Penta

Pirate

44 Years old Arcade Video game Unknown [Italy]

Penta © 1982 Unknown [Italy].

Italian bootleg of Pengo.

Penta the Penguin is the eponymous star of Penta the video game. The basic layout of Penta is akin to that of Namco's legendary 'Pac-Man'; featuring, as it does, a top down, single screen, maze-like arrangement. Penta's enemies, the Sno-Bees, are also similar to Blinky, Inky, Clyde etc. - the ghosts that pursued Pac-man; not least because Sno-bees also come in four different varieties, each represented by a different colour.

One aspect that distinguishes Penta from the Namco classic is that the Maze itself is a wholly interactive environment. Each section of wall is represented as a block of ice, which can be pushed onto the Sno-bees to destroy them. The Sno-bees themselves will destroy the ice blocks as they move around each level, so speed is of the essence. Some of the blocks are 'Diamond blocks' which cannot be destroyed, and can be re-used by Penta.

The outer wall of each level can also be utilised; if the player pushes against the wall when a Sno-bee is next to it, The Sno-bee will be temporarily stunned; allowing Penta to move in for the kill.

TECHNICAL

Main CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.02 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 3-channel WSG (@ 96 Khz)

Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 288 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.61 Hz
Palette Colors : 32

Players : 2
Control : 4-way joystick
Buttons : 1

SCORING

Smashing an ice block	30 points.
Smashing an ice block with a Sno-bee inside	500 points.
Walking over a stunned Snow-bee	100 points.
Killing a Snow-bee with an ice block	400 points.
Killing 2 Snow-bees at once with one ice block	1,600 points.
Killing 3 Snow-bees at once with one ice block	6,400 points.
Lining up the three diamond blocks with none of them touching a wall	10,000 points.
Lining up the three diamond blocks with one or more touching a wall	5,000 points.
Completing screen in under 20 seconds	5,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 20-29 seconds	2,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 30-39 seconds	1,000 bonus points.
Completing screen in 40-49 seconds	500 bonus points.
Completing screen in 50-59 seconds	10 bonus points.

TIPS AND TRICKS

* The last remaining Sno-bee on the screen will try to escape. If you do not kill it before it reaches one of the corners it will disappear.

* The indicator at the top of the screen tells you how many Sno-Bees are remaining on the level, including those still in ice blocks.

* At the start of each level some ice blocks will flash. This indicates that there is a Sno-Bee inside and you can destroy the ice block to kill the Sno-Bee before it emerges.

* When you kill the last Sno-bee you have a couple of seconds before the level ends. Use this time to crush an ice block for an extra 30 points.

* Concentrate your efforts on lining up the diamond blocks. The 10,000 points are the biggest single score in the game, and stunning all the Sno-bees is also a valuable side effect. You can then kill them easily by pushing ice blocks onto them rather than running over them (400 points as opposed to 100).

* Try to kill more than one Sno-bee at a time, as two or more together are worth more points than killing them individually.

SOURCES

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ROM dump (MAME).
Arcade Retro Lounge; http://tips.retrogames.com/