Popeye

Name: Popeye
Year: 1986
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Arcade
Hours Played: Half an hour
Beaten: N/A

Although the Nintendo Entertainment System released in America in October 1985, the first wave of licensed games (i.e. games made by companies other then Nintendo) didn't release until a year later, in October 1986.  That means that for one whole year, the only games available for the system are what's now known as the Black Box Series, became they came in black boxes, and each was labeled as being part of a different series (action series, sports series, etc).  The second of the three waves, released in June 1986, was labeled the Arcade series, and consisted of six games: four Donkey Kong games (including Donkey Kong Jr. Math), Mario Bros. (the one screen arcade game), and Popeye.

It's become part of gaming lore that Donkey Kong, the arcade game that put Nintendo on the map, was originally intended to be a Popeye game, before the licencing deal fell through. A year later, Donkey Kong was one of the most popular video games of all time, and Nintendo was able to secure a deal and release Popeye.  Besides being an early NES release in America, it was actually one of the first three games (alongside Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr) to be released for the Famicom in Japan.

With all that backstory, I was very interested to see if this game holds up to Donkey Kong.  And... it doesn't.  Olive Oil (Popeye's girlfriend) stands at the top of the screen and throws items.  As Popeye, you have to run around and collect them while avoiding Bruto, who strolls around the screen and attacks you in various ways.  The first thing you'll notice is the lack of a jump button - you can move, climb ladders and stairs, and punch.  Your punch bizarrely doesn't work on enemies, but allows you to activate certain items and block certain projectiles.  The main challenge in the game comes from Bluto.  He casually wanders the levels, but has a large range of attacks, from throwing projectiles, to attacking the platform above or below, and his attacks are pretty random, making him a threat no matter where in the level you're at.

Popeye isn't a bad game by any means; it just feels like Nintendo's attempt to redo Donkey Kong without redoing Donkey Kong.

Graphics & Animation: 2 (Average)
The graphics here are pretty good!  All the Popeye characters are easily identifiable, and the item you're collecting changes each level.  The hearts that fall from the top are nicely animated, too.  The backgrounds aren't quite as impressive, though... the third level ship in particular looks a little Atari-tastic.

Music & Sound: 3 (Good)
The music and sound effects are the real star here.  The music is constantly changing according to what's going.  There's the regular level music, the Bruto attacking music, the hurry-up music that plays if you let a heart (or note or letter) fall in the water, and of course a great Nintendo rendition of the Popeye theme.

Controls & Level Design: 2 (Average)
A large part of the game is running up and down staircases to avoid Bluto, and the control is silky smooth - why can't Simon Belmont climb steps like this?  Popeye's punch hangs in the air for a second, and would feel super satisfying, if they let you use it to punch enemies...

Story & Presentation: 2 (Average)
The cameos from the various Popeye universe help give the game personality, and a little cutscene on the third screen helps explain what's going on (on the first two levels, you're romancing Olive Oil; it's only on the third level that you're rescuing her).

Length & Replayability: 0 (Bad)
Like NES Donkey Kong, it's just three levels, over and over and over....

Total: 9 (Average)