Doki Doki Penguin Land

From Sega Retro

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Doki Doki Penguin Land Title.png

Doki Doki Penguin Land
System(s): Sega SG-1000, Arcade, MSX
Publisher:
Arcade
SG-1000
Sega
MSX
Pony
Developer:
Licensor:
MSX
Sega
Genre: Puzzle[1]

















Number of players: 1-2 (alternating)
Release Date RRP Code
Arcade
JP
¥? ?





































SG-1000
JP
¥4,8004,800[1] C-50
SG-1000
TW
MSX
JP
¥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). 1 jumps, 2 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:

DDPL sprites.png
Normal block
Normal blocks hinder progress but can be smashed without any problems. Once gone, they never return.
DDPL sprites.png
Solid block
Solid blocks cannot be moved or altered in any way.
DDPL sprites.png
Yellow block
These yellow blocks will allow the egg to fall through, but not the penguin.
DDPL sprites.png
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.
DDPL sprites.png
Heart
Hearts merely add points. Some can be found within blocks.
DDPL sprites.png
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.
DDPL sprites.png
Gengou (ゲンゴウ)
These types of polar bear will wait on the edge of a block, jumping down if you are close.
DDPL sprites.png
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[4] (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[4].

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

Source:
Uncredited


Physical scans

Arcade version

Arcade, JP
Notavailable.svgDokiDokiPenguinLand Arcade JP InstructionCard.jpg
Instuction card(s)

SG-1000 version

SG-1000, JP
Doki Doki Penguin Land Box JP.png
Cover
Doki Doki Penguin Land SG-1000 JP CardBack.jpgDokiDokiPenguinLand SG1000 JP Card.jpg
Card
Doki Doki Penguin Land SG-1000 JP Manual.pdf
Manual
SG-1000, TW

MSX version

MSX, JP
DDPL MSX JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
DDPL MSX JP Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
SG-1000
 ?
CRC32 346556b9
MD5 79f15598828e697e75c65130262d8d94
SHA-1 f49c43b1f9a0b19ef5f30d9bf2b222af7aeb9fbf
32kB Cartridge (JP)

References



Games in the Doki Doki Penguin Land series
Doki Doki Penguin Land (1985) | Penguin Land (1987) | Penguin Land (1990) | Ikasuze! Koi no Doki Doki Penguin Land MD (1992) | Doki Doki Penguin Land (2001)
Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 23: Sega Memorial Selection (2005)