Yo! Noid
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| Yo! Noid | |
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| Developer(s) | Now Production |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Engine | modified Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru engine |
| Platform(s) | NES |
| Release date | NA November 1990 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | 2-megabit cartridge |
| Input methods | NES Controller |
Yo! Noid is a platform video game released in the United States for the NES by Capcom during November, 1990. It stars the Noid, the former claymation mascot of Domino's Pizza, traipsing through fourteen different side-scrolling levels throughout various locations of New York City to battle his evil duplicate, Mr. Green, for the public good, and for the massive pizza reward. The game is a modified version of an earlier Japanese release called Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru (for details, see below).
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[edit] Gameplay
The Noid has no life meter, and loses a life by enemy contact. Levels also have time limits. He's equipped with a short range yo-yo for offense, but can gather magic points by collecting scrolls and use them for screen-clearing special attacks or very rare power-ups, both kinds of which are found in large scrolls opened with the yo-yo. Extra lives are awarded for every 20,000 points scored. Most levels are traveled on foot, but one features a skateboard, two a gyrocopter, and a part of one level features the "Pizza Crusher," as seen on the "Avoid the Noid" commercials, and the front of the game box -- a cross between a large weight and a pogo stick.
As was the case with many Capcom games based on cartoon characters, Yo! Noid had detailed cartoon graphics and sound effects for its time. Its high difficulty made it a feat for anyone but the most seasoned player. The back cover of the instruction manual included a $1 off Domino's Pizza coupon.
[edit] Magic
The Noid can use magic attacks to gain an edge over the enemies -- however, each use of them costs magic points, which the Noid must collect throughout the level. A magic meter, shown at the bottom left of the screen, shows the number of magic points the Noid has collected (he can have up to 20 in reserve.) Small scrolls are worth 1 magic point. Large scrolls can be picked up (without being struck by the yo-yo) to gain 5 magic points, or hit to reveal one of the following:
Light Burst: Kills all on-screen enemies and flying objects. (10 points per use)
Pizza Crusher: Kills all enemies that are ground-based. (5 points per use)
Dark Noid: Enables the Noid to temporarily run faster and jump higher. (5 points per use)
Super Yo-Yo: Quickly zips all the way across the screen and back, killing all enemies in its path. (2 points per use)
Yashichi: The Noid will become temporarily invincible, will run faster and jump higher, and can kill enemies and objects upon contact.
1UP: The Noid will gain an extra life.
[edit] Pizza eating contests
Every odd-numbered round ends with a pizza eating contest versus another Noid of a different color. The contest is in the form of a card game that was not explained in the game's instruction manual. The final stage pits the Noid against his evil doppelganger, Mr. Green. Losing a contest, running out of cards, or running out of time to make a selection, causes the loss of a life and forces the player to complete the previous action stage again. If the player's last life is lost here, the game will be over.
Four types of bonus cards are scattered throughout the levels, most of them hidden and revealable by a yo-yo strike:
II - Multiplies a card value by 2.
III - Multiplies a card value by 3.
[ ! ] (gray) - Red pepper. Wastes the opponent's card, and no pizzas will appear on his meter.
[ ! ] (red) - Hot sauce. The opponent gains pizzas, but promptly loses them. (However, if the opponent gets his 18th pizza before the "hot sauce" takes effect, he still wins.)
The player can have up to nine each of the "II" and "III" cards in stock, but red pepper and hot sauce cards don't stack. Upon winning a pizza eating contest, bonus points are awarded for any unused special cards, if present. If a player wins without the opponent getting any pizza, 10,000 points and an extra continue are awarded. Should either player run out of cards, they automatically lose the contest.
There is a bug in the game during certain contest scenarios. If the opponent has one card left, playing the hot sauce card will lock up the game after both cards have been played. This can be faithfully replicated throughout the game.
Unused special cards carry over between levels -- they will be available for use in the next contest.
[edit] Bonus stages
There are secret and progressively more difficult "Whack-a-Mole" stages in some levels, accessible by jumping into invisible portals. The Noid walks around a top-down view area with 10 (or 12) holes in the floor, hitting moles as they pop out of their holes. Hitting enough of them within 30 seconds completes the level, earns 1000 points and an extra continue (but no time bonus), and lets the player skip the end-of-level pizza-eating contest (if any). Failing costs a life and restarts the level -- the game will be over if it was the player's last life.
[edit] Hanamaru
Yo! Noid is a localization of the lesser-known Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru (Masked Ninja Hanamaru), a Famicom game released by Capcom in Japan on March 16, 1990. Much of the presentation, but none of the game mechanics, were changed and it was released in the rest of the world as Yo! Noid. Given that both games were released in the same year, it is possible that they were developed concurrently, rather than Yo! Noid being considered a mere localization of Hanamaru.
In the process, the game gained coherence in locations but lost it in plot and character design. Pizza-eating contests were originally card-based battles. Most of the game's music was re-used for Yo! Noid, though a few tunes were changed, and a few new tracks were written for the latter.
