''Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular!'', known in Japan as and based on the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

home computer game '' Alternative World Games'', is a child-oriented sports game that was released by

Kemco , from Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd., is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984. It is headquartered in Kure, Hiroshima. Its best known franchises are the '' Kid Klown'' and ''Top Gear'' series, the ...

for the

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 ...

on September 22, 1988 (April 1990 in North America).

Summary

This video game is a collection of six events that uses various characters from the ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' series (

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

in the Japanese version) as opponents. Events include boot throwing (similar to hammer throwing), pizza balancing, and sack racing. In the background, landmarks unique to Italy are shown (i.e.,

Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( ), or simply the Tower of Pisa (), is the , or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable Foundation (engineering), foundation. The tower is on ...

) and the structures using

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...

(i.e., the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

) are shown while the player competes at the six events. Playing the "River Jump" event requires impeccable timing; like in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

event in the ''

Track & Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

'' video game Dewey (in the Donald Duck version), always pushes the lagging player ahead of the leader, allowing them to catch up. A majority of the game seems to be ported from the Commodore 64 video game '' Alternative World Games'' by

Gremlin Interactive Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited, was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established i ...

. The graphics in the game tend to flicker while the color palette can be unusual for certain events in the game. For example, the Japanese version had Donald Duck developing green skin or his trademark blue hat suddenly becoming black.

Development

''Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular'' is a loose port of '' Alternative World Games'', a 1987 title for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

. Kemco had signed a deal with

developer and publisher Gremlin Graphics for the console rights to several of their computer games (such as '' Monty on the Run''), but this was the only title of theirs to be re-released back to the West. Two music tracks in the game were previously used in the Japanese Famicom version of '' Spy vs. Spy II: The Island Caper'', the most notable being the menu theme.

Licensing

After the release of the

Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer (Famicom) home video game console, released in Japan on February 21, 1986. The system uses proprietary floppy disk ...

title ''

Roger Rabbit Roger Rabbit is a fictional animated anthropomorphic rabbit. The character first appeared in author Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel, '' Who Censored Roger Rabbit?''. In the book, Roger is second banana in a popular comic strip, "Baby Herman". Roger ...

'', Kemco still had the rights to release

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

-based video games in Japan, while the ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'' license expired, making them choose

and release a video game starring him in Japan.''Donald Duck''
at Hardcore Gaming 101 As Japanese video game company Capcom USA held the

license in North America, Kemco decided to license

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of ...

instead for the North American version.

References

External links

* {{Donald Duck games 1988 video games Donald Duck video games Fantasy sports video games Kemco games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Side-scrolling video games Sports video games set in Italy Video games about dogs Video games set in the Colosseum Video games based on Peanuts Video games developed in Japan