"Warpman" - NES/Famicom

A Namco arcade port? Where have I heard of one of these before? Definitely not in 90% of my other articles.

This one's a port of an arcade game called "Warp & Warp" (or 'Waapu to Waapu') if you want to join me in being that guy (you do, it's fun). This game originally came out in 1981, and believe me when I say that the aesthetic has only improved in four years. Though the original does certainly have an "era dominated by the VCS" look to it. I guess that change was significant enough for Namco to rename it to Warpman instead, or maybe they just wanted it to seem fresh in general.

The Japanese Wikipedia doesn't really shed any other light on the title for us, but it did tell me that killing enemies while they're closer to the center of the screen is worth more points. So since I only go for mega, killer high scores on this blog, we'll have to keep that in mind.

Let's check out the game:

I'm ready to like, warp, man. Let's absolutely transpose ourselves, dude.

----- Playthrough -----

Warpman relies on a fairly simple premise. It's warping. I bet you didn't see that coming. I pulled the rug right out from under your feet, didn't I? That was the greatest twist of the century.

I can hear my own voice telling me to shut up in my head so let's just talk about the game.

You start out Warpman casually walking around on space as if it were someone's yard (also it's filled with asteroids that are completely stationary). Enemies spawn in the corners of the map and begin walking in a clockwise swirl towards the center. Nothing really happens if they get there, it's just that it gets harder for you to dodge them if they do.

Walking on your lawn will be three enemy types: the normal tongue-out (they're called "bero," presumably because "pero," is a licking sound in Japanese) guys that just walk and shoot, some ghost-looking guys that will lay eggs and multiply as well as walk and shoot, and guys that occasionally stop to take naps where they can't be hurt, as well as walk and shoot.

Luckily, by pressing A or B, you can fire your space blaster to tell those kids to get off your space lawn.

Stop stepping all over my carefully arranged stars!

Occasionally a monster will happen by carrying a random letter, and if you shoot all the letters to spell 'EXTRA', you'll be given an extra life. They only go from one corner to another before vanishing though, so you have to shoot them quick.

The other thing that will occasionally happen is what gives the game its name-- a little core will appear that you pick up and the wormhole in the center of the map will begin flashing and turning. Head into it, and you'll be taken to Warpman's alternate dimension: Bomberman-land.

[Not the official title]

The number of enemies left to kill in each round carries over between the two maps, so you can head back and forth multiple times if that's what you want to do. The main difference is obviously the maze in the level, and that instead of being able to fire your blaster, A and B now drop time bombs. Personally I find this ten times harder than just shooting a gun, though I have a suspicion it's probably easier to get higher scores in this mode if you stay there.

However, the game encourages you to warp back and forth frequently because if you stay in one area for a long time, the enemies will gradually get faster and faster-- so it's healthy for you if you like not being dead to continuously switch when given the opportunity.

Also at one point when I switched back to gun-world I randomly had a gun that shot bombs, and I don't know why or where that came from, but clearly there are at least some powerups in the game.

I'm not going to ask why I have it, I just want to blow things up.

Eventually you just run out of willpower or lives and quit playing the game, and that's the end. Congratulations!

----- Review -----

How long did I play?
15 minutes.

How much did I beat?
7 rounds.

Intuitive Design: 

How easy is it to intuitively understand the game?

Well, you only have directional pads and essentially one button, so some basic experimentation will probably teach you what you need to know. The warp thing is fairly obvious if you're paying attention because there will be a giant swirling, flashing wormhole in the center of the room.

Gameplay / Difficulty: 

How rewarding does playing the game feel?

The game doesn't really seem that hard, and having the enemies simply speed up to increase difficulty seems lame, but this is a game designed for arcades. It wasn't something that was meant for you to beat, just play until it kicked you off.

That being said, shooting the aliens is fine, I wouldn't say we have anything revolutionary here as far as gameplay satisfaction, but it's a fun short distraction.

Depth: 

How deep/long is the game?

There are a few different maps in each game type (shooting and bombing), but they don't really change a ton about the game or how you play it, they just change where the barriers are. The game concept doesn't have a lot of depth in general (it really just seems like they were looking for an excuse to cram the bombing and shooting gameplay into one machine).

"Yeah but hear me out-- what if you could shoot... AND bomb... this'll warp the industry, man." (Sorry)

Sound / Graphics: 

How's the sound? How are the graphics?

The graphics are really nothing exceptional and the sound isn't either. I do have to say, I like this guy though. He looks like how I look literally every morning when I get out of bed.

Ugh. What did I eat last night?

The game barely even has music, but at least the short loop is incidental enough as to not be annoying, not a high-pitched beeping or droning sound.

Personal Chord: 

Does the game have that undefinable "something" for me?

No, not really. The game lacks any real sense of individual style other than in the art, but I do think it's cool how they upgraded it instead of just re-releasing the exact same thing from 1981 on the Famicom. It's also reasonably fun, but ultimately, no t-shirt appeal for me.

Should You Play: 

Is there a reason to even bother with this one?

Probably not. Like said above, it's a fun little distraction, but you're definitely not missing anything you can't get somewhere else in probably a better form than you'll get it with Warpman.

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