Yume Pengin Monogatari
"Dream Penguin Story"
夢ペンギン物語
(C) 1991 Konami
 

Yume Pengin Monogatari is one of Konami's later platformers, an enjoyable game where you play the role of a penguin named Pento as he quests to be reunited with his girlfriend, Penko.  You see, Pento just loves to eat, and he's gotten so fat that Penko is embarassed to be seen with him anymore!  Instead, she's left him for a suave, thin, top-hat sporting penguin named Ginji.  To win her back you'll have to lose weight, and that means chowing down on weight loss pills scattered throughout the land.  It sounds easy, but you'll have to avoid Ginji's goons along the way.  Knocking into them causes you to lose precious seconds off of your timer, and eating the tasty treats they toss at you makes Pento fatter!  Luckily for you, though, it's impossible for Pento to lose a life...  no matter how many times he falls or gives into temptation, he'll only become fatter.

As is to be expected from a Konami release, Yume Pengin's graphics are top-notch.  All of the characters are lovingly animated and it's a lot of fun to watch your penguin hopping around, gaining or losing weight as he goes.  Pento travels through a forest, boards a pirate ship, and even climbs a giant cake on his quest to reunite with his love.  Every other level is a flying level, where you'll hop into a plane and zoom through the skies collecting weight loss pills and avoiding airbourne apples and rice cakes.

One interesting aspect of this game is that there are actually three different stages of tubbiness; when Pento's at his fattest, he can only hop and crush enemies with his weight.  Feed him a few bottles of weight loss pills, and he'll slim up and be able to kick enemies instead.  Once Pento's as thin as he can be, he gains the ability to shoot little katakana "po"s (ポ) across the screen, blasting enemies from a distance.  You can track your weight loss by looking at the bar towards the bottom of the screen...  each bottle of pills you scarf down shortens your bar.  The main goal is to become slim enough to regain Penko's affection, and you'll know you're thin enough when the little broken heart graphic becomes whole again.

Less-experienced players and children will appreciate Yume Pengin's forgiving gameplay, while seasoned pros can still have fun bouncing through the game trying to stay as slim as possible.  The game's biggest disappointment is that it's so short, and can easily be beaten in fifteen or twenty minutes if you're able to plow right through it without repeating any of the levels.  However, even if you're able to beat a level's boss, if Pento isn't skinny enough he'll be sent right back to the beginning of the level.  This can be frustrating sometimes, but it helps keep the game from being too easy.  Luckily, if you're nimble enough even the bosses drop bottles of weight loss pills for you to pick up!

I recommend Yume Pengin Monogatari to just about all NES fans.  There's something for everyone to enjoy in this cart, ranging from the creative story to the unique gameplay.  An added bonus is that you can have fun even if you don't know Japanese, since the story is self-explanatory.   It's a real shame that Konami didn't release this game here in the States, but it's definitely worth seeking out and enjoying.