20. Popeye



Popeye is a single-screen arcade action game originally developed by Nintendo and ported to the Commodore 64 by Parker Brothers. Popeye's NES port was one of my favorite games of my early youth, and I was immediately sucked in by its addictiveness and charm. Does the Commodore port hold up?

..Yes. But let's go into a little more detail.



Here's an interesting piece of gaming history trivia: Donkey Kong was originally intended to be a Popeye game before licensing issues forced Nintendo to replace the requisite Popeye cast with their own intellectual property. Donkey Kong's formula and level design makes sense once you hear a bit of the backstory - it's easy to imagine Popeye climbing ladders, leaping for cans of spinach instead of hammers, and making his way to the top of the screen to rescue Olive Oyl from Bluto's clutches (Or Brutus's clutches, maybe? I'm calling him Bluto.).

Presentation-wise, the game gets off to a rocky start. The box is grey and non-descript, the title screen is text-only and also non-descript. To its credit, the game helpfully includes a two-player mode, but there are no other options to speak of. The graphics and animation are notably affected by the C64's lower-resolution screen and aren't quite as endearing as the arcade or NES ports, with the less-defined sprites blunting the comedic effect of the coin-op. However, they do hold their own with clearly recognizable character silhouettes and visual elements that I'd consider above-average for cartridge games to be found on the Commodore platform at the time. The music and sound effects are similarly a notch below the arcade version while still being perfectly acceptable.

Graphics and sound deficiencies aside, I was pleased to discover that Popeye's meat-and-potatoes quarter-munching gameplay translates excellently to the C64. The game features 3 levels - the first involves collecting hearts handed down from Olive and features multi-tiered platforms and a punchable basket that can be directed onto Bluto's head for a nice point bonus. The second level sends you on a quest to gather musical notes with the help of a trampoline, and the third and final level places you on a ship to collect the word "HELP" (that particular concept may have been a bit of a misfire, now that I think of it).



Popeye is a game of quick reaction and strategic positioning. It's almost always advantageous to be situated at the top of the screen, and Bluto and his henchmen will try and force you to the bottom. Being higher up on the screen and catching Olive Oyl's hearts more quickly also results in a higher score than letting them drop to the bottom. Power-ups such as spinach are your tool to temporarily turn the tables and force your way back to the top, rendering you temporarily invincible and allowing you to send Bluto flying off of the stage with a single punch.

Right from the first level, C64 Popeye feels more difficult than its NES and coin-op counterparts. Bluto is a cunning rival who rarely fails to capitalize on your mistakes and will try and box you into a corner, or occasionally even fire his bottles at both the left and right sides of a wrap-around screen - no room for cheap Pac Man-esque wrapping tricks here. Bluto also grabs at you from lower and higher platforms - much more quickly in the C64 port than the arcade version, in fact. On top of this, you also need to contend with two sea hags who launch even more bottles at you while you're desperately scrambling to avoid all this chaos. Needless to say, it gets pretty hectic.



All this adds up to an enjoyable gaming session, and in what's beginning to feel like a recurring statement in these reviews, C64 Popeye is the best conversion of the original that doesn't come on a flat grey cart. Parker Brothers captures the polished level design and tight mechanics of its coin-op forebearer to turn out a challenging, rewarding game constructed to encourage strategy on the part of the player. The end result is an early Commodore gem with considerable replay value, making a nice addition to any C64 cartridge library.

Are you currently feeling the effects of the finest spinach and believe you have a puncher's chance of beating Hank's high score? Check out our High Scores page and submit a screenshot to earn your spot in the C128 Hoedown hall of fame!

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