Hirake! Ponkikki

Nintendo Entertainment System · 1992 · JP

Publisher: Takara · Developer: Minato Giken · Genre: Educational

Hirake! Ponkikki was a long-running Japanese children's program similar to Sesame Street; this game features the show's two main characters, Gachapin the dinosaur and Mukku the yeti, in a little friendly competition. Five mini-games repeat over the course of five islands, and each island must be cleared of all five games before proceeding to the next. The set-up is mainly intended for two players, with one player controlling Gachapin and the other Mukku. In one-player mode, either character may be selected, but the CPU will not compete at any game other than rock-paper-scissors. Players begin with a limited number of lives which may be lost by colliding with enemies or performing poorly at minigames; one extra life is also awarded at the end of each island. However, there is also a password system which allows the game to be resumed from any island.