Hansei Zaru Jiro-kun no Daibouken [Model SHVC-HJ]

????????????? © 1991 Natsume.
(Hansei Zaru Jiro-kun no Daibouken)

Jir?-kun no Daibouken is an action/platform/puzzle game by Natsume. The game starts as Jirou-kun, a cute little monkey, is on a day trip for a refreshing gourmet picnic. But suddenly, in the middle of a peaceful forest, a witch appears, imprisons the poor Jirou and steals all the fruits he was carrying in his backpack. And she has even more sinister plans in store for the small primate and decides to use her powers to turn all these fruits into evil monsters, forcing Jirou to use all his wits to escape his dogged pursuers and return home safely. The aim of each level is to help Jirou locate the exit door in order to move on to the next stage. However, multiple large locks (one to a maximum of six) keep it firmly shut, and the monkey must collect all the keys scattered around each level before seizing a chance to escape. Carrying out that task would be easy, if only it weren't for the legions of enemies populating the screen. And to defend himself against these critters, Jirou only comes equipped with possibly the world's most unusual weapon - bubbles. However, these blue bubbles come with a bit of a twist - if the player presses the action button again, the bubble pops and releases a small baseball ball, enough to strike one enemy down. And that's not even half of it! Jirou can bounce the blue bubble on his head to power it up (from Green, Yellow to Red) and these new bubbles release even more devastating attacks, such as lines of soccer balls, spinning volley balls and rows of basket balls! And the bubbles have a lot more to offer - as such, they can stun enemies for a while or capture keys or items that Jirou wouldn't be able to reach otherwise. And the game has a lot of items to collect, such as coins (points), Extra lives and hats. The latter come in a multitude of forms, from a Baseball Cap (helps Jirou in controlling the bubbles), Gold Crown (prevents Jirou to be affected by special platforms, such as icy surfaces), Top Hat (gives Jirou the ability to instantly grow a red bubble!), Straw Hat (Jirou can glide in the air after a jump) and Spiked Helmet (temporary armor against enemies). And Jirou must always be on his toes, because enemies can also collect items (including keys) and he will have to battle the foes if they happen to do so! Additionally, the game is filled with many special and rewarding features, such as switches (activates traps, such as Fiery Birds or Fireballs that both Jirou or enemies can operate), Cannons (throw Jirou and enemies in the air) or hidden Gold Doors (lead to bonus stages). Jirou-kun no Daibouken consists of five large areas of ten levels each, all punctuated by a requisite boss battle. Each zone also features a three-digit password system to save the player's progress.