is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

in 1983 for the MSX, and later for

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

s, such as

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

and

ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...

. The player takes the role of an Antarctic

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

, racing to various

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...

s owned by different countries in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

(excluding the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

). The gameplay is similar to

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

'', but plays at a much slower pace, and features

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

elements. The penguin, later named

Penta Penta may refer to: Places * , an Italian hamlet (') of Fisciano, Salerno * Penta-di-Casinca, a French municipality of Corsica * Penta, Chhattisgarh, a town in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India * , a small river in Lithuania Other * Pent ...

, must reach the next station before time runs out while avoiding

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s and breaks in the ice. Throughout the levels, fish jump out of ice holes and can be caught for bonus points. The game, like many early video games, has no ending – when the player reaches the last station, the game starts from the first level again, but with increased difficulty.

Legacy

''Antarctic Adventure'' was followed by a sequel for the MSX computer in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, entitled ''

Penguin Adventure is an action-adventure platform video game released by Konami in 1986, and a sequel to 1983's ''Antarctic Adventure''. The game marks the professional debut of game designer Hideo Kojima, who was assistant designer on the project. The story fo ...

''. In addition, the penguin character Penta, and his son Pentarou became a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for Konami through the 1980s. They have made appearances in over 10 games. Of particular note are his appearances in the ''Parodius'' series of

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

games. Penta, or his son Pentarou, had appeared in Medal Games like ''

Tsurikko Penta is a fishing-themed medal game based on the ''Antarctic Adventure'' series released by Konami in 1991 in Japan along with ''Ballon Penta'' and ''Imo Hori Penta''.

, Balloon Penta and Imo Hori Penta''. Following in 2002 (not released for mobile in 2001), three mobile games , released on May 6, 2003, another titled , as part of ''Konami Taisen Colosseum'', and the fishing game as '' Penta no Tsuri Boken'', and released for i-Revo. A screenshot from this game can briefly be seen in the introduction of '' Gradius ReBirth'', released in 2008 for the

Wii Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

and in 2014 for the

Wii U Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...

. An MSX Version was re-released for the Windows Store as part of EGG Project on November 25, 2014 in Japan. In 1990, Konami released only in Japan a

handheld electronic game Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose ...

of ''Antarctic Adventure'', although it is usually listed as ''South Pole'' (a more literal translation of the Japanese title). In 2014, ''Antarctic Adventure'' was released on a special version of the ColecoVision Flashback by AtGames. available only through Dollar General''Dollar General''
stores. In other games, Pentarou appears as a fisherman.

Soundtrack

* The music that plays in each level is " The Skaters' Waltz" by

Émile Waldteufel Charles Émile Waldteufel (9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French pianist, conductor and composer known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Life Émile Waldteufel (German for ''forest devil'') was born at 84 Grand'Rue in the c ...

References

External links

*
Review of the game
* {{Konami franchises 1983 video games ColecoVision games D4 Enterprise games Konami franchises Konami games MSX games Nintendo Entertainment System games Racing video games Video games set in Antarctica Mobile games Fictional penguins Video games about birds Virtual Console games Virtual Console games for Wii U Windows games Handheld electronic games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan

Legacy

Soundtrack

See also

References

External links