Power Pad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Power Pad (known in Japan as Family Trainer, and in Europe and briefly in the United States as Family Fun Fitness) is a floor mat game controller released in the United States for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a gray mat with twelve pressure-sensors embedded between two layers of flexible plastic. It was originally developed by Bandai.
Bandai first released the accessory in 1986 as the Family Trainer pack for the Famicom in Japan, and later released in the United States under the name Family Fun Fitness. Soon after its American release, Nintendo bought the rights for it and rereleased it in 1988 as the Power Pad, along with the game World Class Track Meet, which was a rebranding of an earlier game.
The accessory is laid out in front of the video display for various games, generally plugged into the second controller port, with players stepping on the large buttons to control gameplay. There are two illustrated sides to the pad: Side A, which is rarely used, has eight buttons, while side B has twelve buttons numbered from 1-12.
Games using the Power Pad often test players on their timing and coordination, memory, "running" speed, or allow them to play music with their steps. Games such as Dance Dance Revolution can trace the lineage of their control mechanisms back to the Power Pad (see dance pad).
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[edit] Revival
It was recently announced by Namco Bandai Games that the Power Pad will see a reappearance for the Wii. [1] This version of the pad will also work in conjunction with the Wii Remote. It will be released as Active Life in the US [2] (known as Family Trainer Athletic World in Japan) in 2008.
[edit] Compatible games
There are 11 games in total which were created for use with the Power Pad. All but one of them were developed and published by Bandai, though some of them were rebranded and republished by Nintendo. The following is a list of all games that were developed and released for it. This list is arranged by the release date, and the name that the game was first released as.
[edit] Athletic World
Athletic World (アスレチックワールド?) is a competition game with five different challenges. It was released in Japan on November 12, 1986, and for the USA in February 1989, it is the first of ten games developed and released for the Family Trainer series by Bandai.
[edit] Running Stadium
Running Stadium (ランニングスタジアム?) is a Olympics-style racing game which was first released in Japan on December 23, 1986, and later in the USA with the named changed to Stadium Events in September 1987. The rights to the game were then licensed to Nintendo which re-released the game as World Class Track Meet, and then as part of a three in one package Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet, it is the second game in the Family Trainer series.
[edit] Aerobics Studio
Aerobics Studio (エアロビスタジオ?) is a dance, exercise game where the player has to follow the actions of the character on screen. It was released on February 26, 1987 in Japan, and is the third game in the Family Trainer series by Bandai. Nintendo later released the game in America as Dance Aerobics in March, 1989.
[edit] Jogging Race
Jogging Race | (ジョギングレース?) is a Jogging and Hiking game which was only released in Japan, on May 28, 1987. It is the fourth game in the Family Trainer series by Bandai.
[edit] Meiro Daisakusen
Meiro Daisakusen (迷路大作戦?) literally Maze Epic Battle is a maze exploring game, released only in Japan on July 31, 1987, and is the fifth game in Bandai's Family Trainer series.
[edit] Manhattan Police
Manhattan Police (マンハッタンポリス?) is a game where the player is a police officer, and has to chase after criminals while jumping over things and using the club to apprehend the foes. It was released on August 31, 1987 and was re-released in the USA as Street Cop in June, 1989.
[edit] Famitre Daiundōkai
Famitre Daiundōkai (ファミトレ大運動会?) is a game of summer camp contests[3], including games such as tug of war. it was released on November 27, 1987 and is the seventh game in Bandai's Family Trainer series. It was released in the United States as Super Team Games.
[edit] Totsugeki! Fūun Takeshi Jō
Totsugeki! Fūun Takeshi Jō (突撃! 風雲! たけし城?) is a contest game based on the Japanese Television series game show/contest called Takeshi's Castle it was released only in Japan on December 28, 1987, and is the eighth game in the Family Trainer series by Bandai.
[edit] Fūun! Takeshi Jō Ni
Fūun! Takeshi Jō Ni (風雲! たけし城二?) is a sequel to Totsugeki! Fūun Takeshi Jō and is also based on the Japan TV series Takeshi's Castle with new contests, it was released on December 20, 1988, only in Japan, and is the ninth game in the Family Trainer series by Bandai.
[edit] Rai Rai! Kyonshis: Baby Kyonshi no Amida Daibōken
Rai Rai! Kyonshis: Baby Kyonshi no Amida Daibōken (来来! キョンシーズ。 ベビーキョンシーのあみだ大冒険?) literally translated is Come come! Fallen Corpses: Baby Fallen Corpse's Amedia Great Adventure. It is loosely based on the Japanese TV series "Rai Rai! Kyonshis", it is the tenth and final game released in the Family Trainer series by Bandai, it was only released in Japan on January 26, 1989.
[edit] Short Order/Eggsplode!
Short Order/Eggsplode! is two games in one, which was developed and released by Nintendo, with no involvement from Bandai, in November 1989. In the first game the player must build the hamburger that the a customer requests, and then by remembering the order of ingredients that the customer requests. The second game involves a group of twelve hens on their nests and a wolf that comes along and puts a bomb under them, the player must step on the appropriate position to extinguish the bombs before they explode, while ignoring the eggs layed by hens. This was the final game released for the Power Pad.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ http://wii.ign.com/articles/820/820944p1.html IGN.com news
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/news/6179193.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;8 Gamespot.com news
- ^ http://www.mobygames.com/game/super-team-games Moby Games review
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