Gunpey

Gunpey
Logo of the WonderSwan version
Genres Puzzle
Developer(s) Koto Laboratory
Q Entertainment
Art Co., Ltd
Publisher(s) Bandai
Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, Nintendo DS, mobile phone, PlayStation Portable
First release Gunpey (WonderSwan)
  • JP: March 4, 1999
Latest release Gunpey (PSP)
  • NA: November 14, 2006
  • JP: January 11, 2007
  • EU: March 30, 2007
  • AU: April 13, 2007

Gunpey (グンペイ), often written as Gun Pey or GunPey, is a series of handheld puzzle games released by Bandai. It was originally released for the WonderSwan, and has been ported to WonderSwan Color, PlayStation, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. The game was named as a tribute to the developer of the game, Gunpei Yokoi.[1] He is known for developing several handheld consoles such as Nintendo's Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and Bandai's Wonderswan system. In the series, players move line fragments vertically in a grid in order to make a single branching line connect horizontally from one end to the other. The objective of the game differs by what game mode players choose.

Gameplay

Screenshot of "Stage Mode"

Gunpey features a 5×10 grid and line fragments spread across it varying from shape such as caret (∧), inverted caret (∨), left slash (＼), and right slash (／). The players are only able to slide the line fragments vertically, either to move them or switch them with another segment. The goal of the game is to piece the broken lines together to form a connected line from one end to the other. After a line is completed, the line will glow, allowing players to connect any additional branching segments to achieve a combo bonus. A bonus is also awarded when all of the line segments are cleared from the playing field.[2]

  • "Endless Mode" features line fragments appearing from the bottom of the grid and gradually move to up to the top as more pieces appear. The rate at which the new pieces scroll up from the bottom increases as the levels go on. The game ends if any line fragments reach the top of the screen before they have been assembled into a full line.[3]
  • "Stage Mode" bears a resemblance to Endless Mode. The goal is to clear lines using a specific number of line fragments as they appear from the bottom of the grid. Once the number of lines has been cleared, players move on to the next stage. The number of used line fragments needed to clear a stage and the rate of new line fragments appearing increases as more stages are cleared.[3]
  • "Puzzle Mode" features a specific number of lines are set per each stage. All the line fragments must be connected without a single line remaining.[4]
  • "Story Mode" is a mode where Players battle against the CPU in order to progress the story. The goal is to clear lines with a certain number of lines similar to Puzzle Mode, however the CPU adds several mechanics that may affect progress such as shadowed-panels, side-scrolling grid, and falling bombs that can be thrown upwards against the CPU.[4] A vertical gauge is also featured. If the gauge is filled completely, the shadowed-panels disappear.[5] The Story revolves around a frog named Vincent as he saves a cat named Sherry from a group of outlaws. In Tarepanda no Gunpey, the story revolves around Tarepanda as he rolls around reaching specific destinations around the Earth and collecting photos of different Tarepanda slowly becoming a pile of Tarepandas.
  • "VS mode" allows two players to battle against each other. Players can choose difficulties between High, Normal, Low, and Poor. 'High' rewards less SP per clearing a line as 'Poor' rewards more SP.

Games

Original series
Title Release dates Platform Notes
Gunpey
WonderSwan Launch title for the WonderSwan. A special memorial pack version was released in celebration of reaching 20 million sold copies.
Tarepanda No Gunpey (たれぱんだのぐんぺい, Tarepanda's Gunpey)
WonderSwan Game features Tarepanda theme. A special edition bundle was also released containing the game and a Tarepanda-themed WonderSwan.[7]
Gunpey
PlayStation An enhanced port of the original WonderSwan version.
Gunpey EX (グンペイ EX)
WonderSwan Color Launch title for the WonderSwan Color. The game features new colored-base puzzles. The game is compatible with the Wondergate peripheral allowing players to play in multiplayer mode online and includes a new quit-restart function so players can take breaks.[10] however, the Story Mode feature has been removed.[11]
Gunpey
NTT DoCoMo Cell phone version based on Gunpey EX
Gunpey Rebirth
Title Release dates Platform Notes
Gunpey DS

Released in Japan as Oto o tsunagou! Gunpei Riba~su♪
(音をつなごう!グンペイりば～す♪, lit. "Connect the Sound! Gunpey Rebi-rth♪")
Nintendo DS Players have the option of using the touchscreen slide pieces up or down, or go with the classic using the D-Pad. There are two modes called Music Box, and G-Note, which add a slight variety to gameplay. There are nine playable characters, each with a different skin, and different sounds during gameplay.
Gunpey

Released in Japan as Gunpey-R
(グンペイ・リバース, lit. "Gunpey Rebirth")
PlayStation Portable Reminiscent of Lumines, and has a total of 40 skins, which slightly "alter" gameplay. It offers two modes of play, "Original" and "Break". Break mode differs from original in that any line segments above a completed line will drop down after that line has been cleared. Additionally, the player is given the option in the main menu to play a 10 x 10 grid versus the default size for added difficulty.

Reception

Famitsu magazine scored the WonderSwan version of the game a 33 out of 40.[21] Retro Gamer ranked the original WonderSwan game #2 on its "Top Ten WonderSwan Games" praising its simplicity and variety of modes it offers.[22] DefunctGames gave the game a B+ noting its different tone of gameplay compared to other puzzle games from its time.[23] DefunctGames also gave a B+ for the WonderSwan Color version,Gunpey EX, noting its simplicity and functionality of both controls and graphics, however criticizing the music quality.[11] Modojo gave Gunpey EX a 3 out of 5 giving it a mix review stating, "The fact is Gunpey's focus on individual circuits instead of complex combos coupled the clunky vertical shuffling of the wires made it an experience I couldn't lose myself in, like so many other titles. Still, it's good to see that the puzzle genre still has life left, and Gunpey EX is a fairly robust package."[24]

NintendoLife gave the game a 6 out of 10 stating, "The concept just isn't compelling or additive enough to grant the game classic status and the developers haven’t really added anything to change that."[25] GameSpot gave both the DS and PSP version a 7.7 out of 10 stating, "Not only is it fun and challenging, but it's got a crazy sense of style and a rewarding level of difficulty."[26] Eurogamer gave the PSP version 7 out of 10, praising its level designs and difficulty but criticizing the time it takes to play the game.[27] IGN gave the game a 6.1 out of 10 stating,"Gunpey is a somewhat fun puzzle game, but it'll never reach classic status because it's one of those games that relies too much on random placement of tiles."[28] IGN however gave the PSP version a less favorable review criticizing the gameplay for it being dull and boring.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "TGS 2006: Gunpey". IGN. November 2, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ Gunpey manual. Bandai/Koto Laoratory. pp. 5–7.
  3. 1 2 Gunpey manual. Bandai/Koto Laoratory. p. 9.
  4. 1 2 Gunpey manual. Bandai/Koto Laoratory. p. 10.
  5. ↑ Gunpey manual. Bandai/Koto Laoratory. p. 11.
  6. ↑ 第21回　スワンクリスタル受注生産へ！　ワンダースワンのこれまでとこれからを探る！ 【見習い記者の取材日記】 (in Japanese). Famitsu. March 8, 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "たれぱんだのぐんぺい WS" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ "グンペイ PS" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ "WS『GUNPEY EX（グンペイ EX）』" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  10. ↑ "GUNPEY EX" (in Japanese). Bandai. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Tom Lenting (August 27, 2011). "Gunpey EX Review". DefunctGames. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  12. ↑ "NTTドコモ「iモード」コンテンツ『バンダイ コレクション』10月4日よりサービス開始" (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Games. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ 音をつなごう！グンペイりば〜す♪ (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Gunpey DS". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Gunpey DS". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Gunpey DS". GameSpy. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Gunpey PSP". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  18. ↑ グンペイ リバース (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Gunpey PSP". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Gunpey-R PSP". GameSpy. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  21. ↑ "ワンダースワン - GUN PEY（グンペイ）" (915). Weekly Famitsu. 30 June 2006: 112.
  22. ↑ "Wonderswan: Perfect Ten Games". Retro Gamer (36): 72, 73. 2007.
  23. ↑ Cyril Lachel (October 28, 2006). "GunPey Review". DefunctGames. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  24. ↑ Justin Davis (2006). "Gunpey EX Mobile Review". Modojo.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  25. ↑ Damien McFerran (April 12, 2007). "Review: Gunpey DS". Nintendolife. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  26. ↑ Kevin VanOrd (November 21, 2006). "GunPey DS/PSP Review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  27. ↑ Dave McCarthy (February 25, 2007). "Gunpey Review: Yokoi-ing to like this". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  28. ↑ Craig Harris (November 29, 2006). "Gunpey DS Review: A Wonderswan puzzler hits the Nintendo DS with a bizarre presentation". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  29. ↑ Ed Lewis (November 14, 2006). "Gunpey Review: Boring and slow, this puzzler never takes off". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
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