''Day Dreamin' Davey'' is an

action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...

developed by

Sculptured Software Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game publisher from Long Island, active from 1987 until filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 1, 2004. Through a series of acquisitions between 1990 and 2002, Acclaim built itself a large portfol ...

and published by

HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...

for the North American

Nintendo Entertainment System 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 ...

in June 1992.

Gameplay

''Day Dreamin' Davey'' incorporates elements of

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

, and

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

genres, similar to ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

''. The player controls Davey on a

top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

, moving up, down, left, and right on the screen. It takes place on one day of Davey at school, which involves him going through seven

daydream Daydreaming is a stream of consciousness that detaches from current external tasks when one's attention becomes focused on a more personal and internal direction. Various names of this phenomenon exist, including mind-wandering, fantasies, a ...

s of himself being in three historic locations:

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and the

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

, with stopovers in "Outer Worlds" such as Winterland, a quicksand area, and a "Cloud City", filled with the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

along the way. Levels contain mazes and dead-ends. The game includes loose references to the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Art ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, and the

gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted lawmen against members of a loosely organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the gunfight has been the subject of ...

; particularly

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

, and the

Cochise County Cowboys The Cochise County Cowboys is the modern name for a loosely associated group of outlaws living in Pima and Cochise Counties in Arizona in the late 19th century. The term "cowboy", as opposed to " cowhand," had only begun to come into wider use ...

. During his journey, Davey encounters

Greek deities In ancient Greece, deities were regarded as immortal, anthropomorphic, and powerful. They were conceived of as individual persons, rather than abstract concepts or notions, and were described as being similar to humans in appearance, albeit large ...

, such as:

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon ( ; ) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and ...

, and

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

; while fighting against the

Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''The ...

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...

, and

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

. Throughout the game, Davey collects items garnered from roaming the level and defeating bosses, with the more powerful ones, including those that increase or drain Davey's

life energy Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

, more hidden or guarded by evil protectors. Among items that can decrease the life energy include peppermint found in the Old West and green apples in Greece. He carries a main weapon triggered with the A button and secondary weapons and shields activated by pressing the B button; due to this, the player has to press A and B at the same time to jump, which is required for jumping over fences and rocks and attacking foes above ground. Some enemies can only be defeated with certain "special weapons", and it's up to the player to find clues about which weapons kill what enemies. Multiple weapons can be carried at a time, and the player can change them during level gameplay through a menu screen accessed by pressing select; the menu also shows items and special items that have been collected. The game can be continued with passwords.

Reception

''Day Dreamin' Davey'' was released to little press coverage, with only a ''

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 Ninte ...

'' guide for the first seven levels a year prior to the game's release and a mixed review published in ''

Game Players ''Game Players'' was a monthly video game magazine founded by Robert C. Lock in 1989 and originally published by Signal Research in Greensboro, North Carolina. The original publication began as ''Game Players Strategy to Nintendo Games'' (the ...

''; in it, Patrick Baggatta wrote that it had strategy-solving elements that made it interesting enough for young kids but also was too limited in locations used and was overly long to the point of turning an "original concept" "tiresome". Mixed opinions continued in retrospective coverage of the game. In a review for ''

Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...

'', Adrian Sandoval opined that despite "an imaginative high concept that allows for a variety of level settings and game mechanics," the "slapdash and sloppy" programming and design choices ruined it; these include the weapons not being cancelled if both A and B are pressed to jump, an awkward method of obtaining items from non-player characters, re-used stage layouts, and combat involving poor hit detection and unclear feedback. Andy Slaven, in his book the ''Video Game Bible, 1985–2002'', opined the game consisted of "varied, yet boring levels", and Skyler Miller of ''

AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

'' wrote the game benefitted from a "cute" story with a like-able protagonist but suffered from "bland" gameplay consisting of "boring mazes", "generic enemies" and "poor controls". In 2015, ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' ranked it the 16th best NES game to use the Zapper, where Garrett Martin labeled it a "decent little adventure". ''

Something Awful ''Something Awful'' (SA) is an American comedy website hosting content including blog entries, Internet forum, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard Kyanka, Richard "Lowtax" K ...

''s review of the game, which ranked it -39/-50, was a parody involving a fake conversation between the writer and Davey, ending with Davey dying a bloody death.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{NES Zapper 1992 video games Action-adventure games Works set in ancient Greece Cultural depictions of Medusa Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages Greek and Roman deities in fiction Greek underworld in popular culture HAL Laboratory games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games North America-exclusive video games Panhistorical video games Sculptured Software games Single-player video games Top-down video games Video games about dreams Video games about time travel Video games based on Arthurian legend Video games based on Greek mythology Video games based on multiple mythologies Video games developed in the United States Video games set in ancient Greece Video games set in the United States Western (genre) video games Daydreaming