The game involves one or two ghostbusters who can suck monsters, ghosts, aliens and various other oddball characters into vacuum-cleaner-like devices and spit them back as bouncing/rolling balls. Expelled enemies function as projectiles that can damage and kill other opponents on the screen when colliding with them. The game's looks are reminiscent of Pang. Throughout the game, the player/s can collect letters of the alphabet found in randomly appearing bubbles in order to gradually spell the word "TUMBLEPOP", the progress of which is permanently displayed at the bottom of the screen. When completed, players are transported to a bonus level which gives them the opportunity to obtain higher scores and an extra life, although this level is strictly timed. The word goes back to default after completion. In the original arcade version, the protagonists work their way through stages set in different parts of the world, each with their own enemies and at least one boss, as listed below:
Moscow, which is a circus-like stage, enemies being clowns, invisible conjurers, and fire spitters; the boss is a giant clown held by balloons who juggles with bombs.
Egypt: near the pyramids in the desert, the enemies include fire spitters and mummies; the boss is a giant genie appearing from a lamp who spits fireballs.
Paris: near the Arch of Triumph, all the enemies are robots; the boss is a giant flying robot that sends out flying hands.
Moon: all the bosses from the previous worlds must be fought again. The final boss is a cyborgmad scientist controlling a giant robot.
The player/s has/have to complete every level within a specific period of time before exceeding an invisible timer. If the players do not manage to eliminate all the monsters in time, a Dracula-like beast appears and approaches them with a sinister laugh. If the beast manages to touch a player before he/she eliminates all the monsters, the player suffers an instant loss of a life. This also counts in the Boss levels.
Release
Tumblepop was first released on November 1991 in Japan by Namco, Leprechaun Inc. in North America and Mitchel Corporation in Europe. It has since been re-released on the AntStream service. The Game Boy version incorporates a world map that doesn't resemble Earth; levels are contained in different cities on that map that the player can walk between. If a city proves too difficult, it is also possible to drop out of it and come back later. The enemies in a given city approximately correspond to those in an area in the arcade version, though there is not necessarily any link between the cities of the world and the cities of Tumblepop. In addition, the Game Boy version incorporates a shop in which players can spend their points to buy power-ups. It has since been re-released on the AntStream service.
Cultural references
The fire breathers are modeled after Karnov, the star of a Data East arcade game by the same title.
The cavemen and the Tyrant Triffids are from Joe and Mac, another Data East arcade game which stars two cavemen.
The gray spacemen are based on Chelnov from the Data East arcade game Atomic Runner Chelnov.
An automatic letter "E" is received in the first round of the Brazil stage in the arcade version, as part of letters spelling "SENNA".
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Tumblepop on their December 1, 1991 issue as being the eighth most-successful table arcade unit of the year. In the February 1992 issue of Japanese publication Micom BASIC Magazine, the game was ranked on the number eight spot in popularity. Computer and Video Gamess Julian Rignall gave high praise to the visuals, sound and "addictive" gameplay. Both Emmanuel Castro and Burno Sol of Spanish website Vandal gave it a positive retrospective outlook. Likewise, Juan Garcia of IGN Spain also gave it a positive retrospective outlook.
