Description

Popeye is a classic platformer from the golden age of arcade games. Released in 1983, it is a graphic and spiritual successor to Donkey Kong. Several sprites and characters that were to be originally used in 1981’s Donkey Kong, were eventually used only two years later in Popey, for in 1981 the producers yet lacked licensing for those characters. The goal of the game is to catch a specified number of objects dropped down by Olive Oyl, while avoiding Brutus and bottles he—along with the Sea Hag—throws at you. You control Popeye with a four-way joystick (arrow keys) and a single ‘punch’ button only. There is no button for performing a jump as Popeye can only ascend or descend the stairs and ladders, connecting various platforms throughout the three levels of the game. In the first level, located near Popeye’s and Olive’s house, Popeye has to catch hearts dropped by Olive, while avoiding Brutus and Sea Hag, who appears solely in this stage. In the second level, located on the town streets, hearts transform to music notes and again, Popeye has to catch them while avoiding Brutus. In the third and last level, which takes place onboard a sailship, Popey has to once more collect items dropped by Olive—this time the letters of the word help—to piece by piece build a ladder as to rescue Olive from the top of the ship’s mast.This time, Brutus is accompanied by flying vultures you can punch the way you can punch Brutus’s and Sea Hag’s rum bottles and spinach cans, which give you your super-strength and allow you to directly confront Brutus, who otherwise kills you instantly upon contact. In the time of its release, critics praised the game’s graphics, while criticizing the gameplay, as they had—and I can’t blame them—found it all-too-much reminiscent of Donkey Kong. Nevertheless, over thirty years old now, Popeye is a historic piece that’s definitely worth trying out. Especially the arcade version, which—unlike it’s Amiga and NES ports—looks rather good for its era.