ZuPaPa!

ZuPaPa![lower-alpha 1] is a platform arcade video game developed by Face and originally published by SNK on September 1, 2001.[1][2][3] Starring the eponymous creature, players are tasked with travelling through nine stages, throwing small creatures called Zooks, jumping on and off platforms to navigate level obstacles while dodging and defeating monsters. Although first launched in arcades, the game has been re-released through download services for various consoles. The title has gained a cult following since its initial release.[4]

ZuPaPa!
Developer(s)Face
Publisher(s)SNK
Hamster Corporation (ACA)
Platform(s)Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot.

ZuPaPa! is a platform game reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros., where players assume the role of star-like creatures ZuPaPa (P1) and ZuPiPi (P2) through various stages, each with a boss at the end that must be fought before progressing any further.[1][5][6][7][8]

Each player can throw small creatures called Zooks at enemies until each one is completely covered and turns into a star bomb, which defeats any enemy that comes into contact with it.[5][6][8] The more Zooks are thrown against an enemy, the larger the attack range becomes.[5][6][8] Defeated enemies may drop an items or power-ups such as speed increasers and bonus points.[5][6][8] Players have to complete every level within a specific period of time before exceeding an invisible timer. If the players do not manage to eliminate all the enemies in time, an angry alarm clock ringing loudly and a devil creature appears.

Getting hit by enemy fire or if the devil manages to touch ZuPaPa or ZuPiPi before all enemies are eliminated will result in losing a life, as well as a penalty of decreasing the characters' firepower and speed to their original state and once all lives are lost, the game is over unless the players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing.

Development and release

ZuPaPa! was developed by Face and was first showcased to the public at the 1994 AOU Show in addition to being previewed through various publications,[1][2][6][7][9] however the game was never released until SNK published it in September 2001, just one month before the bankruptcy of both of these companies.[10][11][12][13] The title has since received a re-release by Hamster Corporation in recent years on digital distribution platforms such as the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.[14][15][16]

Reception

IGN Italia's Andrea Corritore regarded ZuPaPa! to be a "cult title".[4] Chris Moyse of Destructoid praised the sprite work but noted the gameplay to be "anachronistic".[15] Both Hobby Consolas and Meristation noted its similarity with Snow Bros.[3][16]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ズパパ！

References
  1. "Dossier: Neo Geo Y SNK — Otros". GamesTech (in Spanish). No. 11. Ares Informática. July 2003. p. 63.
  2. "Title Catalogue - NEOGEO MUSEUM". SNK Playmore. 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  3. Lloret, Alberto (January 30, 2020). "Neo Geo, el Rolls Royce de las consolas, cumple 30 años". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). Axel Springer SE. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  4. Corritore, Andrea (July 19, 2017). "Psichedelia binaria: in memoria del platform a schermo fisso – Dieci giochi che hanno segnato un (grande) genere (Parte 2) — Zupapa! (1994-2001, SNK)". IGN Italia (in Italian). Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  5. MAN (30 July 1994). "紹介 - ZUPAPA!". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 121. Shinseisha. p. 181.
  6. "Oh! Neo Geo Vol. 25 - ズパパ！". Beep! MegaDrive (in Japanese). No. 60. SoftBank Creative. September 1994. p. 134.
  7. "Flash News - Arcade Y Otros". Gametype (in Spanish). No. 2. MegaMultimedia. August 2001. p. 7.
  8. Zupapa arcade flyer (SNK, EU)
  9. Kuboki, Kei (March 1994). "Japan Now!". GameFan. Vol. 2 no. 4. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 96.
  10. GED (19 May 1994). "紹介 - ZUPAPA!". Gamest (in Japanese). No. 110. Shinseisha. p. 88.
  11. "Zupapa!". Japan Amusement Monthly. Vol. 3. Coin Journal Co., Ltd. May 1994.
  12. NEO•GEO (ネオジオ) 新作プレビュー!! - ZuPaPa!. 完全NEO-GEO Guide Book (ガイドブック) (in Japanese). Keibunsha. 20 July 1994. pp. 23–24.
  13. Horii, Kenji; Swan, Gus (August 1994). "Feature: Inside Sega Amusements - AOU Games List". Mean Machines Sega. No. 22. EMAP. p. 94.
  14. "アケアカNEOGEO「ズパパ!」，10月4日に配信決定". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  15. Moyse, Chris (October 10, 2018). "ZUPAPA! returns on modern platforms, nope, me neither - Latter day SNK title available now". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  16. Forcada, Carlos (February 29, 2020). "Cinco recreativas que salieron a destiempo — Nightmare in the Dark". MeriStation (in Spanish). PRISA. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
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