Pocket Monster (Famicom)

This article is about Pocket Monster (Famicom). For games with a similar title, see Pocket Monster (disambiguation).

Pocket Monster
Pocket Monster's title screen.
Publisher	Super Game
Developer	Gamtec(?)
Console	Famicom
Date	1997
Sound engine	TwinBee 3
Alternate names/hacks	Super Pocket Monster Panda World Super PoPos Adventure Pocket Amethyst Pokémon Gold Version

Pocket Monster is a NES platformer featuring Pikachu. It was also ported to the Game Boy Advance under the name Pokémon Gold Version.

Overview

Pocket Monster's gameplay. Note that the background graphics are stolen from Athena and modified.

This is a simple platformer, in which the player controls Pikachu. Compared to many other NES games, the controls are inverted, which means that jumping is done by pressing B, and pressing A while moving in a direction makes Pikachu run, and A on its' own clears every enemy on the screen. It's also possible to stomp on enemies, similarly to Super Mario Bros.. Pikachu can take three hits before losing a life, with the number of hits left represented by a Poké Ball counter on the top left corner of the screen. There are a total of four worlds (Velbt, Woods, Tableland, and Motte) which are split into three levels each, as well as a single-screen boss battle at the end of each. This game has a debug mode enabled by default, allowing the player free movement while paused and to skip to the next level by pressing Select. In some places, the player can fall partway into the ground, although this doesn't have any implications. The music also glitches slightly at certain points.

Ending screen.

The background graphics are mostly ripped and slightly modified from Athena and Adventure Island II. Some of the enemies are also taken from various games, with some of them based on Pokémon. The sound engine was taken from Twin Bee, a game published and developed by Konami, and, while the game has a soundtrack of its' own, all the sound effects are still recognizably from Twin Bee - a setup similar to what Super Game and Gamtec used to have. The ending is Pikachu dancing with an "End" message at the top of the screen.

Other Versions

Panda World

This game was later hacked to make Panda World, which plays very similarly aside from different level layouts and the electric shock attack being replaced with the ability to throw snowballs, of which the player has a limited amount. Instead of Pikachu, the player controls a Tarepanda and this time around the debug mode now requires a cheat code to activate. Some of the background graphics are ripped from Mega Man 6.

Pocket Amethyst

Just a simple title screen hack.

Super Pocket Monster

Another hack of this game was made, called Super Pocket Monster, which is only known to exist on a 76-in-1 multicart. The rest of the game is the same as the original.

Super Popo's Adventure

A hack based on the BBC children's series Teletubbies, where you play as Po (erroneously referred to as Popo) going through levels to collect items for the other Teletubbies. It is only known to exist on 150 in 1 Real Game and on a 401 in 1 console by Orb Gaming, which also features Pocket Monster and Panda World.

Trivia

• The background music, along with sound effects, was later reused in Poke Tetris, a Tetris clone featuring Pikachu and Jigglypuff. Two unused tracks would however be used as level themes in Panda World and Super Popo's Adventure.
• "Velbt" is a misspelling of the word "Veldt" (also spelled "Veld") - a kind of field, usually present in South Africa, that's characteristic for being thinly forested but still having vegetation such as grass, bushes or shrubs.
• The dancing sprite of Pikachu seen in the ending is also used in Puckman Pockimon when there are credits in the machine but only the first player is active. This and the sound engine cues imply that the game's developer might've had some ties with Gamtec.
• The Tarepanda from Panda World makes a cameo in one cartridge of The Panda Prince.
• The backgrounds are taken from Athena for the NES.
• The title screen Pikachu in a cap is stolen from the Pokémon manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu.
• In Super Popo's Adventure:
  • There is an unused Teletubbies logo stored with the graphics for the title screen, along with text saying "PUSH". The former was removed likely to avoid any copyright issues from the BBC, while the latter was likely supposed to appear next to the "START" text.
  • When returning from watching a demo gameplay, Dipsy will sometimes turn red on the title screen. It is unknown why it happens; though it could simply just be a bug itself or a programming error.

Gallery

Pocket Monster

A 3-in-1 cart featuring Pocket Monster.

The menu of the 76 in 1 multicart featuring Super Pocket Monster.

Super Pocket Monster's title screen.

Cartridge featuring Misty, Starmie, and Ho-Oh.

Pocket Monster and Pokémon 2 in a 4-in-1 cartridge.

The Game Boy Advance cartridge.

Panda World

Title screen.

Gameplay.

Gameplay.

Continue screen.

Super Popo's Adventure

Title screen.

Ditto, but Dipsy is red.