Penguin Land (SMS, 1987)
Graphics-7 Sound-6 Control-7.5 Challenge-8 Story-5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
+
Fairly unique gameplay (guide a rolling egg to the bottom of each level without it falling too far and cracking)
Pretty good egg physics
Some advanced mechanics (can switch places with the egg horizontally in narrow spaces by jumping into it, loops vertically for the penguin so you can fall down a pit and end up at the top of the screen if needed, can push blocks in mid-air, can "juggle" the egg on top of your head)
Decent cutscenes
A marker shows if a fall is safe from the height you're at
Level editor (can save up to 15 screens only)
Block breaking and pushing - Lode Runner/Solomon's Key and Sokoban/Boulder Dash
Good mid-air control
Rocks don't fall simply from walking on top of them here
Good length at 50 rounds
Level select (can start at lvl 30 from the get go)
+/-
Level timers however it seems to only affect your bonus points at the end?
The penguin can't die (besides getting stuck), only the egg
Strange how it looks like the penguin's home is a spaceship at the bottom of the level (?) and how that last fall is taller than what the egg should be able to take
Can't fall/jump into a 1-tile high path from above besides at a low velocity such as right after the height of your jump coming at it from below
Rare power ups and they seem randomly placed (clock for additional time, negative power up that reverses control, spring that lets you jump higher, iron shield - temporary fall invincibility for the egg (didn't see one for 10 levels))
Can't break cracked blocks with your wings/hands - only with the weight of an egg (doesn't really make sense other than for puzzle reasons)
Can't break a block diagonally below you if standing on one of the green penguin door blocks
Can't scroll the screen downwards so that the egg is higher than the middle of it - it always centers on the egg (can use the camera scroll mentioned below it has issues)
-
Some control/interface issues (bad how you respawn outside of the screen after getting knocked out, can look down by pausing to see more of the level however it's kinda slow and you can't unpause before going all the way down - would've been better if it showed a single screen map of the level instead since they already had the zoomed out level editor view OR if you could look down a bit to make yourself be at the top of the screen, unforgiving hit detection on the egg when it comes to falling rocks on a tile next to it, a bit too hard to jump up from 1 tile high path without falling down)
Some trial & error (mechanics - can't destroy a tile directly below you for example+unbreakable blocks make the egg slide an additional tile when pushed off of a ledge, some cheap layouts, can't break a block beneath a rock, eggs aren't affected by a reappearing block spawning into them)
Rocks don't fall after landing on a disappearing/reappearing block as it disappears
Not enough time to go back and take out the bird that appears and drops a brick on the egg if you take too long - can at least take out the brick by moving into it
No easy mode where it takes more hits for the egg to break, there are more power ups or the bird is slower
Repetitive (only one enemy type, no other hazards or mechanics than what you see in the first couple of levels besides maybe the power ups, only one in-game music track, color swapped background tiles)
Sometimes haphazard feeling level design
Meh ending
Notes:
-No save feature besides for the level editor?
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
+
Fairly unique gameplay (guide a rolling egg to the bottom of each level without it falling too far and cracking)
Pretty good egg physics
Some advanced mechanics (can switch places with the egg horizontally in narrow spaces by jumping into it, loops vertically for the penguin so you can fall down a pit and end up at the top of the screen if needed, can push blocks in mid-air, can "juggle" the egg on top of your head)
Decent cutscenes
A marker shows if a fall is safe from the height you're at
Level editor (can save up to 15 screens only)
Block breaking and pushing - Lode Runner/Solomon's Key and Sokoban/Boulder Dash
Good mid-air control
Rocks don't fall simply from walking on top of them here
Good length at 50 rounds
Level select (can start at lvl 30 from the get go)
+/-
Level timers however it seems to only affect your bonus points at the end?
The penguin can't die (besides getting stuck), only the egg
Strange how it looks like the penguin's home is a spaceship at the bottom of the level (?) and how that last fall is taller than what the egg should be able to take
Can't fall/jump into a 1-tile high path from above besides at a low velocity such as right after the height of your jump coming at it from below
Rare power ups and they seem randomly placed (clock for additional time, negative power up that reverses control, spring that lets you jump higher, iron shield - temporary fall invincibility for the egg (didn't see one for 10 levels))
Can't break cracked blocks with your wings/hands - only with the weight of an egg (doesn't really make sense other than for puzzle reasons)
Can't break a block diagonally below you if standing on one of the green penguin door blocks
Can't scroll the screen downwards so that the egg is higher than the middle of it - it always centers on the egg (can use the camera scroll mentioned below it has issues)
-
Some control/interface issues (bad how you respawn outside of the screen after getting knocked out, can look down by pausing to see more of the level however it's kinda slow and you can't unpause before going all the way down - would've been better if it showed a single screen map of the level instead since they already had the zoomed out level editor view OR if you could look down a bit to make yourself be at the top of the screen, unforgiving hit detection on the egg when it comes to falling rocks on a tile next to it, a bit too hard to jump up from 1 tile high path without falling down)
Some trial & error (mechanics - can't destroy a tile directly below you for example+unbreakable blocks make the egg slide an additional tile when pushed off of a ledge, some cheap layouts, can't break a block beneath a rock, eggs aren't affected by a reappearing block spawning into them)
Rocks don't fall after landing on a disappearing/reappearing block as it disappears
Not enough time to go back and take out the bird that appears and drops a brick on the egg if you take too long - can at least take out the brick by moving into it
No easy mode where it takes more hits for the egg to break, there are more power ups or the bird is slower
Repetitive (only one enemy type, no other hazards or mechanics than what you see in the first couple of levels besides maybe the power ups, only one in-game music track, color swapped background tiles)
Sometimes haphazard feeling level design
Meh ending
Notes:
-No save feature besides for the level editor?