Doki Doki Penguin Land

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Doki Doki Penguin Land
System(s): Sega SG-1000, Arcade, MSX
Publisher: Sega Pony
Developer: Sega R&D 2
Licensor: Sega
Genre: Puzzle
Number of players: 1-2 (alternating)
Release Date RRP Code JP 1986-01 ¥? ? JP 1985-07 ¥4,8004,800 C-50 TW 198x JP 1985-11 ¥4,9004,900 R49X5805

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Doki Doki Penguin Land (どきどきペンギンランド) is a Sega SG-1000 puzzle game developed by Sega R&D 2 and published by Sega. First released in Japan in 1985, it was additionally brought to Taiwan, and saw a port to Japanese arcades and MSX personal computers.

A Sega Master System sequel, Doki Doki Penguin Land: Uchuu Daibouken, was later released in August 1987, where it was localized as Penguin Land.

Gameplay

The basic aim of Doki Doki Penguin Land is to guide an egg from the top of the screen to the bottom. To do so means digging downwards, making sure it does not smash in the process. As a puzzle-platformer, everything is affected by gravity, and if the egg falls from a great height, it will smash. Success is achieved by making your way down the playfield carefully.

You control a Adelie (アデリー) the penguin, guiding the egg to his girlfriend, Fairy (フェアリー). jumps, digs. Adelie can push the egg left or right, and can jump on it to make sure it doesn't get stuck against a wall. Digging affects the tile one block left (or right) and one block down away from the penguin's position, meaning it is impossible to dig straight downwards. If the egg gets into a position where it cannot be moved left or right, jumping and landing on it will cause it to smash.

Adelie cannot be damaged, but can be temporarily stunned, the objective being to protect the egg, not necessarily yourself. If the player leaves the screen from the bottom he/she will emerge from the top.

Common objects are as follows:

	Normal block
	Normal blocks hinder progress but can be smashed without any problems. Once gone, they never return.
	Solid block
	Solid blocks cannot be moved or altered in any way.
	Yellow block
	These yellow blocks will allow the egg to fall through, but not the penguin.
	Rock
	Rocks can be pushed around horizontally, but will fall if there is space below. They are the best tool for defeating enemies, but as they cannot be destroyed, can also double up as an obstacle. They can also be hit from above or below to help them fall.
	Heart
	Hearts merely add points. Some can be found within blocks.
	Gengou (ゲンゴウ)
	These polar bear creatures are the most common enemies, walking side to side along platforms. They will destroy eggs. They will fall down holes created by the penguin but will survive.
	Gengou (ゲンゴウ)
	These types of polar bear will wait on the edge of a block, jumping down if you are close.
	Nosora (ノソラ)
	These mole things will rise up from the ground and cannot be defeated. They only show up if you spend too much time in one place.

If the player gets to the bottom of the screen, he/she will be rewarded depending on the time it took to get there.

History

Development

Doki Doki Penguin Land was the first game to be designed by future president of Sega, Hisao Oguchi. The decision to use penguins stemmed from a series of popular television advertisements for Suntory Can Beer beginning in 1983, which used animated penguins (later known collectively as Penguin Family, and then Papipu Penguins). These penguins would prove popular enough to inspire a penguin craze in Japan, and alongside a range of merchandise, a feature-length animated film, Penguins Memory: Koufuku Monogatari would be released in 1985.

The game's name was inspired by the Japanese television show Waku Waku Doubutsu Land.

Legacy

Doki Doki Penguin Land is often considered by Sega to be a classic, even though it has rarely been seen outside of Japan. An arcade version was developed running on hardware derived from the SG-1000, and as such is largely identical to the home version. There was also an MSX port handled by Pony Canyon which is nearly identical also.

The game was released as part of Sega Ages Memorial Selection Vol.2 for the Sega Saturn as well as Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 23: Sega Memorial Selection (with an updated version available).

The game was followed by a Sega Master System sequel, known only as Penguin Land (known as Doki Doki Penguin Land: Uchuu Daibouken in Japan). Penguin Land was released worldwide, and is therefore the most remembered of the series. It was also followed by a third game, Doki Doki Penguin Land MD which was released on the Mega Drive in 1991 which did not leave Japan.

Production credits

SG-1000 version

• Planning: Hisao Oguchi
• Software: Matsuda (松田) (NOTE: Possibly Tatsuo Matsuda), Ito (伊藤)
• Sound: Tohru Nakabayashi
• Mori (森)

Source:

Uncredited

Arcade version

• Planning: Hisao Oguchi

Source:

Uncredited

Physical scans

Arcade version

Arcade, JP
Instuction card(s)

SG-1000 version

SG-1000, JP
Cover
Card Manual

SG-1000, TW

MSX version

MSX, JP
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 346556b9 MD5 79f15598828e697e75c65130262d8d94 SHA-1 f49c43b1f9a0b19ef5f30d9bf2b222af7aeb9fbf	32kB		Cartridge (JP)