Circus Charlie
Encyclopedia
is an action
/platform game
originally released by Konami
in which you control a clown
named Charlie. The game was a hit arcade game
in 1984, which also had a successful release on the MSX
in 1984, the Nintendo Famicom
in 1986 by Soft Pro and on the Commodore 64
in 1987. It was released along with other Konami classic games on the Nintendo DS
compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
.
(plus an extra stage) of differing tasks that are to be completed by Charlie. Grabbing money bag
s, performing dangerous trick
s, avoiding enemies, completing stages, etc., earns Charlie points
. After the sixth stage is completed, the game starts over again but with a faster pace and more difficult (but exactly the same in terms of task to be completed) levels.
Charlie also races against time. Bonus points are awarded according to the time remaining, but running out of time won't cost the player a life.
The six stages for the arcade and Commodore 64 versions:
In the Famicom version, the trampoline stage is omitted, but it has a "B" mode, in which all the levels are repeated with added difficulty. The game often shows up on Famicom clone systems and multicarts, usually with its title screen altered to remove copyright, some versions also have the levels split up to make up separate games in multicarts.
, another Konami
arcade game, headbutting the teacher's desk from below three times in the classroom stage will make Circus Charlie appear, giving the player extra points.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
/platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
originally released 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 which you control a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
named Charlie. The game was a hit arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
in 1984, which also had a successful release on the 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...
in 1984, the Nintendo Famicom
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...
in 1986 by Soft Pro and on the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
in 1987. It was released along with other Konami classic games on the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
compilation Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits, released as Konami Arcade Collection in Japan and Konami Arcade Classics in Europe and Oceania, is a collection of 15 classic arcade games by Konami for the Nintendo DS.-Lineup:...
.
Gameplay
In the game there are six regular stagesLevel (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
(plus an extra stage) of differing tasks that are to be completed by Charlie. Grabbing money bag
Money bag
A money bag is a bag of money used to hold and transport coins and banknotes from/to a mint, bank, ATM, milled, business, or other institution...
s, performing dangerous trick
Trick
Trick may refer to:* Trick , a 2009 album by Kumi Koda* Trick , a 1999 American film* Tricks , a 2007 Polish film by Andrzej Jakimowski* Trick , a comedic Japanese television drama...
s, avoiding enemies, completing stages, etc., earns Charlie points
Score (gaming)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
. After the sixth stage is completed, the game starts over again but with a faster pace and more difficult (but exactly the same in terms of task to be completed) levels.
Charlie also races against time. Bonus points are awarded according to the time remaining, but running out of time won't cost the player a life.
The six stages for the arcade and Commodore 64 versions:
- Stage 1 - Flaming Hoops: Charlie rides a lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
through the stage jumping through flamingFlameA flame is the visible , gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone...
hoops and over fire potFire potA fire pot is a container, usually earthenware, for carrying fire. Fire pots have been used since prehistoric times to transport fire from one place to another, for warmth while on the move, for cooking, in religious ceremonies and even as weapons of war....
s. Money bags and hidden coinCoinA coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s help players to increase their score. Touching the fire roasts both Charlie and the lion, losing a life.
- Stage 2 - Monkey Jump: MonkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s try to knock Charlie off the tightrope but he can jump over them. Jumping over a brown and purple monkey at the same time will yield bonus points. Running or falling onto a monkey will make Charlie fall and he'll lose a life.
- Stage 3 - TrampolineTrampolineA trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....
s: Charlie must jump and somersaultSomersaultA somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
through the level, while trying to avoid the knives and flames being thrown by other circus performers. If Charlie jumps straight up on the same trampoline 4 times, he will fly through the top of the circus tent, losing a life.
- Stage 4 - Ball Walk: Charlie must roll on a ball and jump onto oncoming balls. Bumping onto a ball will make Charlie fall and lose a life.
- Stage 5 - Horse Hurdles: Ride the horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
and try to jump off its back onto springboard hurdleHurdleA hurdle is a moveable section of light fence. Traditionally they were made from wattle , but modern hurdles are often made of metal. Hurdles are used for handling livestock, as decorative fencing, for horse racing and in the track and field event of hurdling.-Types:*Traditional hurdles are made...
s scattered across the level. Charlie scores extra points for every consecutive bounce. Falling from the horse or missing the landing platform at the end results in the loss of a life.
- Stage 6 - TrapezeTrapezeA trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
(features a sample of StraussJohann Strauss IIJohann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
's The Blue DanubeThe Blue DanubeThe Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
waltz): Charlie must negotiate several swinging trapezes to make it to the goal platform. Charlie can skip a trapeze and use the trampoline to get the next and score extra points. Missing the trapeze or hanging on one for too long will make Charlie fall and lose a life. When Charlie reaches the platform, he is kissed by the girl waiting there and then performs a neat trick -- he splits into several clonesCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of himself and dances for the cheering crowd.
- Extra Stage - Dolphin Trampolines: Every time the player completes ten events, the player is treated to a special bonus stageBonus stageA bonus stage is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups. Often a bonus stage will have no enemies or hazards, or may contain them but the player character is invulnerable to attack from them...
. This stage is entirely similar to the ordinary Trampoline stage, however it is set in a flooded circus ring that contains "killer" dolphinDolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s. These dolphins like to jump over one trampoline, swim under the next, jump over the next one, and so on. They are the only threat to Charlie, but they are fast and must be watched carefully in order to avoid them. In general, it is a good idea to jump at least once for every dolphin that comes towards Charlie. Sometimes the dolphins will come in pairs, one going up and the other going down. The player will usually avoid both of them by jumping twice before moving on. As with the regular Trampoline stage, there are money bags positioned in the air. Collecting each one awards an increasing number of points.
Different Versions
In the "Level Select" version of the game, the player can choose any of the stages to play, but only a limited number of times each, whereupon the level will become unselectable. There is no "ending" to the game—after the first five levels have each been played to their limit, the player then repeats the trapeze stage until all his lives are exhausted.In the Famicom version, the trampoline stage is omitted, but it has a "B" mode, in which all the levels are repeated with added difficulty. The game often shows up on Famicom clone systems and multicarts, usually with its title screen altered to remove copyright, some versions also have the levels split up to make up separate games in multicarts.
Other appearances
In MikieMikie
Mikie, known in Japan as , is a arcade game by Konami where the player must guide a student called "Mikie" around the school, classroom, and locker room to collect hearts which make up a letter from his girlfriend Mandy while being chased by various members of the school staff...
, another 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...
arcade game, headbutting the teacher's desk from below three times in the classroom stage will make Circus Charlie appear, giving the player extra points.
External links
- Charlie entry at the CenturiCenturiCenturi, based in Hialeah, Florida, was one of the top six suppliers of coin operated video game machinery in the United States. Many of the machines distributed in the US under the Centuri name were licensed from overseas manufacturers, particularly Konami....
.net Arcade Database