''Pink Goes To Hollywood'' is a
Pink Panther
''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pink ...
themed
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 ...
published in 1993 for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
and
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
by
TecMagik
TecMagik Entertainment Ltd. was a video game development and publishing company that released games for Games console#Third generation, 8-bit and Games console#Fourth generation, 16-bit games consoles between 1991 and 1993.
Releases
*Andre Agas ...
. The two releases were developed independently by different companies: the Genesis version by HeadGames and Super NES by
Manley & Associates
Manley & Associates was an independent video game developer founded in 1982 in video gaming, 1982, which developed over 70 titles for video game publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Disney, GameTek, Publishing International, and Spec ...
. Both are similar in theme and aesthetics, but different in layout and game mechanics.
Gameplay
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
When the game is started, the player is taken to a level titled “Honey, I Shrunk The Pink” (a homage to 1989's ''
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Krist ...
''), which serves as the hub that leads to all the other levels of the game; here, the Pink Panther – who, of course, serves as the ‘player character’ – is shrunken down to the size of a billiard ball, and the player must navigate him through a house to access the other levels whilst avoiding rats, which serve as this level's hazards.
The Pink Panther himself starts each level off with one unit of extra health, which is represented by a hat he is wearing. If the Pink Panther runs into or is hit by a hazard, he loses one unit of extra health. If the Pink Panther doesn't have any extra health left, he will not be wearing a hat; and if he runs into or is hit by a hazard without any extra health, he will perish and the player will lose one life – the same thing will happen, regardless of the amount of extra health the Pink Panther has on hand, if he falls into an abyss. The player can increase the Pink Panther's extra health by collecting spare hats that have been placed around each level, and the player can gain extra lives by collecting icons shaped like the Pink Panther's head that are also placed around each level.
Throughout each level, the player can also collect “Tricks” that can be used to help eliminate or avoid hazards; there are multiple sorts of “Tricks” - e.g. a stoplight causes nearby hazards to freeze, making them easier to avoid or hit. Each trick, when used, will vanish and cease its effect after a certain period of time.
Just like with most platform games, the player gets a “Game Over” when the Pink Panther perishes and doesn't have any more extra lives to re-spawn; but rather than being a simple menu that asks if the player wishes to continue, the “Game Over” screen is a level in itself: This “Game Over” level, which starts and ends like any other level in the game takes place in a Studio; the Pink Panther spawns in an area with 2 studio doors, one on ground level marked “Exit” and one high up on a girder marked “Continue”. Going through the door marked “Exit” will clear the level and reset the game; going through the door marked “Continue” will take the player back to the level they were on and also replenish the Pink Panther with 5 extra lives, but to get to this door, the player needs to collect a token that has stairs on it - which is placed right above the Pink Panther at the start of the level - and use it at the nearby “Toll” to spawn a staircase that the Pink Panther can climb to get to the door.
Sega Genesis
Like in the SNES version, The Pink Panther also starts the game shrunken down and inside a house, which also serves as the hub that leads to all the other levels of the game; but unlike the SNES version, the hub isn't a level that's supposed to be finished, and there are no hazards nor abysses that can harm the Pink Panther. From here, the player can navigate the Pink Panther to all the other levels.
With the exception of “Refrigerator” and its sub-levels, after the Pink Panther selects a level, he is taken to a “Sound Stage” that leads to a door – with the name of the level on a sign next to it – that leads to the start of the level; throughout the “Sound Stage” are multiple hazards, such as falling sandbags and cameras and spotlights that move by themselves – which was cause harm to the Pink Panther if he comes in contact with them. After the Pink Panther completes a level, he is taken back to the main hub and a barrier that reads “Set Closed” lands in front of the completed level's entrance.
The Pink Panther has more units of health in this version than he does in the SNES version, and the amount on health he has is indicated to the player via a health bar at the top of the screen. The Pink Panther will loose some of this health if he runs into or is hit by a hazard without; and if he runs out of health, he will perish and the player will lose one life – the same thing will happen, regardless of the amount of extra health the Pink Panther has on hand, if he falls into an abyss. The player can increase the Pink Panther's extra health by collecting square icons with a heart on them that have been placed around each level, and the Pink Panther can also gain brief invincibility (which is indicated by the Pink Panther flashing) by collecting square icons with a paw-prints on them. The Pink Panther's health resets to 100% when he enters or completes a level.
Reception
''
Electronic Games
An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' gave the Genesis version 83%, and the SNES version 75%. Spanish magazine ''Nintendo Acción'' gave the SNES version 74. ''Digital Press'' gave the SNES version 5 out of 10. ''MegaForce'' gave the Genesis version 86%.
References
{{Pink Panther
1993 video games
Platform games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Sega Genesis games
The Pink Panther (cartoons) video games
Video games developed in the United States
TecMagik games