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The Sno-bees, a ball-shaped race of aliens, have infested the land of snow and ice. They are swarming the continent of Tartix, melting away the landscape, and unfortunately for the Pengos, are in the midst of exterminating their kind! The Pengos have no choice but to fight back, and to do this, they must use the environments to their advantage. Originally released in 1982 for the arcades, Sega saw fit to remake Pengo on the Game Gear at the beginning of its Japanese and European lifespan, though a North American release was oddly absent. This sounds like a sensible take by the company, due to the simplistic-yet-challenging gameplay that seems suitable for a portable system.
Each stage is structured as an enclosed square maze, with its inner walls made of ice blocks. As each stage begins, your red-colored Pengo materializes in the middle and the villainous Sno-bees spawn in various spots, with the latter patrolling the corridors for your presence. Direct contact with these pests will cost you a precious life, so your main method of counterattack is to push an ice block at a passing enemy. This is trickier than it sounds, since Sno-bees move non-stop and you can only launch an ice block in the direction you're facing. A good grasp of your surroundings is key as you traverse the maze, often rearranging its layouts by pushing blocks or destroying them, in an effort to both evade and stop these vile creatures.
Ideally, you should squish your enemies swiftly, because the longer they roam, the more problematic they become. This is due to Sno-bees having their own counter to your ice block attacks: they can plow through multiple ice block walls, within seconds, usually in an attempt to get close to your Pengo. The urgency to rid these pests can't be overstated, since you can have a scenario where there's a scant four useful blocks left and two Sno-bees remaining; not only do you have to trick their impulsive AI into getting near a block, but you have to make the perfect shot. No pressure. Thankfully, this is where your secondary attack comes into play. If you get an enemy hugging one of the outer yellow walls, you can hit said wall, cause it to vibrate, and temporarily daze the Sno-bees.
Even then, the difficulty curve can be deceiving with its premise and execution; once you realize the consequences of lingering, you can curb it to a degree and breeze through all the stages, correct? The game's arcade roots say otherwise. Unlike something akin to Woody Pop's unlimited continues, when all lives are lost in Pengo, you get sent back to the opening Sega logo. Here, you're expected to complete 64 stages with four lives to spare. Though, you're granted an extra life at 30,000 points, which happens early on, especially if you're good at gaining points through multipliers or finishing a stage within a minute. But here's the funny thing: that's the only time the game gives you an extra life. "Tough," the developers likely thought.
Pengo has all the makings of a challenging endeavor, but it's a fair one; the Sno-bees can be a nuisance, but you have the tools and skills to stop them in a timely manner, and while you have a limited set of lives to complete 64 stages, it's not an impossible objective. The only real complaint here is that, despite every stage actually having a unique layout from one another, having to complete 64 stages before the whole thing loops can get repetitive. Considering you can literally plow through every stage's ice layout, it doesn't have the same energetic "zeal" as something like Pac-Man or the obstacle course-esque nature of Bubble Bobble. Despite that bit issue, Pengo is a good fit for the Game Gear, with its design delivering a pleasing oldschool, on-the-go experience.
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Community review by dementedhut (September 27, 2024)
Now if only I had the foresight to submit this OutRun review a day earlier... |
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