Flappy (フラッピー, Furappī) is a puzzle game by dB-Soft in the same vein as the Eggerland series and Sokoban that is obscure outside Japan. It features Flappy, a somewhat mole-like character who must complete each level by pushing a blue stone from its starting place to the blue tile destination.

Flappy
Developer(s)dB-Soft
Publisher(s)dB-Soft
Platform(s)Famicom, FM-7, MSX, PC-6001, PC-8000, PC-88, Sharp MZ-80K/700/800/1500, Sharp X1
ReleaseFamicom
  • JP: June 14, 1985
FM-7
MSX
PC-6001
PC-8000
PC-88
Sharp MZ-80K/700/800/1500
Sharp X1
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Flappy first appeared on the Sharp X1 home computer in 1983. This debut was soon followed by conversions to a number of popular Japanese computers in the early 1980s, including the NEC's line of PCs and the Fujitsu FM series. Ports for the MSX computer line and the Family Computer were released in 1985.[1] dB-Soft produced a sequel with more difficult puzzles called King Flappy for the benefit of anyone who managed to clear the original 200 levels (or "sides" or "scenes" as the game calls them). A Nintendo Game Boy port was released exclusively in Japan in 1990 and was published by Victor Musical Industries.[2]

Plot edit

The beautiful planet of Blue Star, home-planet to a young boy named FLAPPY, is invaded by Dark Emperor Ngalo-Ngolo. The proud inhabitants of Blue Star, wanting neither war nor the invasion, self-destruct along with the planet on a path of self-determination. FLAPPY, however, is boarded onto an escape capsule headed for neighboring Planet Seviras by his father and so survives. From his capsule he sees fragments of the exploded Blue Star rain down incessantly on Planet Seviras.

Wandering aimlessly about Planet Seviras, FLAPPY reaches an oasis where he suddenly hears a voice from the sky saying, 'Gather up the fragments of Blue Star, the Blue Stones, to this Blue Area. When all of them have been gathered...' FLAPPY, believing a miracle has just occurred, begins on a journey to gather all the Blue Stones.

Gameplay edit

Gravity, gaps in the floors, and wandering enemies stand in the way of Flappy reaching his goal. Flappy can pick up and throw sleeping mushrooms at the enemies to knock them out for a while, or drop stones on them to crush them permanently. There are, however, many obstacles along the way: brick walls you must work your way around, brown stones which you can crush but which can also crush you if they fall on you, holes or dead angles in which the blue stone becomes irretrievable if it falls into them, and moving enemies. The game features two enemies: Unicorns and Ebira. Unicorns are green creatures that move in mostly-repetitive horizontal patterns. Ebira are red crab-like enemies (the word "ebi" is a Japanese term for shellfish) that relentlessly chase Flappy both horizontally and vertically. Ebira tend to mimic Flappy's movements, so Flappy must be careful to avoid being charged by a persistent Ebira.

Ports edit

Legacy edit

Sequels edit

  • King Flappy, X1 ・PC-8801mkIISR ・PC-8001mkIISR (1985)
  • Flappy 2: The resurrection of Blue Star, X68000 (1989)
  • Flappy Special, Game Boy (1990)
  • Flappy for Windows, Microsoft Windows (1995)
  • FLAPPY95, Microsoft Windows (1996)
  • Flappy World, Microsoft Windows (2001)

Clones edit

References edit

  1. ^ Famicom Games Archived 2007-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, Famicom World.
  2. ^ Flappy Special, Gamekult.com.
  3. ^ "Flappy Releases". MobyGames. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  4. ^ "Hra 100: Flappy (1987)". Herní Archeolog (in Czech). 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  5. ^ "Hra 267: Flappy (1988)". Herní Archeolog (in Czech). 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  6. ^ "Floppy". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  7. ^ "Beyond Floppy". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  8. ^ "Flappy". SourceForge. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  9. ^ "Tlappy". Google Play. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2022-05-30.

External links edit