Antarctic Adventure
Encyclopedia
Antarctic Adventure, known in Japan
as Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibōken (けっきょく南極大冒険) is a video game developed by Konami
in 1983
for MSX
, and later for video game consoles, such as NES
. The player takes the role of an Antarctic penguin
, racing to disparate research station
s owned by different countries in Antarctica.
The gameplay is similar to Sega
's Turbo
, but plays at a much slower pace. The penguin, later named Penta, must reach the next station before time runs out while avoiding sea lion
s and breaks in the ice. Throughout the levels, fish jump out of ice holes and can be caught for bonus points. The game, like many early video games, has no ending – when the player reaches the last station, the game starts from the first level again, but with increased difficulty.
computer in 1986
, entitled Penguin Adventure
. In addition, the penguin character Penta, and his son Pentarou became a mascot
for Konami through the 1980s. They have made appearances in over 10 games. Of particularly note are his appearances in the Parodius series
of shoot 'em up
games.
A screen from this game can briefly be seen in the introduction of Gradius ReBirth
, released in 2008 for the Wii
Virtual Console
.
There was rumored to be a coin operated arcade version released by Konami in 1984, but the existence of an actual example has yet to be confirmed.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daibōken (けっきょく南極大冒険) is a video game developed by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in 1983
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
for MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, and later for video game consoles, such as NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The player takes the role of an Antarctic penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
, racing to disparate research station
Research station
A research station is a station built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. Research station sites might include outer space and oceans. Many nations have research stations in Antarctica; Showa Station, Halley and Troll are examples...
s owned by different countries in Antarctica.
The gameplay is similar to Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Turbo
Turbo (video game)
Turbo is a racing game released in 1981 by Sega. The game was brought into arcades in both the standard upright cabinet format, and a semi-enclosed sit-down version to better simulate driving a real car.. The cars in the game resemble Formula 1 race cars. It was the first game to feature the now...
, but plays at a much slower pace. The penguin, later named Penta, must reach the next station before time runs out while avoiding sea lion
Sea Lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...
s and breaks in the ice. Throughout the levels, fish jump out of ice holes and can be caught for bonus points. The game, like many early video games, has no ending – when the player reaches the last station, the game starts from the first level again, but with increased difficulty.
Legacy
Antarctic Adventure was followed by a sequel for the MSXMSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
computer in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
, entitled Penguin Adventure
Penguin Adventure
is an action-adventure platform video game released by Konami in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX action games for its...
. In addition, the penguin character Penta, and his son Pentarou became a mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for Konami through the 1980s. They have made appearances in over 10 games. Of particularly note are his appearances in the Parodius series
Parodius series
The Parodius series is a series of horizontally-scrolling shooters developed by Konami. The games are tongue-in-cheek parodies of Gradius, hence the name...
of shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
games.
A screen from this game can briefly be seen in the introduction of Gradius ReBirth
Gradius ReBirth
Gradius ReBirth is a shoot 'em up video game for WiiWare developed by M2 and produced and released by Konami. It is the latest installment in the Gradius series, and was released in Japan on September 2, 2008, and in North America on March 9, 2009 and in the PAL regions on July 3,...
, released in 2008 for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
.
There was rumored to be a coin operated arcade version released by Konami in 1984, but the existence of an actual example has yet to be confirmed.
Trivia
- The music that plays in each level is "The Skaters' WaltzLes PâtineursLes Patineurs or The Skaters or Die Schlittschuhläufer , Op. 183, is a waltz by Émile Waldteufel.Known in English as The Skaters' Waltz, it was composed in 1882 and was inspired by the Cercle des Patineurs or 'Rink of Skaters' at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris...
" by Émile WaldteufelÉmile WaldteufelÉmile Waldteufel was a French composer of dance music.-Life:Émile Waldteufel was born in Strasbourg to a Jewish Alsatian family of musicians....
.
Appearances of Penguin and Pentarou
- 1983 – Antarctic Adventure (MSX, ColecoVision, NES) – Protagonist (Penguin)
- 1985 – Konami's Ping PongKonami's Ping PongKonami's Ping Pong is a sports arcade game created in 1985 by Konami. The game is noted as the first video game to accurately reflect the gameplay of table tennis, as opposed to earlier over-simplifications like Pong...
(Arcade) – Protagonist (Penguin) - 1986 – Penguin AdventurePenguin Adventureis an action-adventure platform video game released by Konami in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX action games for its...
(MSX) – Protagonist (Penguin) - 1986 – Konami Game MasterKonami Game MasterThe Konami Game Master, released as in Japan, is a special cheat cartridge specifically designed for Konami games on the MSX.It allowed the player to start at different stages, with more lives, save the game's progress and high scores, make screen dumps, and play in slow motion, as well as other uses...
(MSX) (Penguin) - 1988 – Konami Wai Wai WorldKonami Wai Wai World, "wai wai" being a Japanese onomatopoeia for a noisy, crowded area, is a 1988 Family Computer platform video game released only in Japan by Konami. The game itself stars various Konami created characters as well as Mikey and King Kong, who appeared in two Konami-produced, movie-based...
(Famicom/Mobile Phone) – In a brief cameo, he operates a special transportation device that sends the main character to one of the game's six main levels. The mobile phone version of Wai Wai World (2006) replaces King Kong with Penta and an Antarctic stage. - 1988 – ParodiusParodius, or just Parodius, is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Konami for the MSX computer and was released in Japan. The game is notable for being the first title in the Parodius series, although it is often confused with its sequel Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－ in that respect, which...
(MSX) – One of the selectable characters (Penguin) - 1988 – Game Master 2 (MSX)
- 1988 – Konami no Uranai Sensation (MSX2)
- 1989 - Ganbare Goemon 2 (Famicom) - It may appear as an enemy if you buy a game cartridge in level 5 at the Konami store.
- 1989 – Hai no Majutsushi (MSX2) – One of the selectable characters
- 1989 - Ganbare Pennant Race (Famicom) - ?
- 1990 – Parodius Da! －Shinwa kara Owarai e－ (Arcade, MSX, Super Famicom, Game Boy, PC Engine, Mobile Phones) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou)
- 1991 — Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Paseri JouWai Wai World 2: SOS!! Paseri Jouis a 1991 Famicom platform game released only in Japan by Konami. It is a sequel to Konami Wai Wai World, and stars various Konami characters.-Gameplay:...
(Famicom) – He makes a brief cameo between stages. - 1991 – Yume Penguin MonogatariYume Penguin MonogatariYume Penguin Monogatari is a hybrid platform/shooter video game developed by Konami in 1991 for the Nintendo Family Computer.-Summary:This game is particularly notable because of its highly peculiar plot and gameplay...
(Famicom) – Obese protagonist - 1992 - Tsurikko Penta
- 1993 - Violent StormViolent Stormis a side-scrolling beat-'em-up for the arcades produced by Konami.-Plot:The year could either be in the 50s or 90s. In the beginning, World War III has at last expired. The people are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild their civilizations...
(Arcade) - ? - 1994 – Gokujō Parodius! ～Kako no Eikō o Motomete～ (Arcade, Super Famicom) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou)
- 1995 – Jikkyou Oshaberi ParodiusJikkyou Oshaberi Parodiusis the fourth game in a series of parody shooters produced by Konami. The gameplay is stylistically very similar to the Gradius series, but the graphics and music are intentionally absurd. The game, as its name would suggest, contains a large amount of Japanese voice samples shouted out in a style...
(Super Famicom, PlayStation) – One of the selectable characters (Pentarou) - 1996 – Sexy ParodiusSexy Parodiusis a scrolling shooter arcade game. It is the fifth installment of the Parodius series, produced by Konami. Like the rest of the series, it is a parody of the Gradius series and other Konami games. It also contains explicitly sexual level and enemy designs and risqué innuendo...
(Arcade, Sega Saturn, PlayStation) – Is the boss, and perhaps owner, of the Parodius mercenary organization. (Pentarou) - 1996 - Balloon Penta
- 1997 – Paro WarsParo Warsis a turn-based strategy video game produced by Konami in 1997. It features characters and conflicts based upon the popular Parodius series of video games which in turn is a parody of the long running Gradius series...
(PlayStation) – One of the selectable characters - 2001 – Konami Krazy RacersKonami Krazy RacersKonami Krazy Racers is a kart racing video game published and developed by Konami for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console and iOS. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America and some PAL regions. It was a launch game for the system...
(Game Boy Advance) – Options screens - 2003 - Frogger's Journey: The Forgotten Relic (Game Boy Advance) - Pentarou together with his cousin Mohan.
- 2004 - Deadly Skies III (PlayStation 2) - Unlockable aircraft
- 2004 - Penta no Tsuri Bōken DX (Mobile Phone) - ?
- 2008 – New International Track & FieldNew International Track & Field, is a sports video game by Konami for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Sumo Digital, it is the latest game in Konami's Track and Field series.-Overview:...
(Nintendo DS) – One of the selectable Konami characters - 2010 - Gokuraku Parodius (Pachislot) - ?