Ganbare Neo Poke-Kun
Encyclopedia
Ganbare Neo Poke-Kun was an unusual game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
, which drew direct inspiration from the majority of video game history. The game was divided into two modes; observing Neo Poke-Kun in his tiny studio apartment (a stripped-down homage to Little Computer People
), and playing the minigames that Neo Poke-Kun would create for you as long as you kept him happy. In a manner that prefigured Nintendo
's WarioWare, Inc. series, the minigames that Neo Poke-Kun invented were very short, and usually parodies of popular video games. He would begin simply, creating his own versions of Pong
and Breakout
, and would gradually move up to historical sims (a'la Nobunaga's Ambition
), shoot 'em up
s, and fighting game
s. The game used the Neo Geo Pocket Color's internal clock to control the speed at which Neo Poke-Kun created games, when he slept, when he went to work, etc.
The observation mode mostly involved giving Neo Poke-Kun random visitors (including a beautiful woman, a naked man with floor-length nose-hairs, and an old man who slowly inches his way into the room then dies of a heart attack), and generally annoying him by dropping things on his head.
Neo Geo Pocket Color
The Neo Geo Pocket Color , is a 16-bit colour handheld game console by SNK. It was the last console they produced in the Neo Geo family...
, which drew direct inspiration from the majority of video game history. The game was divided into two modes; observing Neo Poke-Kun in his tiny studio apartment (a stripped-down homage to Little Computer People
Little Computer People
Little Computer People, also called House-on-a-Disk, is a life simulation game/god game released in 1985 by Activision for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum and Apple II. An Amiga version was released in 1987...
), and playing the minigames that Neo Poke-Kun would create for you as long as you kept him happy. In a manner that prefigured Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's WarioWare, Inc. series, the minigames that Neo Poke-Kun invented were very short, and usually parodies of popular video games. He would begin simply, creating his own versions of Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
and Breakout
Breakout clone
A Breakout clone is a sub-class of the "bat-and-ball" genre introduced with the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis and Atari's Pong...
, and would gradually move up to historical sims (a'la Nobunaga's Ambition
Nobunaga's Ambition
is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games, first released in 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei.Games in the franchise have been released on a variety of gaming platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive,...
), 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...
s, and fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s. The game used the Neo Geo Pocket Color's internal clock to control the speed at which Neo Poke-Kun created games, when he slept, when he went to work, etc.
The observation mode mostly involved giving Neo Poke-Kun random visitors (including a beautiful woman, a naked man with floor-length nose-hairs, and an old man who slowly inches his way into the room then dies of a heart attack), and generally annoying him by dropping things on his head.
Trivia
- Since this game, Neo Poke-Kun was used as the Neo Geo PocketNeo Geo PocketThe Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first hand held video game system, released in Japan in late 1998; however, lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, and was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The system only had a retail release within the Japan and Hong Kong...
mascot until the end of the console's life. - This little character wasn't forgotten by SNKSNK PlaymoreSNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
, since he has appeared in various artwork for the company - being used in part of the FalcoonFalcoonTatsuhiko Kanaoka, better known by the art-name Falcoon , is a Japanese artist formerly working for SNK Playmore. He has been involved in several iterations of The King of Fighters franchise....
artwork for KOF 2001 (in one of his "character cards", when Li Xiangfei is playing in a Neo Geo PocketNeo Geo PocketThe Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first hand held video game system, released in Japan in late 1998; however, lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, and was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The system only had a retail release within the Japan and Hong Kong...
with Neo Poke-Kun in her shoulder). - In SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters' Clash 2, Neo Poke-Kun is featured on reaction card R012.
- Neo Poke-Kun appears recently in Neo Geo Battle ColiseumNeo Geo Battle ColiseumNeoGeo Battle Coliseum is a 2 on 2 tag team fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade board. The game features characters from several SNK and ADK titles. The PlayStation 2 version of the game has been released in Japan, North America and Europe...
, being the mascot of one of the protagonists of this game: Ai. Also appeared in almost all Ai's artworks. - Neo Poke-Kun also appeared in several cameos in Doki Doki Majo Shinpan!Doki Doki Majo Shinpan!is a game developed by SNK Playmore for Nintendo DS.A game journalist from the gaming blog Kotaku asked an SNK spokesperson if this game would be released in the US, and the response was "...this title is only for Japanese market. We do not have any plan for localize to the other versions.",...
and in Doki Majo PlusDoki Majo Plusis the third game in the Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! series. The game is set on a south island during a holiday break. The game was released only in Japan on July 30, 2009....
for Nintendo DS.