''Whomp 'Em'', the North American version of the Japanese game (1990), is a

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 ...

released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in March 1991.http://www.sydlexia.com/whompem.htm It is named after

Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...

Gameplay

''Whomp 'Em'' is a platform game with some similarities to the '' Mega Man'' and ''

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'' series. After completing the first stage, the player can play the other six in any order. Each of the stages revolves around elements, such as fire and water. After each stage, the player gains a new weapon, much like in the original Mega Man

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, which was extremely popular at the time. Both ''Whomp 'Em'' and the prior ''Saiyūki World'' (which was an adaptation of ''

Wonder Boy in Monster Land ''Wonder Boy in Monster Land'', known by its original arcade release as , is an platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of oth ...

'') are based on the ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

'' novel.

Release

The game was released in Japan for the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, 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 redes ...

on December 7, 1990. The North American version of the game removed references to ''Journey to the West'', by editing the game's sprite and graphics. The first stage music was also slightly modified and included a percussion track using the NES noise channel. The protagonist in the original was Sun Wukong, but is now a Native American, and the setting was changed to the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Reception

The North American video gaming magazine ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' gave ''Whomp 'Em'' an overall rating of 3.1 out of 5 in its May 1991 review.

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editor Brett Alan Weiss praised the game, describing it as "a solid platform game with crisp, clear graphics, peppy music, excellent controls, and a heroic character".

References

External links

Official Website
(in Japanese) {{Journey to the West 1990 video games City Connection franchises Jaleco games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Platform games Side-scrolling video games Single-player video games Video games based on Chinese mythology Video games based on Native American mythology Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Tsukasa Tawada Video game sequels Western (genre) video games Works based on Journey to the West