Popeye (1982)

Popeye is a 1982 arcade platform game released by Nintendo based on the comic strip series of the same name created by E. C. Segar and licensed from King Features Syndicate strips and animated shorts. The game was licensed by Atari, Inc. for exclusive release in the United Kingdom and Ireland in an Atari-designed cabinet. The game was designed by Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto.

Why It's Strong To the Finich

 * 1) Gameplay is simple yet challenging. All you have to do is collect a number of items dropped by Olive Oyl. Depending on the level, the number of items varies from each level.
 * 2) The levels are diverse in choices. Let's take a look at the time
 * 3) *First you got the Dock which has the most gameplay features out of all the stages. Popeye would have to collect hearts.
 * 4) *The second level is the Street. Has not much room to maneuver compared to the first level yet there aren't that many objects to collect. You have to collect notes
 * 5) *The last stage is the Ship. Olive plays the role of a damsel in distress at this level. Popeye would have to collect the HELP letters.
 * 6) Speaking of stages, there are different gimmicks on each stage that can help you out. The first level has a punching bag and a bucket beneath Olive. When Popeye interacts with the punching bag and the bucket will be loose. When it lands on Brutus, he will be stunned causing Popeye to move without any harm.
 * 7) *The second level has a see-saw in the lower-left corner on the Street stage with Wimpy standing on the other end. Jumping on it causes Popeye to shoot up to the highest available level. However, Brutus can do the same.
 * 8) *The ship level has a platform that moves back and forth at the highest level. Useful to speed up the collection of the letters.
 * 9) Like Donkey Kong (the arcade game), the music has a simple yet good tune for an early arcade game. Not only that, but you get to hear the original Popeye theme song as well as the song that plays when Popeye gets the spinach!
 * 10) When playing on each level, there is a can of spinach. What would Popeye be without his signature favorite food? Should he grab that can of spinach, Popeye will be invincible and can knock out Brutus just by running into him.
 * 11) The graphics on the NES and especially the arcade version. While primitive, they have a simple charm in this colorful environment that stays true to source material despite being 8-bit.
 * 12) *It was one of the few arcade games of the earlier years to have high-resolution foreground sprites with low-resolution background displays being mixed.
 * 13) The premise of this game. While it does have a simple story, the simplistic storyline stays true to what Popeye is known for. Popeye and Brutus butting heads together with the former saving the situation due to spinach.
 * 14) You get to punch objects that try to attack you including those that are thrown by Brutus and the Sea Hag. You can also punch a vulture!
 * 15) Decent yet satisfying ending which consisted of Popeye reuniting with Olive and you get to see a symbol that showed a star with Popeye in there. The ending music felt like you just played an entire Popeye cartoon complete with Popeye blowing his pipe.
 * 16) Wimpy and Swee'Pea appear in the game. As mentioned before, Wimpy appears in a see-saw to act as a counterweight. Swee'Pea on the other hand has bonus points for Popeye to earn if he can spring off the see-saw and grab him.
 * 17) Back then around the early 80s, it was one of the earliest games to be based on a license because those kinds of games were rarer in the early 80s!
 * 18) Namco Networks released an enhanced remake for mobile phones. The graphics are a major step up and include a bonus stage where Popeye must save a sleepwalking Olive. Trivia segments are there as well. You can also earn tokens to buy some of the old comic strips.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Objects on each level tend to fall in unpredictable moments.
 * 2) Despite the punch button being used for the game, some would get confused because some may think that you can beat up Brutus easily when you can't attack him. Though you can do other things with the punch aside from getting the spinach.
 * 3) Brutus' sprites. While colorful and still pleasant to look at is pretty inconsistent. Certain levels tend to change the color of his attire.
 * 4) Once the objects fall into the ground, Popeye has a set amount of time after it reaches the bottom. If you fail, you will easily lose a life. It's more frustrating when there is a lot of chaos on the screen thanks to Brutus and the Sea Hag.
 * 5) Olive Oyl will scold Popeye when he loses a life.

Reception
In the USA, Popeye topped the Play Meter arcade chart for street locations in April 1983. Michael Pugliese writing for The Coin Slot described Popeye as "a visually stimulating and exciting game that will go well in any location," and noted that "it contains all the challenges and character appeal to make it a solid earner for a long time."

Trivia

 * Ben Falls holds the world record score of 3,023060 earned on December 20, 2011 according to Twin Galaxies Internation scoreboard.
 * The original Donkey Kong arcade game was originally going to be a Popeye game that had Popeye taking the role of Mario/Jumpman, Brutus as Donkey Kong, and Olive as Pauline/Lady. At that time, Nintendo was unable to license the characters.

Videos
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