Nintendo R&D1 on several games published on Nintendo consoles....
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
exclusively in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the second of the Famicom Mukashibanashi series, following the release of Shin Onigashima
Shin Onigashima
, often simply referred to as , is a video game title developed by Nintendo EAD and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo. It was first released on two disk cards for the Family Computer Disk System. The first disk was released on September 4, 1987, while the second disk was released September 30,...
.
The driving force behind the series, Tatsuya Hishida of Nintendo EAD
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
, commonly abbreviated as EAD, is the largest division inside Nintendo. It was preceded by the , a team of designers with an art background responsible for many different tasks, which Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka originally belonged to...
, was responsible for directing the game, creating the characters, and crafting the story line. The game consists of two disks, released on October 14, 1989 and November 14, 1989 respectively.
Gameplay
Yuyuki is an adventure game played by choosing from several text commands shown on screen. It resembles its predecessor, Shin Onigashima, in its implementation of the "Change Character" command, usage of traditional Japanese fairytales, and general screen layout and appearance. The story-line is a parody of the Chinese legend Journey to the WestJourney to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, where two main characters, Goku and Chao, embark upon separate journeys to find one another.
In Yuyuki, the "Change Character" command can switch between a maximum of five different characters. However, there are very few points in the game where it can actually be used to such extent. Its main use is to switch between Goku and the others accompanying him. Like Shin Onigashima, the character in use can greatly affect the descriptive text shown on screen, and the significant increase in number of characters allowed for more variety in each scene. It is possible to enjoy the game by viewing the reactions towards choosing completely unrelated characters or commands in certain situations.
While Shin Onigashima demanded rather complex puzzle-solving abilities, Yuyuki mainly focuses on having the player carefully read and understand the story-line. Puzzles are solved easily in this game, and very few choices actually lead to a "game over" screen. Easy trivia questions and simple action gameplay emerge at certain points, and players may find themselves searching for the obvious answer on screen more often than thinking hard to solve the puzzle at hand.
Main changes in gameplay from Shin Onigashima include the implementation of the "Ittaisan" command, which saves progress at any point during the game, and faster animation of game text. The shortening in load time after choosing commands, and an overall decrease in difficulty allowed Yuyuki to run at a much quicker tempo than its predecessor.
Plot
Once upon a time, a little girl named Chao lived in a small village in ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. One night, a meteor fell near Chao's home, which burst open to reveal a monkey inside. Chao named the monkey "Goku," and took care of him for a while. However, Goku is led away and imprisoned by Oshakasama for the various crimes he has committed, and Chao sets off to find the "Gavel of Light" in order to save him. Several years later, the world is put under peril at the hands of the bull-monster Gyumaou, and Goku is called upon to save the world...
Characters
The links labeled "see also" are articles for each character in Journey to the WestJourney to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. Descriptions given here may differ significantly with that of the actual novel.
The player has the option of choosing different names for Goku and Chao at the start of the game. The "Change Character" command can be used with the first five characters listed below.
Goku
- The hero of the game. Rough, rude, and often selfish, he attempted to take over heaven with Gyumaou, but was caught and exiled to a far corner of the world by Oshakasama. He learns the importance of kindness and diligence through his travels with Chao (see also: Sun WukongSun WukongSun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...
).
Chao
- The heroine of the game. She enjoys reading romance novels, and often dreams of idealized love relationships. Her parents have already died, and she begins her journey to save Goku; her only remaining "family" member. She is an innocent and kind-hearted individual.
Sanzo
- A lecherous, lazy, and unhygienic monk. He travels to TenjikuIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in search of a scroll containing the "Philosophy of Enjoying Life Without Working." He rides on a scooterScooter (motorcycle)A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
named "Ryukichi," and has a habit of adding "-nandana" to the end of his sentences (see also: XuanzangXuanzang (fictional character)The fictional character Xuanzang is a central character of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.For most of the novel he is known as Táng-sānzàng, the title Sānzàng referring to his mission to seek the Sānzàngjīng, the "Three Collections of Scriptures"...
).
Hakkai
- A greedy pig youkaiYōkaiare a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
with a never-ending appetite. He speaks in Kansai dialect, and has transformation and clairvoyanceClairvoyanceThe term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
abilities. He was a petty criminal before being beaten up by Goku. Like Sanzo, he joins the journey to discover the "Philosophy of Enjoying Life Without Working" (see also: Zhu BajieZhu BajieZhu Bajie, also named Zhu Wuneng, is one of the three helpers of Xuanzang in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. He is called "Pigsy" or "Pig" in many English versions of the story....
).
Gojo
- A kappa capable of reading minds. He joins the group because he is dissatisfied with his current life. He exhibits a discreet personality most of the time, but is actually an alcoholic (see also: Sha WujingSha WujingShā Wùjìng is one of the three disciples of Xuánzàng in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, although versions of his character predate the Ming novel. In the novels, his background is the least developed of the pilgrims and he contributes the least to their efforts...
).
Gyumaou
- A cold and ruthless bull youkaiYōkaiare a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
bent upon taking over the entire world. He was banished from the Earth ages ago along with Goku, but managed to return and restart his evil plans.
Oshakasama
- The peacekeeper of the heavens. Appears on occasion to give advice to Chao and Sanzo on keeping Goku on the righteous path and defeating Gyumaou (see also: Guanyin).
Rasetsujo
- Gyumaou's wife. Rumored to be extremely beautiful, but her actual features are horrifically ugly. Wields a fan with magical properties (see also: Princess Iron FanPrincess Iron FanPrincess Iron Fan is a fictional character from the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West. She is the wife of the Bull King and mother of Red Boy. She is a beautiful goddess living in an underground cave awaiting her husband's return, but also angry at him for his affair with a foxy vixen...
).
Kougaiji
- The son of Gyumaou and Rasetsujo. Arrogant and big-mouthed, but pathetically weak in terms of fighting ability (see also: Red BoyRed BoyRed Boy was a character featured in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Red Boy was also known as the Boy Sage King , and had been the son of Princess Iron Fan and the Bull Demon King, a former sworn brother of Sun Wukong...
).
Kinkaku & Ginkaku
- A pair of thugs that terrorize Onna Village. They are employed by Gyumaou, and lure potential victims into participating in their trivia contest.
Kumojijii (Cloud Geezer)
- A master of martial arts living on BorschtBorschtBorscht is a soup of Ukrainian origin that is popular in many Eastern and Central European countries. In most of these countries, it is made with beetroot as the main ingredient, giving it a deep reddish-purple color...
Mountain in SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Over 300 years of age.
Katyusha
- Kumojijii's girlfriend. Kidnapped by Gyumaou and his cronies.
Sunajijii (Sand Geezer)
- The younger brother of Kumojijii living in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Spends most of his life living underneath sand.
Gyudon store owner
- The owner of a gyūdonGyudon, , is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with dashi , soy sauce and mirin . It also often includes shirataki noodles, and is sometimes topped with a raw egg...
store located on the Hawaiian beach. His daughter is kidnapped by Rasetsujo.
Gyudon store owner's daughter
- The kidnapped daughter of the gyudon store owner. She is imprisoned in the Gyumaou Hotel.
Dancing people
- A deranged group of people dancing in the streets of TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Ittaisan
- The game's narrator and only returning character from Shin Onigashima.
Television commercial
An odd commercial for the game was aired prior to its release, featuring real-life versions of the main characters (all wearing sunglasses) visiting various locations by plane in a "Tenjiku Tour" (Tenjiku is the final destination in Journey to the WestJourney to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
, located in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)such as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. The most striking part was the commercial's jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
; the developers employed a strange song of no particular meaning that chanted the names of the main characters. This was the last Disk System game advertised on television.
Port issues
While Shin Onigashima was ported to the Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, no talk of porting or remaking Yuyuki for other systems has ever emerged. The explanation given was that the game lacked proper copyright clearance from developers and writers, but this explanation is dubious because Shin Onigashima was created by the same company and staff. The Disk System's rewriting service ended in September, 2003, but rewriting for Yuyuki was terminated a year earlier in October, 2002.
Yuyuki and Kirby's Dream Land
Goku and Chao made cameo appearances in the Kirby's Dream LandKirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Land, known as in Japan, is a 1992 third party developed platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America. It is both the first video game...
series. The appearances do not add to the game's storyline, but they play key roles in finishing each game.
- Chao appears in Kirby's Dream Land 2Kirby's Dream Land 2Kirby's Dream Land 2, known as in Japan, is a platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console...
, which was released in 1995. The player's progress is shown in percentage on the menu screen in this game, and the only way to reach 100% is to rescue Chao from a certain mini-boss. The picture shown on the sound test screen is a parody of a scene in Yuyuki. - Both Goku and Chao appear in Kirby's Dream Land 3Kirby's Dream Land 3Kirby's Dream Land 3, known as in Japan, is the fifth platformer video game starring Kirby. Specifically, it is the third game under the Kirby's Dream Land name. Although the first two games were largely unrelated, Dream Land 3 features many similar characters to Dream Land 2...
, released in 1998. Finding Goku and Chao on a certain level awards the player an item needed to defeat the final boss of the game.
See also
- Shin OnigashimaShin Onigashima, often simply referred to as , is a video game title developed by Nintendo EAD and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo. It was first released on two disk cards for the Family Computer Disk System. The first disk was released on September 4, 1987, while the second disk was released September 30,...
- Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de...Time Twist: Rekishi no Katasumi de...is a text-based adventure game developed by Pax Softnica under Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System in 1991. The game was never released outside of Japan....
- Famicom Bunko: Hajimari no MoriFamicom Bunko: Hajimari no Moriis a text-based adventure game developed by Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo released only in Japan for the Super Famicom. It was released only on the Nintendo Power cartridge rewriting service, which ended on February 28, 2007.-Background:...