Popeye no Eigo Asobi

Nintendo Entertainment System · 1983 · JP

Also known as: Popeye No Eigo Asobi

Publisher: Nintendo · Developer: Nintendo · Genre: Puzzle

Popeye no Eigo Asobi (Popeye's English Game) is the Japanese-exclusive spin-off to the Popeye arcade game. The game includes three modes: Word Puzzle A, Word Puzzle B, and Word Catcher.[3] In Word Puzzle A (based on the first level of the original game), the player is given the Japanese term for a word in one of six categories: Animal, Country, Food, Sports, Science, and Others (due to technical limitations, these terms are displayed entirely as katakana, regardless of their origin).[3] Blank squares for the English word are given, and the player must maneuver Popeye around to point to letters of the alphabet in order to fill in the blanks. Each wrong letter entry prompts Brutus/Bluto to punch a basket carrying Swee'Pea; the player must solve the puzzle before Swee'Pea's basket is knocked off the platform it is attached to. The player may also forfeit the puzzle by punching the "?" icon. If the puzzle is lost or forfeited, the correct English word will be displayed. Word Puzzle B is identical to the "A" mode; however, the player is not given the Japanese term beforehand. In the two-player Word Catcher mode (based on the third level of the original game), the first player controls Popeye and the second controls Bluto. Three Japanese words are displayed on the screen's left side, and both players compete to collect letters thrown by Olive Oyl to spell out their English equivalents. A player wins when he or she has correctly spelled five words.