Penguin Adventure (夢大陸アドベンチャー Yume Tairiku Adobenchā?, lit. "Dream Continent Adventure") is an action-adventure platform video game released by Konami in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX action games for its gameplay, depth, variety and rich pseudo-3D tile-based graphics with sprites. The story follows Penta, a penguin who has to bring home a golden apple in order to cure Penguette, the Penguin Princess.
Gameplay[]
This title significantly expanded upon the gameplay of Antarctic Adventure by most notably adding a greater variety of stages and enemies and RPG elements: boss fights, purchasable items, and several mini-games. Items can be purchased through three different fisherman, in exchange for fish, that give Penta new abilities. One of the items that can be bought is a gun. The usage of this gun would also be reflected in Penta's son Pentarou, during his appearances in the Parodius series.
Level design and variety has increased from Antarctic Adventure; there are forest levels, ice levels, water-based levels, caves, and even some outer-space bonus levels. There are several shortcuts, usually hidden underneath holes (which are typically harmful hazards) in the game, that allow the player to go on almost completely different paths. The game also featured multiple endings, with the hidden good ending available when the player pauses the game a certain number of times. In the bad ending, the princess dies, while in the good ending, she lives, an idea that Kojima would later use again in Metal Gear Solid and, to an extent, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Ports[]
- Zemina, a South Korean video game company, made an unauthorized Sega Master System port with the same title, credited as Kkum-Uidaelyug (Korean: 꿈의대륙, romanized: Dreamland) on the cartridge, which was published towards the end of 1980s.
- The MSX version was re-released on several platforms during the years: first on PlayStation and Sega Saturn as part of Konami Antiques MSX Collection in 1987/1988, then on Virtual Console (first for Wii on November 24, 2009, later for Wii U on January 29, 2014) in Japan, and finally on PC on April 11, 2014 always in Japan (as Project EGG).
- A mobile version was released on May 31, 2006 only in Japan.
References in other Konami games[]
- In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Sunny during the Act 2: Solid Sun briefing can be seen playing Penguin Adventure on the PSP.
- In the ending of the reveal trailer for Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, the character Maria Renard is seen singing and dancing with several of the penguins from Penguin Adventure.