ChuChu Rocket!

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ChuChu Rocket!

System(s): Sega Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, Mobile, PlaySega
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB ELSPA USK OFLC SELL

ChuChu Rocket! is a puzzle game developed by Sonic Team. Originally written for the Dreamcast, it was then ported onto the Game Boy Advance. The game was the first popular game with online mode support for any major video game console. The game was later given away free with every Dreamcast as a demonstration of its online abilities, and also given away free to European console owners, who could order a copy by connecting to the Dreamarena online service with the Dreamcast browser.

The Game Boy Advance release of ChuChu Rocket! featured the same gameplay as the original Dreamcast release, complete with single-cartridge multiplayer gameplay across multiple GBAs. The original 100 puzzle levels were included, as well as 2,500 user-submitted levels from the online service. This version's level editor is capable of creating levels for 4Player Battle, Team Battle, Stage Challenge and Puzzle mode. Numerous new features and effects were added to the GBA version as well, some taking advantage of each player having their own screen.

ChuChu Rocket was ported by AirPlay for mobile phones (first available in 30 September, 2006); this version is also available at PlaySega (subscribers only).

Story

In a far away time on a far away planet, there is a space port where thousands of ChuChus live. The ChuChus lived happily until one day when the Space Port became infested with KapuKapus. Since the KapuKapus will eat the ChuChus if they catch them, the ChuChus must ran away and escape in rockets.

Gameplay

Just like the story suggests, the objective of the game is to guide one or more ChuChus around the stage into a rocket, while avoiding the KapuKapus that stalk the stage or any holes on the floor.

Chuchus run in a straight line, will turn right when hitting a wall head on, follow corners and turn around when in a dead end. KapuKapus move exactly the same hut slower. If they hit any ChuChus they will eat them, no matter how many and if they hit a rocket they will damage it and one third of the total amount of ChuChus is lost.

To control the directions both ChuChus and KapuKapus go, the player can set four directional arrows (colour coded for each player: blue, yellow, red and green) on the floor and any of them passing through will follow said direction. Though any number of ChuChus can pass through an arrow, KapuKapus can only hit one twice (the first shrinks it and the second vanishes it). Eventually, the arrows also disappear past some time (they will flash first) and only three arrows can be placed without the older one disappearing. Both ChuChus and KapuKapus will disappear if they fall on a hole but they will spawn at their correspondent colour coded hatches (blue for ChuChus, red for KapuKapus) and only a set number of ChuChus and KapuKapus can be at a stage (at least one KapuKapu is always present for example).

There are three different species of ChuChus. The blue and white ChuChus are very common throughout the game but there are other two special as wel. There’s a pink and red “?” ChuChu that will randomly select a different gameplay option when hitting a rocket.

Mouse Mania - All KapuKapus disappear and large numbers of ChuChus pour out from their hatches.
Cat Mania - All ChuChus and KapuKapus disappear, and then KapuKapus will come out from their hatches (only four at once).
Speed Up - All ChuChus and KapuKapus move more quickly.
Speed Down - All ChuChus and KapuKapus move more slowly.
Place Arrows Again - All the arrows disappear and the game pauses for a few seconds.
Mouse Monopoly - ChuChus flood into the player's rocket.
Cat Attack - A KapuKapu hits each of the other player's rockts.
Everybody Move - The rockets switch places randomly.

There's also a “50” yellow ChuChu that gives a total of fifty ChuChus to the counter.

Modes of play

4-Player Battle: In this mode the player can battle a stage up with a maximum of three other players. The objective is to save as many ChuChus as possible by directing them to a rocket within the time limit. Obciously, the player with the biggest score, that is equal to the number of ChuChus saved, will win the stage. The player can also choose the number of points needed to win the match, which correspond to the number of stages one player wins.
Team Battle: In this mode the players are split into two teams (blue and red team and yellow and green team). The team who collects the most ChuChus within the time limit wins.
Stage Challenge: In this mode there’s a set task given per stage to complete, within a thirty seconds time limit. There are no special ChuChus and a second player can help as well. The objectives of stages A and B is to get all of the Chu-Chus into the rocket, C to have the KapuKapu eat all of the ChuChus, D to get 100 Chu-Chus into the rocket and E to play Cat Football which is hitting the oponent's rocket with a KapuKapu to win. There's a final stage which plays like Battle Mode, and which objective is to lead one hundred ChuChus to a rocket before the CPU does.
Puzzle: In this mode the player has to guide all of the ChuChus to a rocket, while managing to avoid KapuKapus and holes, that along with KapuKapus hitting a rocket is a level failure. As an addiction, there’s a pre set number and directions of arrows the player can set and everything must be set before the stage starts playing, where the player can't input anything else. There are three levels of diddiculty: normal, special and mania, the latter levels getting unlocked as the former are completed.
Puzzle Edit: In this mode the player is free to make their own puzzles. After completing the custom stage once, the player can save and upload them on the net and any other player can download and play them as well.
Network: Though not a mode per se, the player is able to battle with others online (up to four), chat using the a keyboard (virtual or physical), download or upload games, access the ChuChu rocket homepage (when it existed, anyway), see various informations including the Stage Challenge records.

After beating some of these modes, the following characters are unlocked: Chao and Nightopians. It's also possible to download other characters. There are also eight wallpapers hidden on the disc.

Trivia

The GBA port of ChuChu Rocket was the first game Sega released on a system that wasn't made by Sega.
In Sonic Battle, Tails' landmine appears to be a ChuChu. The Skill Card describing the landmine gives its name as the "ChuChu Rocket".

Also Released On

2 in 1: Sonic Advance & ChuChu Rocket! for the Game Boy Advance (2005)
2 in 1: Sonic Battle & ChuChu Rocket! for the Game Boy Advance (2005)

Production Credits (DC Version)

Exective Supervisor: Isao Okawa
Exective Producers: Tetsu Kayama, Hideki Sato
Producer/Director: Yuji Naka
Main Planner: Takafumi Kaya

Sega Corporation

Language Support: Shinobu Shindo
Package & Manual: Kaoru Ichigozaki, Makoto Nishino, Eiichi Ogawa, Luke Valentine, Toshiki Yamaguchi
Marketing: Hideki Okamura, Seijiro Sannabe, Kenichi Sato, Kunihisa Ueno
Web Engineers: Daisuke Mori, Takaaki Saito
Promotion: Kenji Kato, Masatoshi Kawaguchi, Hiroto Kikuchi, Takeshi Shimizu, Mitsuru Takahashi
Publicity: Hiromichi Hisada, Yasunobu Masahiro, Yasushi Nagumo, Tadashi Takezaki, Junichi Yamazaki
Color Controller Made By: Toshinori Date, Kazuhiko Hamada, Takashi Koakutsu, Kenji Tosaki, Kiwamu Uemura
Created By: Sonic Team
Published By: Sega

Production Credits (GBA Version)

Producer/Director: Yuji Naka
Main Planner: Takafumi Kaya

Design Section

Art Director: Yuji Uekawa
Game Object Designer: Tomonori Dobashi
Designer: Masatoshi Yasumura

Program Section

Main Progeammer: Takahiro Hamano
Programmer: Masahiro Wakayama
Computer Alogorithm: Yasuhiro Takahashi

Sound Section

Sound Designed By: Wave Master
Sound Producer: Shigeharu Isoda
Sound Creators: Masaru Setsumaru, Hideki Abe, Tomoya Ohtani

Puzzles Section

User Puzzles: Chu Chu Rocket! Players
Puzzle Editors: Takafumi Kaya, Yojiro Ogawa, Shun Nakamura, Ryuichi Ishiguro, Kenjiro Morimoto, Kenichi Fujiwara, Tomohiko Aita, Akinori Nishiyama, Takao Miyoshi, Yasuhiro Takahashi, Masahiro Wakayama

Sega of America

Translation: Kuniyo Matsumoto
Product Support: Takashi Iizuka, Eugene Archibal

Sega Corporation

Package & Manual: Kaoru Ichigozaki, Eiichi Ogawa, Toshiki Yamaguchi
Software Management: Akira Nishikawa, Hieaki Yohkaichiya, Akira Terasawa
Software Pubilshing: Masanao Maeda, Minoru Kabuta, Yoshiki Ooka, Hiroyuki Miyazaki, Seijiro Sannabe, Yasushi Yamashita
Promotion: Takayoshi Ohuchi, Mutsuru Takahashi
Publicity: Yasushi Nagumo
Maketing: Tadashi Takezaki, Tomomi Kishimoto, Toshimasa Kudo
Speical Thanks: Yasuko Maruyama
Created By: Sonic Team
Published By: Sega