City Connection
Encyclopedia
is a video game developed and published in 1985
by Jaleco
for the arcade
in Japan
and published by Kitcorp as Cruisin' outside of Japan.
The game supports up to two players (playing alternatively). It's a platform game in which the player controls a car that can never be stopped. The car normally moves at the same speed, although the player can push in the direction the car is moving to make it drive slightly faster. It can only 180° handbrake turn
or jump
(normal jump or high jump). The object of the game is to drive through a series of cities
and paint every part of the roads
in each city as proof of the player's visit to that city. City Connection was remarkable for its time in that each location had its own background and music which was a variation on the main theme of the game. There are twelve locations: Manhattan
, The Grand Canyon, Easter Island
, Paris
, Neuschwanstein, London
, Sydney
, Egypt
ian temples, and cities in India
, Holland, China
and Japan
.
The main character in the game is a female driver, Clarice, of a Honda City
(the North American version features a male driver) on a tour of all the sights and roads across the world. To prove that she has visited a particular location, she must drive around the location painting every section of the road white. However, the police
, who have no tolerance for vandalism, attempt to stop the driver from completing her goal. The player's car can jump and fire cans of oil.
To avoid forcing the player from retracing the same roads again, the roads change color when the car drives over them, indicating that that specific road has been painted. There are three main obstacles: police, cats, and spikes. The police chase after the car, and if a police car
comes into contact with the main character's car, the car "explodes" by turning into a group of hearts, and the player loses a life. To combat this, the player can obtain cans of oil, which can be used to cause the police cars to spin out of control, allowing the player to bump them off the screen. Other enemies include a cat, which, when hit, causes the player to lose an extra life as the cat goes diagonally off the screen (but does not cause the car to "explode") with playing of a comical music, "Der Flohwalzer
", known as "Neko Funjatta" (I Stepped on the Cat) in Japan. There is also spikes, which make the car "explode" on contact.
Occasionally, a balloon
may float by during any given stage. If the car touches one of these balloons, it collects it, and collecting three such balloons will activate a warp that sends the car multiple stages ahead, and provides significant bonus points. Although the city you travel to will change, the difficulty pattern of the road will remain the same. As the number of cities you travel to loop endlessly, the game is not shortened by taking a warp.
One particular thing about this game is the "catchy" tune that plays in the background as you enter a new city. Although it uses "ethnic" variations according to the destination, it's an adaptation of a famous classic piece, "Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso", from Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1
.
The arcade game was later ported to the MSX
, ZX Spectrum
and Nintendo Entertainment System
. The NES version was also re-released on the Virtual Console
in North America on May 26, 2008 at a cost of 500 Wii Points. The game has a sequel available on cellphones exclusively in Japan titled as .
At this game's 10th stage, players will be able to hear the opening theme of the 1960s Batman
TV series, in a medley with the Tchaikovsky's music.
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
by Jaleco
Jaleco
is a Japanese video game publisher and developer established in 2006.The original Jaleco Ltd was founded in 1974. In 2006, it decided to become a pure holding company by renaming itself Jaleco Holding and splitting its video game operations into a newly created subsdiary that took its former name...
for the arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
in Japan
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...
and published by Kitcorp as Cruisin' outside of Japan.
The game supports up to two players (playing alternatively). It's a platform game in which the player controls a car that can never be stopped. The car normally moves at the same speed, although the player can push in the direction the car is moving to make it drive slightly faster. It can only 180° handbrake turn
Handbrake turn
The handbrake turn is a driving technique used to deliberately slide a car sideways, either for the purpose of negotiating a very tight bend quickly, or for turning around well within the vehicle's own turning circle....
or jump
Jumping
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory...
(normal jump or high jump). The object of the game is to drive through a series of cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
and paint every part of the roads
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
in each city as proof of the player's visit to that city. City Connection was remarkable for its time in that each location had its own background and music which was a variation on the main theme of the game. There are twelve locations: Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, The Grand Canyon, Easter Island
Easter Island
Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Neuschwanstein, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian temples, and cities in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Holland, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
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...
.
Gameplay
Honda City
The Honda City is a subcompact car manufactured by the Japanese manufacturer Honda since 1981. Originally made for the Japanese, European and Australasian markets, the City was retired without replacement in 1994...
(the North American version features a male driver) on a tour of all the sights and roads across the world. To prove that she has visited a particular location, she must drive around the location painting every section of the road white. However, the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, who have no tolerance for vandalism, attempt to stop the driver from completing her goal. The player's car can jump and fire cans of oil.
To avoid forcing the player from retracing the same roads again, the roads change color when the car drives over them, indicating that that specific road has been painted. There are three main obstacles: police, cats, and spikes. The police chase after the car, and if a police car
Police car
A police car is a ground vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly, to transport criminal suspects, or to patrol an area, while providing a...
comes into contact with the main character's car, the car "explodes" by turning into a group of hearts, and the player loses a life. To combat this, the player can obtain cans of oil, which can be used to cause the police cars to spin out of control, allowing the player to bump them off the screen. Other enemies include a cat, which, when hit, causes the player to lose an extra life as the cat goes diagonally off the screen (but does not cause the car to "explode") with playing of a comical music, "Der Flohwalzer
Der Flohwalzer
The Flea Waltz is a simple piano piece, often one of the first learned:It is known all over the world. According to an article by Hiromi Oketani in the Osaka Shoin Women's College Annual for 1994, it is known in Japan as...
", known as "Neko Funjatta" (I Stepped on the Cat) in Japan. There is also spikes, which make the car "explode" on contact.
Occasionally, a balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
may float by during any given stage. If the car touches one of these balloons, it collects it, and collecting three such balloons will activate a warp that sends the car multiple stages ahead, and provides significant bonus points. Although the city you travel to will change, the difficulty pattern of the road will remain the same. As the number of cities you travel to loop endlessly, the game is not shortened by taking a warp.
One particular thing about this game is the "catchy" tune that plays in the background as you enter a new city. Although it uses "ethnic" variations according to the destination, it's an adaptation of a famous classic piece, "Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso", from Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888. The first version received heavy criticism from Nikolai Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky's desired pianist....
.
Ports and related releases
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...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
and Nintendo Entertainment System
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 NES version was also re-released on the 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...
in North America on May 26, 2008 at a cost of 500 Wii Points. The game has a sequel available on cellphones exclusively in Japan titled as .
At this game's 10th stage, players will be able to hear the opening theme of the 1960s Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
TV series, in a medley with the Tchaikovsky's music.
External links
- City Connection at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- City Connection arcade screenshots
- City Connection Reloaded, remake of the game.