PrinceWatercress plays Mango

This one took me a while to warm up to, no pun intended. 

Longplay

Mango is a Pengo clone released for the BBC Micro in 1987 and published by Blue Ribbon Software. In this game, a bird-like creature named Mango is trapped in a refrigerator with entities known only as "The Heat Men." In order to defeat them, he must not only kick the ice cubes at them to hit them, but he must also make a path for himself and get distance between himself and the Heat Men by kicking paths through the walls of ice cubes in the refrigerator. After defeating all of the enemies on a screen, Mango heads to the next level.

Z and X move Mango left and right, : and / move up and down, and Return pushes and/or melts the ice cube you are facing, depending on whether the ice cube you are looking at is obstructed. Kicking ice cubes will be the way of getting rid of the enemies, but you will need some distance between yourself and the Heat Men in order to more easily get rid of them, as they can destroy the ice cube you are above to kick ahead if they get right next to it.

S and Q turn the sound on and off respectively, Copy pauses the game, Delete un-pauses the game, and Escape abandons the current game and takes you back to the controls screen, where you can also choose between three difficulties before playing.

If you can line up the three bonus blocks with the "B" on them, you can get extra points, but good luck getting that to happen with the enemies constantly chasing you around.

With each level comes more and more enemies to take out. Be ready to kick ice cubes and even the bonus blocks to get rid of the enemies when they pop out of the eggs that spawn on screen. Also, points give you extra lives, but you'll need a lot of them: 5,000 for your first and 10,000 for your second.

Despite my frustrations with Pengo clones, I eventually warmed up to this one (as well as the game that I'll be playing after this) after getting better with the game. I like the idea of having to defeat all the enemies to move on to the next level, but the fact that the enemies seemingly move faster than you and tend to move around the block you want to kick more often than not even on the easiest difficulty level makes this anything but easy. The graphics are pretty basic for a game from 1987 yet easily identifiable, and the arcade-like sound is sparse yet is able to get the job done while not getting too annoying. The play control is pretty responsive, too. It may not be graphically impressive in hindsight, but it's still a fine Pengo clone worth playing once you get used to it.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 6 of 6

It's now time for the final stage of the game!

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Stage 6: Desert

A lot of the enemies you'll meet will be the ones you've seen in the Plateau, but there are some new ones that you'll meet once inside the pyramid for the second section.

The coyote fires arrows forward. You'll want to avoid those arrows and throw dynamite onto his head to get rid of him.

The spiked ball that drops when you get under it cannot be destroyed with dynamite; however, dynamite will make it move. Use this to your advantage.

Near the end, you'll have to deal with fires that shoot upwards, falling anvils and the rolling boulder. You'll want to jump over the fire when it doesn't shoot up, but you also want to avoid the anvils that fall. There's also a rolling boulder midway through, but there is an area that you can crawl into by moving diagonally with the D-Pad to avoid it. If you ever see the rolling boulder again, keep in mind that you can stand on it as it moves.

The dark gray stone platforms will fall when you land on them, so get to the other side quickly.

This time around, instead of avoiding Bugs and his traps, you'll have to throw dynamite at him at the right time so that it blows up in his face when you throw it straight up. Bugs will move back and forth, and he occasionally stops to fire a lightning blast downwards. Bugs takes six hits to defeat, and when you do more damage to him, the lighting blast becomes a fire bomb that produces fire waves that travel a bit across both sides when it hits the ground. If you can time it right, you can hit Bugs with the dynamite when you throw it straight up with Up+B with ease. Even while you're holding B to hold the dynamite, the timer still goes down from three, so you'll need to wait until one before jumping upwards, holding Up on the D-Pad and letting go of the B Button so that the explosion hits Bugs. After six hits, Bugs runs away, and you can touch the final treasure chest to beat the game and roll credits.

The "RTJ3" level lets you play the final stage with 49 lives.

You just beat Daffy Duck: Fowl Play!

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 5 of 6

The abundance of bottomless pits and the lack of invincibility frames can really make this stage miserable.

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Stage 5: Plateau

Prepare to do a lot more jumping here compared to the second part. Also, whenever you die from falling into a pit, you start back at the current section, and the enemy selection that you have for the section you died in changes. Compared to the previous stages, you now have three sections to play around with, and they all look different this time around.

The rocks will bounce up and down, and while you can jump on them when they are about to hit the ground and ride them, it can be a tad difficult at times to time it due to the bouncing being pretty fast. The scorpions will move back and forth and will come at you if you get close enough to them.

The vulture acts as a platform. Jump on it to get to the other side; do not bomb the vulture with dynamite.

The cacti need to be destroyed with the dynamite in order to get rid of them. When destroyed, they also leave a smaller, spiky ball. You'll need to destroy it or jump over it.

The big bat attacks much like the regular, smaller-sized bat, and while it is easier to throw dynamite on top of it, you're better off avoiding it if you can.

The boss battle here is made amazingly difficult by the fact that Bugs Bunny flies around in the background before showing up to drop a bomb. You'll also have two cacti to destroy; the first one is easy enough to blow up and then jump over the smaller ball that comes out of it with, but for the second cactus, you'll need to blow it up, then get near the right edge of the platform before that cactus and duck so the smaller spiky ball that flies out doesn't hit you.

All the while, you'll still have to deal with Bugs, and in order to avoid the bomb that he drops, you have to move back as soon as you see it come down. You have to simultaneously blow up the cacti and avoid the smaller spiky balls that shoot out and avoid the bombs that Bugs drops from his plane at the same time, and the geography of the boss stage containing short platforms that barely give you enough room to avoid the bombs does not help. Also, don't be surprised if you get hit by a bomb, land by a pit, and then suddenly fall into the pit, all the while losing two or three lives at once because the game's lack of invincibility frames suddenly makes doing this even more nightmarish than it should be.

Once you somehow make it to the treasure chest, it's on to the final stage of the game.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 4 of 6

This is where the game really takes the kid gloves off.

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Stage 4: Forest

Despite the stage name, this feels like more of a jungle due to the enemy choices here.

The soldier ant moves back and forth and will attack you if you get close.

The money will throw a banana peel that you'll need to get rid of before approaching you with alarming speed. For best results, get away from it and drop a stick of dynamite on the ground with Down+B at the right distance so it blows up when the monkey gets close to it.

The giant cat enemies will leap at you if you are close enough. If you can get away, however, you can stand on them and blow them up if you need to. Once they hit the ground, they won't be able to get back up.

The bats can dive at you if you are close enough to them. While you can throw dynamite at them and defeat them, it's best to stay away.

The light blue bird will send a dropping down at you if you get close enough. While this bird appears in other stages, this is where it first appeared for me.

The boss battle for this stage is the hardest yet. Bugs will keep smacking the ground with hammers, which causes the spiders to move up and down. You'll want to move past the spiders when they are all the way up or jump over the spiders when they are all the way down, which is easier said than done. If they hit you, they will follow you relentlessly, and that will be the only time you can hit them with the dynamite. Prepare to lose a life or two before you get to the treasure chest.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 3 of 6

At this point, the game takes off the kid gloves...but just you wait.

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Stage 3: Snowy Mountains

Watch the top of the screen for icicles. They will come down when you get close enough. Other hazards and enemies you will face include sea urchins (which act more like stationary spiked balls here) and bear traps that you definitely don't want to walk into. 

Bears will pop out of the ground and claw at you when you least expect them, so you'll want to tread carefully through this stage.

The Abominable Snowman will show up as an enemy. Lay a stick of dynamite ahead of him so that you can blow him up before he grabs you.

Watch out on icy floors. Jump your way across. If you try to walk through it, Daffy Duck will slip, and unless you jump in time, he will land hard on the ground backwards and lose a life.

I don't mention this in the Let's Play at all, but if you jump repeatedly, the jump sound gets higher and higher pitched.

If you see a hole in the ground with an arrow pointing downwards at it, stand in front of the hole and press Down on the D-Pad. You'll enter an underground cavern where you can find a treasure worth loads of points. These holes will appear randomly throughout the game, and you'll want to enter them to get some big points towards another extra life as well as to get rid of some hazards when you come back out.

To beat Bugs, keep jumping repeatedly to avoid slipping on the ice as well as to jump over the projectiles that Bugs fires from the snowman. Also, you'll want to get the icicles to come down without hitting you while you're doing all this. This is where the boss battles get a little bit harder, and they start getting even harder than this on the next stage.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 2 of 6

For the second level, things get a little more interesting...

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Stage 2: Lakeside

New hazards to watch out for include rocks that can make Daffy trip and campfires that shoot upwards and will singe Daffy should the fire touch him in any way.

If you hold Down while moving left or right, you can crawl.

Hedgehogs will stop moving and ball up when you get close to them. The spiders are even more deadly, as they can leap at you if you get way too close to them. You may run into a bull that charges at you; jump over it when it does. You might even see a bird drop stuff down from above in case you get under it.

For the second section, you'll need to drop down the chasm and stay in the center. Since going left or right makes you move continuously in that direction, you're going to have to rock the D-Pad back and forth in order to get through this area without hitting one of the other platforms on the way down. You'll really need to get a rhythm going, as the further down you go, the more quickly the platforms you can smash Daffy into head-first appear. If that happens, get the life you lost back before going downwards.

You'll eventually drop into the water. While fighting the enemies here may feel necessary for points and food, it's easier to avoid the enemies here, especially when you can take multiple hits at once. Enemies in the water include urchins, jellyfish that electrocute you, swordfish that move back and forth and even piranhas.

To beat Bugs this time, avoid the piranhas as you jump from platform to platform and duck under the sea urchin that Bugs has on a fishing pole.

PrinceWatercress plays Daffy Duck: Fowl Play - Part 1 of 6

Despite being from Sunsoft, the developers of this game are ex-Sunsoft employees, and because of this, this game has some of the old Sunsoft magic in it despite being one of the later titles from the late 1990s...and it shows.

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In this game, you're Daffy Duck, and you're looking for treasure. Interestingly, Bugs Bunny is the game's main antagonist. Also, the game is very well animated, as you'll soon learn when you start the game.

It should be noted that the map is the shape of Daffy Duck's head.

Stage 1: Country

When you start the game, you'll be able to get used to the controls. Left and Right let you move left and right, Down lets you duck, and Up lets you aim with your attack. A jumps, and B attacks...by throwing dynamite.

At the top of the screen, you'll see your current score, your current amount of lives, and your current amount of energy in the form of a percentage. That energy meter slowly goes down, and it hits zero, you're losing a life.

Whenever you see a food item, be sure to pick it up. Daffy will slowly pick it up and devour it, and you'll soon see what I mean when I said that the game is very well animated.

Attacking with the dynamite is a bit of a science. The longer you hold the button, the further you'll through it. You can only have one stick of dynamite on the screen at any time, and it is also possible to blow yourself up and lose a life. You only have three seconds to play around with the dynamite and the count is clearly shown, so you'll need to work with the dynamite quickly.

When you go further into the country, you'll start seeing traps such as mouse traps that will activate when you step on them, guard dogs that move back and forth if they're not punching at you, hens that throw eggs at you, and police officers that move faster than the guard dogs.

Believe it or not, when you go through future levels, the levels will play differently. Some enemies and hazards will show up; other times, they will be completely absent.

Enemies will sometimes leave treasure; pick them up for points/money. You'll need to get rich to earn some extra lives. You'll get an extra life every 20,000 points.

Some traps, such as mouse traps and the rakes that you'll see on the third screen, work better if you get close enough to them without tripping them. Hold Down, press B, then get away from the dynamite you just dropped. That'll do it.

If you get hit by anything, you will lose a life both figuratively and literally. You can get that life back when it drops out of you in the form of a heart, but you'll barely have enough time to grab it. It is possible to get hit multiple times in a row and lose multiples lives in a row as a result...so watch out.

You can push things by moving into them. There is a box on the third screen you'll need to move to get up a huge wall of crates.

Walk off the edge of a platform from a high height instead of jumping off. Jumping will cause Daffy to be briefly stunned as soon as he lands, while walking off the edge does not.

To beat Bugs Bunny, you'll need to avoid the mouse traps as well as the exclamation points that briefly show where the sixteen-ton weights Bugs is throwing will land. This is the easiest boss battle by far, but they will get harder. Once you avoid everything, touch the treasure chest to end the level. You'll see your score and password as Daffy Duck flies around, then you can play a bonus game that while fun, doesn't even give you any extra lives. You'll then move on to the next stage.