is a platform

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

developed and released by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

in 1984. In the game, the player controls a small yellow creature, Chack'n, with the objective being to retrieve hearts from a cave, all while avoiding the enemies contained within them. Chack'n also has the ability to deploy bombs, which can kill said enemies, which can bring bonuses depending on if all or none of the enemies have been killed. It is considered to be a spiritual predecessor of ''

Bubble Bobble is a platform game series originally developed and published by Taito. The first entry in the series, '' Bubble Bobble'', was released in 1986 as an arcade cabinet. In most entries in the series, players control two dragons named Bub and Bob. Th ...

'' due to the shared characters and similar game structure. Home ports were released for the

SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

Sharp X1 The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of home computers released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a Zilog Z80 CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen ...

NEC PC-6001 The PC-6000 series is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced in November 1981 by NEC Home Electronics. There are several models in this series, such as the PC-6001, the PC-6001 MK2 and the PC-6001 MK2 SR. There is also an American version, c ...

and

NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...

. The arcade version would later be included via emulation in '' Taito Legends Power-Up'', '' Taito Memories Pocket'', '' Taito Memories Gekan'', and ''

Taito Legends 2 ''Taito Legends 2'' a compilation of Taito arcade video games and the follow-up to ''Taito Legends''. It was published for Xbox (console), Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Windows. As with the former collection, it is derived from the Japan exc ...

''. The Family Computer version would later be re-released on the

Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

and

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

via

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

Gameplay

''Chack'n Pop'' is a platform arcade game. The player controls Chack'n, a small yellow creature with extendable legs, through a series of single-screen mazes. He is capable of walking on floors or ceilings but not walls. He can climb steps and traverse high walls by extending his legs until he is tall enough to pass on to the next step. He is also capable of throwing hand grenades to his left or right which, after a short period, explode into a cloud of smoke. Separate fire buttons control rolling to the left or right. Chack'n is killed if caught by the explosion cloud. He is delayed in this process by a series of solid walls. In order to get past the walls, he must free hearts from cages using his hand grenades. A further obstruction comes in the form of Monstas hatching from eggs. All or none of the Monstas in a level can be destroyed for a bonus at the end of the level. Each screen is played against a time limit, marked by a Mighta pushing a boulder along the top of the screen.

Development and release

''Chack'n Pop'' was released by Taito around April 1984 in Japan, despite the copyright notice of the game saying 1983. The game started off at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

's Microcomputer Club, as a game developed for the

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

Basic Master Level 3 by Hiroshi Sakai, a

Game Arts is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO in 200 ...

developer who was a student at the university at the time. Taito later bought the rights to the game, and started development on an arcade version of the game under the working name ''Chack'n Chack'', with Hiroyuki Sakô on character and level design, and Jun Ishioka on programming''.'' Sakô thought the main character in the original microcomputer version of the game was not cute, thus leading him to design the Chack'n character. Around the middle of development, they had to burn an

EEPROM EEPROM or E2PROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a type of non-volatile memory. It is used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a separate chip d ...

each time they wanted to check the on-screen colors, which made them design a

daughterboard In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus sl ...

so that the colors could be displayed immediately without the need of an EEPROM.

Conversions

Taito ported the game to the MSX, Family Computer, Sharp X1, NEC PC-6001 and NEC PC-8801.

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

developed and published a version of the game for the SG-1000. An emulated arcade version is included in '' Taito Legends Power-Up'', '' Taito Memories Pocket'', '' Taito Memories Gekan'', ''

'', and '' Taito Milestones''. The Family Computer version was re-released on the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS via the Virtual Console service. A port of the arcade version was released on the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

as part of the ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

'' initiative by

Hamster Corporation is a Japanese video game publisher, with office located in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The game division of Toshiba-EMI Limited spun off Hamster Corporation in November 1999. On the Japanese PlayStation Store, more than 360 titles are distribut ...

. This port features online leaderboards and new gameplay modes. The Family Computer version is included on the MyArcade ''Don Doko Don Pocket Player'' unit, along with the Family Computer version of ''

Don Doko Don is a platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1989. In the game, the player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, with the objective being to clear the screen of all the enemies. Bob and Jim use their mallets to stun the enemi ...

'', as well as '' Don Doko Don 2''. An emulated version of the arcade version would appear on the ''Taito Egret II Mini'' as part of its default game lineup.

Reception

Sakô felt the game flopped in Japanese arcades due to its difficulty. However, the home ports, specifically the Family Computer and MSX versions of the game, sold much better and became one of Taito's "top IPs". Retrospective views on ''Chack'n Pop'' have been mostly negative. A mini review of the game on a retrospective of ''

The NewZealand Story is a platform game developed and released in arcades by Taito in 1988. The concept and setting were inspired by a holiday trip in New Zealand by one of the Taito programmers. The player controls , a kiwi who must save his girlfriend and sever ...

'' found in an issue of ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'' claimed the game "wasn't a great platformer" due to how complex it is. ''

PC Zone ''PC Zone'', founded in 1993, was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as '' PC Leisure'', '' PC Format'' and '' PC Plus'' had covered games b ...

'' said the game "isn't much fun", despite the ideas it presented for the time, and the fact that it was ''Bubble Bobble'''s predecessor. Rhody Tobin of ''HonestGamers'' slammed the Family Computer version of the game for its controls, gameplay, and presentation, and while admitting that the game is "vaguely interesting", ended that it is "best forgotten". A more positive review of the game came from Alex Kidman of ''

Kotaku Australia ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'', where he briefly reviewed the Family Computer version of the game, and while he recommended it for fans of ''Bubble Bobble'', he noted that it is a very different game compared to ''Bubble Bobble''.

Legacy

''Chack'n Pop'' is often considered to be one of the spiritual predecessors to ''Bubble Bobble'', mostly due to the similar gameplay structure and shared characters. The Monstas and Mightas would later appear as common enemies in ''Bubble Bobble''. Chack'n and other characters from ''Chack'n Pop'' has appeared in various other Taito games as cameos, such as '' Ben Bero Beh'', ''Bubble Bobble'', ''

Bubble Memories is a video game by Taito released to arcades in February 1996. It is the sequel to '' Bubble Symphony'' and is the fifth ''Bubble Bobble'' game (although it is listed as being the third). Unlike ''Bubble Symphony'', this game stars only two drag ...

'', and ''NY Captor''.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Bubble Bobble series 1984 video games Arcade Archives games Arcade video games Bubble Bobble FM-7 games Hamster Corporation games MSX games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games NEC PC-6001 games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Switch games Platformers PlayStation 4 games SG-1000 games Sharp MZ games Sharp X1 games Taito arcade games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games