What is this game?

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Came across this on one of the Japanese sites and can't make heads or tails what it is -- elements of it are right out of Donkey Kong but I've never seen this game before..

Thx
 
Looks to be based off of a Falcon Crazy Kong PCB. The auction says it's made by Cosmos, who also made Mouser. It's called Perachan? It's referred to as a "visionary" PCB so I'm imagining it's a prototype/hack thing. My Japanese abilities are minimal :p !
 
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Bumping this thread to mention that a video of this game is on YouTube now:

This specific upload showcases Pera-chan with a copyright of "COSMOS 1982" as opposed to "FALCON 1981" like the screenshot on the wiki has. You play as a little guy with a propeller beanie (which is probably where the name "pella-chan" comes from) and you hop over bombs instead of barrels. The hammers are replaced with candy and you shoot some sorta energy beam out of your face to attack with them as opposed to swinging the hammer.

The levels have been modified but other than that it seems like it's mostly a reskin with some slightly adjusted sounds.
 
Bumping this thread to mention that a video of this game is on YouTube now:

This specific upload showcases Pera-chan with a copyright of "COSMOS 1982" as opposed to "FALCON 1981" like the screenshot on the wiki has. You play as a little guy with a propeller beanie (which is probably where the name "pella-chan" comes from) and you hop over bombs instead of barrels. The hammers are replaced with candy and you shoot some sorta energy beam out of your face to attack with them as opposed to swinging the hammer.

The levels have been modified but other than that it seems like it's mostly a reskin with some slightly adjusted sounds.
If I am remembering my Japanese language classes correctly, the -chan in Japanese is like "cute" or "enamored".

e.g., Hoshi-chan
 
Bumping this thread to mention that a video of this game is on YouTube now:

This specific upload showcases Pera-chan with a copyright of "COSMOS 1982" as opposed to "FALCON 1981" like the screenshot on the wiki has. You play as a little guy with a propeller beanie (which is probably where the name "pella-chan" comes from) and you hop over bombs instead of barrels. The hammers are replaced with candy and you shoot some sorta energy beam out of your face to attack with them as opposed to swinging the hammer.

The levels have been modified but other than that it seems like it's mostly a reskin with some slightly adjusted sounds.

COSMOS was a Japanese Candy and vending company wildly popular in the 70's and 80's. They did get into the arcade business and sold a few bootlegs including the infamous Fly-Train (Also undumped) which is just a hack of Scramble with the space ship replaced with a locomotive.
 
IIRC, Fly Train was offered to the mame team for about 4,000 USD and they turned it down.

COSMOS commercial with Fly Train at the end

Fly Train gameplay
 
IIRC, Fly Train was offered to the mame team for about 4,000 USD and they turned it down.

COSMOS commercial with Fly Train at the end

Fly Train gameplay
Yeah, I saw that on the Undumped Wiki, it's really interesting to see a commercial for a bootleg. I had never heard of Cosmos before until earlier, the Undumped Wiki describes them as "a notoriously bold bootlegger, putting their name on obvious hacks", which seems the case. There's a certain vibe to Pera-chan especially that reminds me of some of the weird Famicom bootlegs I've played before.
If you have any more info on their other games let me know, there's only two listed on the wiki.

(also, on a semi-related note, if you have any info on Karateco and Falcon let me know too, I feel like my knowledge of either company is sorta limited and I'd like to learn more)
 
Yeah, I saw that on the Undumped Wiki, it's really interesting to see a commercial for a bootleg. I had never heard of Cosmos before until earlier, the Undumped Wiki describes them as "a notoriously bold bootlegger, putting their name on obvious hacks", which seems the case. There's a certain vibe to Pera-chan especially that reminds me of some of the weird Famicom bootlegs I've played before.
If you have any more info on their other games let me know, there's only two listed on the wiki.

(also, on a semi-related note, if you have any info on Karateco and Falcon let me know too, I feel like my knowledge of either company is sorta limited and I'd like to learn more)

Keep in mind that Japanese courts unfortunately set a precedent some years before the golden age of digital arcade machines deeming electronic works were not eligible for copyright protections. Specific digital copyright protections didn't come until the end of 1983 when a ton of electronic giants lobbied Japanese politicians. They went as far as to threaten to leave Japan and take their business elsewhere.

Before that, all companies like Taito and Namco could do is file for trademarks and copyrights on certain aspects of their games such as the characters. Namco vs Nichibutsu over Moon Alien was a ruling based on the shape of the characters. It had nothing to do with the obviously blatant stolen code base from Galaxian. Nichibutsu almost immediately made Moon Alien II with slightly altered gameplay and different enemies.

Ever wondered why some Japanese retro games have a "not for rental" label on the back? Japanese rental shops were so shameless that they would rent you the game or video and sell you blank medium and equipment so you can copy the game or video at home yourself. Imagine if Blockbuster rented you a NES game and you could get a NES game dumper straight from them. Digital Piracy was that blatant in Japan back then.

As for Karateko, Many of their later bootlegs and even cabinets were manufactured in Lebanon....wonder why....:sneaky:
 
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