Game:

Tinkle Pit (1994)

Duration: 11:14

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Tinkle Pit is a fine, although VERY OBSCURE, arcade game made by Namco in 1993...but compared to numerous other arcade games of the early 90s, the concept might be a bit "dated". TP is not a game that excels in any particular area, by arcade standards, so it wasn't exactly a smash hit in Japan...the only area (to my knowledge) that the game was released for. It was never ported, from what I have discovered, and because the game essentially possesses a treasure trove of past Namco game references, some that North American (or others outside of Japan) would catch or understand, there are a lot of reasons why the game never left Japan. The game also is "decidedly retro", in a sense...as the game seems to have a more "console aesthetic" in pretty much every sense (that isn't necessarily a bad thing as a whole). The visuals are bright and colorful and the music and sounds are quirky, but playing the game really makes me feel like I am playing a console game...especially seeing the story introduction --- the static imagery and the like.

Playing with Pitt (Player 1) and Patti (Player 2), your goal is the eventually stop a foul demon named Mao, who has turned all the people of "Tinker Land" (Tinkerland) into statues. How will you do this? By using some GIANT BALLS ("Tinker Balls", to be precise) that you drag around that have the power to thwack baddies who chase you...but let me sidestep for a second --- since I just generally described the story premise from the intro, you should know that the intro doesn't have much "sound". The "music during attract mode" (or whatever that feature was) is "ON", by default, so the sound is only during the gameplay segments, not the story segments. Before I describe the gameplay in more detail, you can find a lot of useful information about the MANY Namco references in this game at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinkle_Pit

TP is a "maze-style" arcade game, which is similar to games like Pac-Man and a slew of others. Pitt (and Patti) must walk around the mazes, collecting items (explained further along) and avoiding enemies (which include the Heitai from Toy Pop along with the Pookas and Fygars from Dig Dug); however, they have the power to drop their Tinker Balls, which are both invulnerable to the enemies, and move around by pressing the Line button, therefore creating a line between them and their balls. Releasing the button makes their balls come back to them; the enemies are killed by having the balls slam into them. There are also pieces of popcorn which can be picked up around the mazes - and by pressing the Popcorn button, Pitt and Patti can throw them at the enemies, and they shall bounce off the walls until they hit one (or evaporate if they have not done so by the end of the stage). Killing all enemies in a maze advances the player to the next stage; however, in the event that there is one enemy remaining, the creature will make for the nearest corner of the maze, say "Bye-bye!", and disappear (which shall detract from the "Pursuit Bonus" that the players will receive after they defeat Mao at the end of the game).

Naturally, some of the items you collect are power-ups that can help give you the upper hand...The "Popcorn" was already mentioned (and is the most common), but there are several others. One such power-up is an item that turns your "line" (explained further along) into an electrical line, which will zap and stun enemies that walk on it, allowing you to easily smash them with your ball by releasing said line. Another one is an item that will transform Pitt into Pac-Man and Patti into Ms. Pac-Man and the enemies will become ghosts that you can eat!

Also, you collect "different items" on the different worlds you visit...the first world, you collect "food". The second world, you collect "dolls". The third world, Emeraldia (which is a cool set of stages inspired by Namco's Emeraldia, made earlier...we have a video for that game), you collect "shells". As you collect items, you may notice that nearby/adjacent items transform...if you collect all of the "same item", you get a "PERFECT" bonus at the end of a level, but keep in mind...trying to collect all of the same item will make your journey more perilous, so it is a risk versus reward thing, especially in the later levels.

Most may have never heard of TP, but it is clear, in the many references present within the game, that Namco wanted it to be a special homage to their many works. Finding all the references and cameo appearances is actually just as challenging (or even MORE challenging) as the game itself! The game is definitely below-the-radar, but it was crafted with a lot of love, and is fun to play, even if it isn't as "IN YOUR FACE" as a lot of arcade games of the early 90s.

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