It's a Baby! It's a Farmer! It's Chap!

07-27-14 05:24 PM

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| ID: 1058478 | 2013 Words

Singelli

Level: 161

POSTS: 7433/8698
POST EXP: 1189395
LVL EXP: 53048498
CP: 67331.7
VIZ: 3147678

Likes: 0 Dislikes: 0

Welcome to one of the cutest and most confusing little games Namco probably ever brought forth: Rompers! In this game, it is difficult to tell whether the main character is a baby or a farmer, whether the second-hand villain is a vampire or evil fairy or succubus, whether the developers invented Spongebob or encouraged drug use, and whether the walls are meant to keep things in or keep things out.

However, this game is not without its charm. Originally at a complete loss, I had to do a bit of research because the game is in Japanese and was never given an English release. However, the game's objectives are pretty simple: avoid the baddies, squash them by knocking over walls, and collect all the keys. The game even has a two player mode for those who wish to sit and take turns completing levels.

Graphics: 8/10
The game's graphics are actually pretty impressive for an arcade machine. Full of vivid color and pretty scenes, the developers did a great job in creating an unforgettable cast. The names are a bit fun due to the game being created in Japan,but each character is distinguishable and relatable. A set number of baddies appears in each level and after they are destroyed, they re-spawn via polka dotted eggs. In case you do not believe me about their adorableness, take a look for yourself. Here are the characters in the order they appear.

Pyokorin are white ghost like creatures who have no special ability.

Kerara are pink triceratops who blow fire.

Gororin are armadillos who cause destruction by rolling along any open path.

Bekabeka are yellow squares that may or may not be Spongebob's ancestors. They collapse in an attempt to mock the walls and squash Chap.

Oogumo are striped spiders (spider-bee crossbreed, maybe?) who attempt to ensnare Chap. The webs must be destroyed by crushing them with walls.

Todorin are purple moles / sea-lions who disappear underground and spit forth jets of water.

Nachibo are army helmeted pacmen (pacmans?) which require twice the amount of crushing and have major cases of helmet-hair.

Fumajime Pyokorin are blue ghosts who smoke cigarettes and then attempt to give cancer to Chap via puffs of second-hand smoke.

And finally, taggus are explosive-obsessed wolves who throw bombs at Chap.

Aside from the baddies found in every level, there are of course, the main characters:

Gurerin is the boss man (evil Einstein?) who kidnaps Rumina for whatever reason.... cut-scenes would suggest his objective is to be a peeping tom. He has several clones that spit ice or fire in the last round.

Tsukaima is the ever impatient second-in-charge who loves to carry Rumina and drop her into holes and pools and jail cells.

Chap is the poor hero who was only trying to live the good life on his little plot of land with the love of his life.

Rumina is the girlfriend brave enough to bop Gurerin on the head, but not brave enough to attempt an escape from his clutches.

Although the characters make quite a splash on the screen, the ~~playpens~~ stages are also colorful. There doesn not seem to be much growth in them which is undoubtedly frustrating to Chap, but they do contain walls, baddies, and hidden objects. These stages are probably the biggest weakness of the game, as there only seem to be three or four floor types, fences, and walls. These aspects are mixed and matched through 61 levels, so the game can start to feel a little redundant. Here are a few examples of what to expect from the stages:

There are a few cut-scenes every ten or so levels, and these are least impressive of all. They are quite humorous but the scenes are extremely bare. They usually involve one texture, one item which covers less than a quarter of the screen, and two characters at maximum. However, the interchanges are cute enough to ignore the simplicity of the scene graphics.

Sound: 6/10
While the music to this game is not -bad-, there are very few tracks considering that there are 61 levels to the game. Although I did not count them, there seemed to be less than ten tracks for sure, and listening to the same tunes repetitively can get kind of annoying after awhile. If the tunes were interesting enough, it would likely be more tolerable. However, each piece of music is very reminiscent of 'baby' or 'toddler' music... simply played at a much faster pace. It -is- upbeat and it -is- catchy... the first few times.

Other than the music, there is not much variety in the sound effects. The walls always crush with the same 'boom', the coins flicker away with the same 'ding', and Chap starts to sound more and more like a babbling infant. If one sound could be eliminated from the game... it should be his voice and his little utterances of surprise.

If there was a wider variety of sound offered in this game, this category would have been given a higher rating.

Addictiveness: 7.5/10
(I know, I know... vizzed only allows whole number ratings for the categories. However, I simply could not choose between 7 or 8, as both can be justified in my opinion.) This game is quite adept at keeping the player entertained. Each level is timed and as the game progresses, the time allotted for each level is slightly increased. At most, however, a level takes a minute to complete. This quick movement from level to level keeps the player from getting bored and certainly disallows any time for fingers to sit still. It was quite easy for me to play the game through completion because it kept me on edge. Another great bonus which helped keep the game refreshing, was that a new character is introduced every seven or eight levels. The timing is nearly perfect.

However, the game has very low replay value. Since each level must be completed before progressing through the game, and there are no secrets, there is no reason to attempt the game once it has been completed.

Story: 7/10
Rompers is a typical 'save the princess' game, except that the hero is a simple farmer, walls are pushed over instead of swords being drawn, and everything about the game yells 'baby'. I still do not know if Rompers was a play on words, since rompers are an item of clothing for babies and so much in the game seems to point towards those younger years. However, according to the game's plot, Chap is actually a farmer with a long-term girlfriend named Rumina. The poor guy is minding his own business and taking a walk through a pasture with the love of his life, when Gurerin seeks to destroy the perfect picture. He sends his vampire fairy succubus to kidnap Rumina and the poor baby farmer watches as she is flown away like the prey of a hawk. Chap then rushes after her and go figure... there is a land there full of walls and creatures hopping around right over the hill. One has to wonder what Chap thought when purchasing his land. "Huh, look at the neighbor's place. It looks lovely with all those foreboding walls and glaring eyes! I should move right in!"

Eager to get his girlfriend back, he begins to push down every wall he can find, collecting the keys which he is sure will free her. At the end of each maze, once all keys are collected, a magical door appears and Chap bravely rushes forth into the next stage If Chap takes too long to complete a level, the second-in-command Tsukaima decides to encourage him by chasing after Chap. She is immune to the walls and her presence is apparently enough to frighten everything into moving faster... except, of course, Chap himself.

In between many levels there are cut-scenes to provide comic relief. These range from Gurerin peeping at Rumina's underwear and her bashing the pervert on his spiky head, to Pyokorin asking Kerara to light its cigarette and then subsequently being barbecued alive. Not all of the scenes are humorous though. One depicts Tsukaima dropping Rumina into a well. (I suppose Tsukaima herself finds it humorous, but I am sure Chap does not, anyways.)

Depth: 5/10
The game can not be said to have a lot of -depth-. There are 61 levels and the game would certainly take at least an hour to complete, but many of the stages are rather small and simple. The enemies are predictable as well, though they are not always easy to avoid. There are a few bonus items behind walls that get pushed down and these items might freeze enemies through an earthquake or add more time to the clock. There is not a large variety, unfortunately, and they do not appear often throughout the game. In fact, just about the only thing that adds depth to the game, is the plot and the characters. This is therefore definitely the most disappointing category.

Difficulty: 6/10
There can be no denying that this game takes some strategy. Certain walls and gates do not move, requiring the player to think about his / her movements so that Chap does not get crushed or trapped. Other walls can be shoved down, but only if a perpendicular wall is shoved down first. Then too, walls respawn after a few seconds so that strategic wall-pushing has to be done in a timely manner. Although enemy's movements can be predicted, it is sometimes almost necessary to die in order to solve the puzzle. For example, in one of the first few levels, there are four Bekabekas (Spongebob's predecessors), which surround the walls in which Chap is trapped. If Chap does not move to a particular spot after removing one of his prison's walls, the Bekabekas will push down an outer circle of walls and crush Chap. This is the first level in which the yellow squares even appear, so unless the player knows something about the game, they will not even be prepared for this outcome. There are several places in the game where death seems to be necessary in order to learn about a new enemy or strategy.

One of the most difficult aspects of the game, unfortunately, is trying not to get trapped and thus at the mercy of some baddie. A few levels are designed to dictate Chap's path and timing is crucial to avoid being squashed, trampled, rolled over, or barbecued. Once more, death almost becomes a necessity in order to learn the level and pass it. Thank heavens vizzed has an unlimited supply of arcade coins, huh?

The controls of the game are ludicrously easy. Four buttons control Chap's motion and one button is used to push walls down. Aside from racing games with no extra elements, Rompers is probably one of the simplest games out there in terms of button mashing.

Overall: 6.5/10
Once more, rating each category individually has forced my hand into a rating I had not considered. In fact, I originally rated this game as a 9/10. I thought the game was unique enough and catchy enough to deserve a higher rating than 6.5, but I suppose the actual numbers would not agree. I recommend this game as something new to feast your eyes on, but I would not recommend playing it if you do not have the time to complete it in one sitting. While the pace of the game is fun and quick, trying to break the game into separate sessions would likely cause it to lose its magic. Therefore, try setting an hour and twenty minutes to the side before turning it on. The game likely will not even take that long, however. The first 60 levels are each under a minute long (or in some of the last levels, exactly a minute long), but the final level has an unlimited amount of time to complete. Since there are less than 20 keys to collect and Gurerin is not that much harder than any other baddie, winning it should be a quick accomplishment. Good luck, and happy gaming!