is a fixed screen

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

produced by Victor Musical Industries that was released exclusively for the

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Gameplay

The player controls a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

which digs through dirt collecting various fruits and vegetables. In most

stages Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

, the produce must be collected in a specific order, or the player may become stuck and be forced to restart the stage. During the stages, the player must also retrieve a female mole, referred to in the instruction manual as the player's

daughter-in-law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship each party in the marriage has to the family of the other party in th ...

. When all objectives are complete, the player must leave through the exit. If the player dies, the character says something along the lines of "I'm beat." Among the fruits the player must collect are bananas. These are special fruits which give the player one of four items: a bomb, a ladder segment, a rope, or a rock. These may be used to free a stuck player following a misstep. If a player walks under a rock, that rock shakes. When the player moves out from under the rock, the rock and any rocks on top of it fall. The player cannot die from a falling rock, but may become stuck a rock blocks the exit. There are 105 stages in ''Banana''. Both of the final stages of the game loop from left to right, meaning that it is possible to quickly warp from one part of the level to another. Each stage progressively becomes more difficult. At the end of each stage, the number of steps the player took is totaled. This step count negatively affects the total score. Players can design their own levels. All the produce that is available in the game can be used and the size of the map can be controlled. With the original Famicom system, players can save their creations to a specially formatted cassette tape. After completing the design, players can immediately play in their new creation.Excerpt from ''Banana'' instruction manual
at GeoCities.jp

References

1986 video games Japan-exclusive video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Puzzle video games Rocks-and-diamonds games Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan {{Video-game-stub