''Gator Panic'' is a redemption

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

released in 1988 by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

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 ...

and

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The game plays very much like

Whac-A-Mole ''Whac-A-Mole'' is a Japanese arcade game that was created in 1975 by the amusements manufacturer TOGO in Japan, where it was originally known as or . A typical ''Whac-A-Mole'' machine consists of a waist-level cabinet with a play area and dis ...

, but features

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

s coming out of the cabinet horizontally instead of moles coming out vertically.

Legacy

A digital remake was made in 2006 for '' Point Blank DS'' on the Nintendo DS, and retains the original design from the Japanese release. The game was digitally remade again in 2007 for ''

Namco Museum Remix ''Namco Museum Remix'' is a 2007 video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Wii. The compilation includes nine arcade games originally developed by Namco and five "remix" games made specifically for this compilat ...

'' under the name ''Gator Panic Remix''. This version has the player swing

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

at the alligators by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck; it was included again in '' Namco Museum Megamix'' which was released in 2010. An iOS version of ''Gator Panic'' was also released in 2010, but was removed from the app store on March 30, 2015. All digital versions of the game retain the title ''Gator Panic'' in regions outside Japan. The game has had several sequels and revisions since the original's release: * ''Kani Kani Panic'' AKA ''Cracky Crab'' (1991) - a similar title that uses crabs instead of alligators (naturally, they move sideways). * ''Same Same Panic'' - (1994) - revised version featuring sharks instead of alligators. * ''Wani Wani Panic 2'' - (1996) - released in America in 2012 as ''Funky Gators''. * ''CR Wani Wani Panic'' - (2000) - Pachinko game. * ''Wani Wani Panic RT'' - (2003) * ''Wani Wani Panic 3'' (2008) * ''Whack'em Funky Gators'' (2016) - a digital remake of the game. It is known in Europe as ''Gator Panic''. * ''Wani Wani Panic R'' (2020) In the 2021 JRPG '' Tales of Arise'' a mallet-like artifact called "Crocodile Crusher" can be found, with the in-game description saying it was "once used to beat back alligators" above a small trademark reference to Gator Panic. File:WANI-WANI PANIC 2.jpg, ''Wani Wani Panic 2'' File:WINI-WANI PANIC 3.jpg, ''Wani Wani Panic 3''

Notes

References

Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises Namco redemption games Namco games Redemption games IOS games {{mobile-game-stub