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夢ペンギン物語
©Konami 1991
Release: 1991-01-25 (¥5800)
Cartridge KDS-U8
Action/shooting game
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Yume Penguin Monogatari is a side scrolling action game developed and published
by Konami. Penta, a cute blue penguin, has a tragic flaw - he really enjoys
eating. As a result, his girlfriend Penko left him for another fashionable penguin
called Ginji because, she thinks, he has become too chubby for her liking. And yet,
she decides to give him a second chance - if he manages to lose all this weight and keep it
off, then she will give all her love and attention to him. But the covetous Ginji
doesn't share the same sentiments and will do everything in his power to stop the poor flightless
seabird before he slims down. The premise of each level is fairly simple - Penta must
collect diet potions while avoiding snacks (in the shape of fruits and onigiris) within a
time limit in order to lose weight. A weight meter located at the bottom of the screen shows
how well Penta performs, and a heart indicates his current weight status. The meter
goes down each time Penta gobbles a snack or receives damage, and goes up each time
he collects a diet potion. If Penta fails to fill the weight meter to the level
indicated by the heart (which increases with each new level), then he will be in trouble
and will receive a chastising phone call from Penko, urging him to start the entire
level all over again... But the picture is not that bleak and the thinner Penta gets,
the more powerful he becomes. Although he is slow and can only kick his enemies at the
beginning of the game (or use a belly flop if he gets too fat), he is soon able to move faster
and use long-range chirp attacks, or gain temporary invincibility! Various items can also
be collected along the way, such as Clocks (adds time to the stage's time limit),
'A' icons (kill everything on the screen), 'H' icons (give Penta the
ability to fly) or 'M' icons (temporary invincibility). Yume Penguin Monogatari
consist of six long levels and cleverly alternates platforming and shooting action (where
Penta pilots a small pink airplane).
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Penta shares a family resemblance with Penguin, another popular
Konami character first introduced in Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibōken
(aka Antarctic Adventure) released for the MSX in 1983 (as well as
its sequel Yume Tairiku Adventure, aka Penguin Adventure, released for
the MSX in 1986). And it wouldn't be a bit of a stretch to say that they are the same
penguin indeed - interestingly Penta is spelled ペン太 in Japanese, and
the Kanji 太 apparently means something like 'fat', which, if
correct, would be a logical translation in the context of Yume Penguin Monogatari
tested here.
It may be pure coincidence, but a blue penguin virtually identical
to Penta first appeared in 1983 in a Japanese commercial to promote
Suntory's beer (picture on the upper right). The character became so popular that an animated
feature called Penguin Memories Shiawase Monogatari
was released in Japan in 1985 (picture on the middle right). Although the movie only stars cute
penguins (the main protagonist is a Vietnam War
penguin soldier named Mike), it has a serious
subject matter and exposes the consequences of war. Again, all of this may be pure
coincidence and information is rather thin - did Suntory
pay royalties to Konami to use their penguin, or did Konami
took inspiration from them ? But one thing is sure, Pentarō
is shown wearing a flak jacket in both Parodius Da! and
Gokujō Parodius! (the same
jacket Mike wears in Penguin Memories) which
may suggest a connection between the two...
Penta is also closely related to Pentarō, another blue penguin who
first appeared in the arcade game Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e released in
1990 - it is interesting to notice that the first Parodius game, released for
the MSX in 1988, doesn't feature Pentarō, but Penta. Although both
penguins are often regarded as the same character, Pentarō is also known as
the son of Penta and Penko (the same princess Penta rescues in
Penguin Adventure and who also stars in Yume Penguin Monogatari tested
here). Penta (aka Penguin) has been a recurring Konami character
and it appeared in countless games such as Konami's Ping Pong (arcade, 1985),
the cheat cartridges Konami Game Master (MSX, 1986) and
Konami Game Master 2 (MSX, 1988), Konami no Uranai Sensation (MSX, 1988),
Parodius Tako wa Chikyū o Sukū (MSX, 1988),
Konami Wai Wai World (Famicom, 1988), Hai no Majutsushi (MSX, 1989),
Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Jō (Famicom, 1991),
Tsurukki Penta (arcade, 1991) and so forth. Pentarō then replaced
Penta and stared in a myriad of other Konami games, such as
Parodius Da! Shinwa kara Owarai e (arcade, 1990),
Gokujō Parodius! Kako no Eikō o Motomete
(Arcade, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, 1994/1995), Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
(Super Famicom, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn, 1995/1996) or Paro Wars
(Sony Playstation, 1997) to only name a few. Finally, Penta and his pink
plane (from Yume Penguin Monogatari) can be unlocked in
Airforce Delta Blue Wing Knights (aka Airforce Delta Strike)
released for the Playstation 2 in 2004.
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An English patch for Yume Penguin Monogatari was released in 2006 by
Vice Translations. Interestingly the patch comes in two parts because
Konami included a copy protection routine in the game (if the
protection test fails, the game starts in an alternate mode where
Penta becomes instantly obese when he collects food, thus
making the game virtually impossible to play).
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Game Staff (Copied from the American version end credits) :
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Producers
Shinkon Inoue
Zappu Higashi
Artists
Batten Takaki
Gonzaresu Shindoo
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Music
Nazo Nazo Suzuki
Sukenomiya Fujio
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Helpers
Gurēto Yamada
Poēru Ogikubo
Pīdei Shimoide
Chirorian Kimura
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And Everyone Else...
Special Thanks to
Antonio Kido
Jyaionto Kitaue
©KONAMI 1991
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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Konami is a game company I have always held in high esteem. Gradius,
Contra, Castlevania, Twin Bee, Parodius are all timeless
classics that still tug at my nostalgia heartstrings. While many Konami games
became instant hits, others, such as Yume Penguin Monogatari, just flew under
the radar. And this Japan-only gem deserves your attention, not only for its ingenuity
and bizarre premise, but also for its undeniable technical qualities. How many games
feature a main character who can't technically die and whose only quest is to lose
weight? The game's premise is very original - although it has a "save your girlfriend"
type storyline, Konami reversed it on its head and Penta has to struggle mostly
against his own self in order to win her back. Genius. Then the game is wonderfully
executed (alas a bit short) and serves as a testament to Konami's exemplary craftsmanship. The
graphics are cute and colorful, the controls are generally responsive and the soundtrack
is pretty sweet. The levels are quite varied and inventive (with both shooting and
platform action stages!), and the bosses are pure awesomeness (although they are
easy to beat). I wonder why it was never released in the west, maybe Konami
thought that the game's subject and cuteness wouldn't appear to western audiences...
Although Yume Penguin Monogatari is not for everyone (its 'cuteness factor'
may scare away the hardcore gamer), it is an excellent action/platform game and a
hidden gem... unfortunately the game is quite rare to find these days, especially complete
and in good condition...
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