Psycho Fox

n/a

Psycho Fox

Publisher: Sega

Developer: VIC Tokai, Graphic Research (sound)

Genre: Action^[1]

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1990-05^[2]	$29.9529.95^[3]	7032
EU	1989		7032
PT	19xx
UK	1989-12^[4]	£24.9524.95^[5]^[6]	7032
AU	19xx
BR	19xx
AE	19xx
KR	19xx		GB-7032

Psycho Fox is a Sega Master System game developed by VIC Tokai and published by Sega in 1989. It is a platform game starring Psycho Fox, who must rid the land of an evil god named Madfox Daimyojin. "Psycho" is meant to mean "psychic," similar to its use in Psychic World.

Psycho Fox is second in a line of similar platformers by VIC Tokai, succeeding the 1988 Famicom release of Kakefu Kimi no Jump Tengoku: Speed Jigoku (released in the West in 1990 as Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs), and predeceding the 1990 Sega Mega Drive game, Magical Hat no Buttobi Turbo! Daibouken (which was extensively reworked to become Decap Attack when released in the West).

Due to a typo, some European cartridges are labeled as "Psyco Fox". In Brazil, the game was re-released in 1995 with graphical changes as Sapo Xulé Vs Os Invasores do Brejo.

Story

Among a group of fox priests who worship the Inari Daimyojin (Fox Deity), an evil fox named Madfox Daimyōjin has infiltrated his way to the highest ranks and taken over the shrine. After seizing power, Madfox corrupted the land and created hordes of creatures. One young fox has been chosen by his people to rid the land of this evil deity.

Gameplay

Psycho Fox is a side-scrolling platform game. The player takes control of Psycho Fox, a fox with the ability to transform himself into other animals. Psycho Fox can be moved around with and or crouch with . He can punch enemies at short range with and jump with . He can punch enemies while moving or in midair but not while crouching. He can also defeat enemies by jumping on them; the first hit stomps the enemy into the ground, but the enemy can recover from this momentarily if not jumped on again. Some enemies must be jumped on several times to be defeated.

The physics of the game have much heavier inertia than most other platformers. Psycho Fox's jump covers very little horizontal distance unless he first builds momentum by running, for instance. Momentum can also affect stopping distance. Acceleration is relatively slow from a complete stop but less onerous from a partial stop.

The goal is to make it to the "Round End" sign at the end of each level. The screen does not scroll backward, so the player cannot backtrack, but it does scroll downward after traveling up. Levels are designed with ground paths as well as higher routes on aerial platforms.

Psycho Fox uses a Shinto stick to change into other animals, each of which has its own special ability. He must find a Psycho Stick item to transform; each transformation consumes a stick. There are also other items that Psycho Fox can find to help him on his journey. The PAUSE button brings up a menu that allows the player to choose an item to use. Psycho Fox also has an ally named Bird Fly, who perches on his back like a backpack. He can be thrown at enemies with , replacing the punch attack (though Psycho Fox can still punch by hitting again while Bird Fly is deployed). He returns to Psycho Fox like a boomerang after being thrown. Bird Fly can hit multiple enemies when thrown, both on his way out and his way back.

Psycho Fox loses a life if he takes any damage from enemies or hazards, including falling into water traps. If Psycho Fox is hit while carrying Bird Fly, Bird Fly goes away and the player does not lose a life. The player starts with three lives and can obtain more through eggs. If the player runs out of lives, the game ends, but the player can continue it from the beginning of the current round from the title screen.

Animals

	Fox
	The original form of Psycho Fox, which has balanced characteristics.
	Hippopotamus
	The hippopotamus is slow and cannot jump very high, but this form can punch through special destructible blocks.
	Monkey
	The monkey is slightly slower than the fox but can jump higher than the other creatures.
	Tiger
	The tiger is the fastest runner. His jump is lower, but he can jump farther while running.

Stages

Stages consist of three rounds followed by a fight against a Boss Monster.

	Mystical Mountains

	Skull Land

	Diabolical Desert

	Wind Zone

	Underground Passageway

	Ice Zone

	Underground Cavern

	The Evil Madfox Daimyojoin!

Bonus Game

Bonus game

At the end of each round, there is a minigame where the player can place multiple Psycho Foxes on five pathways. The number of Psycho Foxes they are given corresponds to the number of Money Bags they found in the round. Multiple Psycho Foxes can be placed on the same pathway. Once they have all been placed, they walk up the path to the end, crossing whenever there is a juncture. The end can contain item prizes or a hole that Psycho Fox falls into for no prize.

If Psycho Fox arrives at a shrine at the end of the path, the numbers on the shrine spin around like a slot machine. The player can press to stop the numbers. The player is then rewarded extra lives corresponding to the number that the shrine stopped on.

Items

Items are contained in eggs or sometimes dropped by defeated enemies. Punch an egg to break it open. Sometimes eggs contain no item or an enemy.

The Psycho Stick, Straw Effigy, and Magic Medicine items are collected in an inventory and not used immediately. The Money Bag item is collected and saved for bonus games. There is no limit to the number of items that the player can have. The PAUSE button opens a menu for selecting and using items.

	Egg
	Punch to break open.
	Psycho Stick
	Allows Psycho Fox to transform into another animal.
	Straw Effigy
	Destroys all enemies on screen when used.
	Magic Medicine
	Grants temporarily invincibility. A star appears over Psycho Fox for the duration of the effect.
	Money Bag
	Used as credits for the bonus game.
	Extra Life
	The egg releases a ghost version of the current animal, who runs away. The player must catch the ghost animal to earn an extra life.
	Bird Fly
	Summons Bird Fly, who acts as a projectile attack for Psycho Fox and protects him from a hit.

Production credits

Character Designer: Dark Side Toshi
Sub-Character Designer: Peetan Yamaguchi
Programmer: Blushed Machiya, Cheeked Shotaro
Map Designer: Monkey Naochan
Data Puncher: Big Nose Ohkawa
Sound Editor: Mr.Question
Responsible Person: Big Foot Shijoh
Director: Professor Toshi
Producer: The Rich Man
Produced by: SEGA

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Psycho Fox/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #100: "March 1990" (1990-02-16)
also published in:

ACE (UK) #30: "March 1990" (1990-02-01)^[7]
ACE (UK) #31: "April 1990" (1990-03-xx)^[8]

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #101: "April 1990" (1990-03-16)
also published in:

ACE (UK) #32: "May 1990" (1990-04-xx)^[9]

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #102: "May 1990" (1990-04-16)

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #2: "October/November 1990" (1990-xx-xx)
also published in:

GamePro (US) #18: "January 1991" (199x-xx-xx)^[10]
GamePro (US) #20: "March 1991" (1991-xx-xx)^[11]

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #4: "April/May 1991" (1991-xx-xx)
also published in:

Sega Visions (US) #5: "Summer 1991" (1991-xx-xx)^[12]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #27: "October 1991" (1991-xx-xx)^[13]

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

ACE (UK)

PAL

84

^[15]

Aktueller Software Markt (DE)

58

^[16]

Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)

92

^[17]

The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)

PAL

92

^[18]

Console XS (UK)

PAL

88

^[19]

Computer & Video Games (UK)

85

^[20]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

70

^[2]

Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)

90

^[21]

The Games Machine (UK)

83

^[22]

Mean Machines (UK)

90

^[23]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

90

^[24]

Power Play (DE)

73

^[25]

S: The Sega Magazine (UK)

93

^[26]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

75

^[27]

Sega Pro (UK)

87

^[28]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

88

^[29]

User (GR)

PAL

68

^[30]

	83
Based on 17 reviews

Psycho Fox

Master System, US
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU (Sega®)
Cover
Cart

Master System, EU (Typo cart)

Cart

Master System, PT
Cover

Master System, AU

Cart

Master System, AU (NIAL sticker)
Cover

Master System, BR (cardboard)
Cover

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart

Master System, KR
Cover
Cart

Master System, AE
Cover
Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

?

CRC32	97993479
MD5	a9c2facf9ef536d095414ce2e7ce2f4f
SHA-1	278cc3853905626138e83b6cfa39c26ba8e4f632

256kB

Cartridge (EU/US)

References

Psycho Fox
	Main page \| Maps \| Hidden content \| Magazine articles \| Reception Prototypes: Prototype

[:File:PsychoFox_EU_cover.jpg_p-1] File:PsychoFox EU cover.jpg

[:File:EGM_US_011.pdf_p18-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Electronic Gaming Monthly, "June 1990" (US; 1990-xx-xx), page 18

[:File:VG.26amp.3BCE_US_18.pdf_p46-3] VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "July 1990" (US; 1990-0x-xx), page 46

[:File:CVG_UK_097.pdf_p157-4] Computer & Video Games, "December 1989" (UK; 1989-11-16), page 157

[:File:ACE_UK_31.pdf_p61-5] ACE, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-xx), page 61

[:File:CVG_UK_100.pdf_p56-6] Computer & Video Games, "March 1990" (UK; 1990-02-16), page 56

[:File:ACE_UK_30.pdf_p70-7] ACE, "March 1990" (UK; 1990-02-01), page 70

[:File:ACE_UK_31.pdf_p64-8] ACE, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-xx), page 64

[:File:ACE_UK_32.pdf_p12-9] ACE, "May 1990" (UK; 1990-04-xx), page 12

[:File:GamePro_US_018.pdf_p44-10] GamePro, "January 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 44

[:File:GamePro_US_020.pdf_p22-11] GamePro, "March 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 22

[:File:SegaVisions_US_05.pdf_p10-12] Sega Visions, "Summer 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 10

[:File:EGM_US_027.pdf_p142-13] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 142

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_002.pdf_p120_.28128-130.29-14] Consoles +, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-10-05), page 128-130 (120)

[:File:ACE_UK_37.pdf_p60-15] ACE, "October 1990" (UK; 1990-09-xx), page 60

[:File:ASM_DE_1989-10.pdf_p64-16] Aktueller Software Markt, "Oktober 1989" (DE; 1989-08-28), page 64

[:File:CGtC_UK_04.pdf_p104-17] Complete Guide to Consoles, "Volume IV" (UK; 1990-11-xx), page 104

[:File:TheCompleteGuideToSega_UK.pdf_p59-18] The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 59

[:File:Console_XS_UK_01.pdf_p143-19] Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 143

[:File:CVG_UK_098.pdf_p121-20] Computer & Video Games, "January 1990" (UK; 1989-12-16), page 121

[:File:MeanMachinesEssentialSegaGuide_Book_UK.pdf_p150-21] Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 150

[:File:TGM_UK_29.pdf_p34-22] The Games Machine, "April 1990" (UK; 1990-03-15), page 34

[:File:MeanMachines_UK_11.pdf_p76-23] Mean Machines, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-07-27), page 76

[:File:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf_p135-24] Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 135

[:File:PowerPlay_DE_1989-11.pdf_p64-25] Power Play, "11/89" (DE; 1989-10-09), page 64

[:File:StheSegaMagazine_UK_03.pdf_p4-26] S: The Sega Magazine, "February 1990" (UK; 1990-01-04), page 4

[:File:SegaPower_UK_23.pdf_p59-27] Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 59

[:File:SegaPro_UK_05.pdf_p21-28] Sega Pro, "March 1992" (UK; 1992-02-20), page 21

[:File:SegaPro_UK_18.pdf_p72-29] Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 72

[:File:User_GR_27.pdf_p87-30] User, "Ávgoustos 1992" (GR; 1992-0x-xx), page 87

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Psycho Fox

From Sega Retro

Contents

Story

Gameplay

Animals

Stages

Bonus Game

Items

Production credits

Magazine articles

Promotional material

Physical scans

Technical information

ROM dump status

References