192. Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken (Konami, Famicom, 1985)

Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken ("After All, Great Antarctic Adventure") was the first Konami-published game released on the Famicom (at the same time as Yie Ar Kung Fu). While Yie Ar Kung Fu was an arcade conversion, Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken was a port of an MSX game, like many early non-Nintendo Famicom releases.

Gameplay in Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken is very simple: you play as a penguin who is racing against the clock around Antarctica from research station to research station. Each research station is owned by a different country and you get a cute little animation where the corresponding flag is raised at the end of the level. Mechanically, this translates to an overhead view with obstacles coming into the foreground from the distance, or basically, a racing game where you can jump. Antarctica is the perfect setting for this game, since it is largely flat and featureless, which plays perfectly into the primitive graphics.

Obstacles are limited to holes in the ice, holes in the ice that sea lions pop out of, and larger crevasses. None of the obstacles are actually dangerous for your penguin, they only serve to slow him down. While most holes just reduce your speed and remove control for a couple agonizing seconds, falling in a crevasse actually requires you to press buttons to get out, which felt more active and engaging. Typically moving left or right is the best strategy for avoiding most holes, but you also need to jump sometimes, and memorizing the exact jump distance is key to progressing smoothly.

Sometimes fish fly out of holes in the ice and you can grab them for bonus points, but I was mostly focused on the mission. You can also grab flags for points, and certain flags will flash rainbow. These can be picked up to give you the only powerup: a propeller hat that allows you to fly for a short distance over any obstacles (except sea lions). Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibouken is a prety short game. Its 10 levels can be cleared in about 15 minutes, but like many old arcade-style games, it just keeps looping after that. Only the last level really provided any challenge, and even then I beat it after my third try, but it was still a good time.

3/5, a simple, cute arcade platformer / racer