Full Stack of Flapjacks: '80s Arcade Platformers

Recently I discussed some of the arcade clubs I have participated in over the last couple of years. Part of the reason I’ve really enjoyed these is that I’ve gotten insight into some games where I haven’t pushed into a 1CC or 1-ALL, but I’ve still put effort into scoring and early-game routing. Today I’ve got three different ’80s arcade staples that fall into this boat: hugely important in their own ways, but not ones I’ve decided to really hone in on for a clear and a full review.

Flicky

I was shocked going in at just how dynamic and bouncy Flicky is, especially in improvisational scenarios. As a necessary disclaimer: if one had the wherewithal, they could easily chart out optimal routes for each level, as the enemy AI is relatively deterministic. However, doing that across 40 levels (for a single loop) takes quite the time investment, and I was pretty enthused at the more improvisational elements approaching the halfway mark. Flicky collects small, yellow chicks around the level, but instead of disappearing, they trail her in a line, which increases as more chicks are scooped up. The cats and bugs that chase Flicky around scrape off a life upon contact, of course, but by contacting the chicks in the trail, the affected chicks run off and scatter. This creates some nice interplay with the chick depositing mechanic, where Flicky returns the chicks to the starting door (the level ends once all have been returned) with a scaling bonus based on the number of chicks deposited at once. In a routing situation one would solve this, but in freeform play a constant pull between stacking up chicks and returning the current set affects the player. Taking them back “safely” one at a time isn’t necessarily best, as letting the level soak in the background gives time for the full roster of enemies to spawn and centralize on your position.

Gravity dictates that scattered chicks will pool towards the bottom, especially the shades-toting “bad chicks,” who dash around impetuously once released. Past level 20, the design really leans into making the bottom layer tight enough that Flicky can’t jump over enemies or only offering one exit ramp out to the upper levels. Really accentuates that tension and makes scooping up stuff at the bottom even more of a struggle. Love the binned time-based score bonuses, love the jump-based throwing garbage at enemies, and I love the physics too!

Pac-Land

Interesting that, sandwiched here between two post-maze game single-screen platformers, the sequel to the original single-screen maze game chooses to invent the modern scrolling platformer instead. It obviously deserves its flowers for this, and when it’s humming, it’s remarkably adept for a game of its vintage. There’s a variety of both environmental and enemy hazards, static and dynamic, and each level theme has a particular set of hazards that define it, such as the forests obscuring the view with trees, blocking the way with little stumps, and then putting ghosts around the stumps to limit mindless hopping. It’s where the score enters the picture that I become less interested, if at least bemused. Pac-Land is stuffed full of esoterica one would only learn from online study: score-dependent variable warp points based on pushing stumps, large bonuses at a level’s end by jumping at the right frame during the exit animation, and hidden items tucked behind barriers or activated by standing in the right place. The opening of this game in optimal score play: spawn hidden cherries by touching the top of fire hydrants, manipulate four ghosts in cars towards a power pellet and then eat them in the correct order (Sue, who chases you perpetually, must be eaten last) to gain a giant time-based score bonus item, push a hydrant to get a hat that turns plane projectiles into score, manipulate four ghosts in planes and eat them in the correct order for a bonus item, do the frame-perfect ending jump, and then shift a stump in level 2 to warp to level 6 with a ridiculous score bonus. That was cool to learn for a day or two of attempts, but I’m not gonna keep pushing after that.

The Fairyland Story

This one is effectively a dry run of Bubble Bobble, with a similar focus on transforming enemies before killing them.¹ However, here they turn into cakes, which can be pushed around and dropped off of platforms. Smushing an enemy with a cake kills it, and smushing multiple bestows a significant number of points, along with a coin of a denomination corresponding to the number killed. The premise, on paper, seems slower and more thoughtful than Bubble Bobble, which lets one zip across the screen and trap enemies inside of poppable bubbles, and indeed with good level design and enemy placement it scans as a more invigorating experience. The enemies have just enough slight behavior variation to feel dynamic, and many have projectiles that make approaching them a chore. If one really invests time in learning crush setups on each stage, they’re rewarded with more powerful item drops dictated by the game’s internal leveling system. This makes playing for score definitely the most “interesting” routing challenge here, and the one I would recommend for those mainly competing in the first twenty stages or so, since otherwise raw survival is boring. Levels automatically end after a certain period of time, and often it’s best to pace around waiting for an item to spawn that nukes the screen or makes the main character’s wand kill enemies outright. I’m not sure I would recommend this to most people to bother with pure survival in anyway for a clear, since it takes around 80 minutes to beat the game in a sitting!