Mikie
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''Mikie'', known as in Japan, is an
arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...
developed and released by
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
in 1984. The object of the game is to guide a student named Mikie around the school locations to collect hearts which make up a letter from his girlfriend while being chased by members of the school staff. In Japan, the game's setting was changed to an office in order to avoid controversy, while the original version of the game was released internationally.
Centuri Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 1 ...
distributed the game in North America.


Gameplay

The game starts at the classroom where Toru Mikie (美紀 徹, Miki Tōru) gets out of his seat for the player to begin the game. Mikie must bump the students out of their seats, to collect the hearts they're sitting on, while simultaneously avoiding the classroom teacher. Once all hearts are collected by the player he is allowed to leave the room and enter the school corridor. The school corridor is where Mikie will be chased by the janitor and his classroom teacher, who follows him outside. This is the way to gain access to the rest of the school building, each room representing a different challenge or level. Mikie will be cued to the proper door to enter by a large, flashing "In" - opening any other door will result in Mikie being punched by a coiled boxing glove or hairy foot, stunning him. One of the doors, however, contains a scantily clad girl: opening this door is worth 5,000 points. Mikie can also pick up extra points by picking up lunch boxes and opening a grate that contains a burger and soda. In addition to head-butting, enemies (the janitor and the classroom teacher) can also be stunned by slamming doors in their faces. The second room is the locker room, where the objective is to break the lockers to get the hearts, while being pursued by a janitor, a cook, and the classroom teacher. In addition to the head-butting, there are three bins of basketballs located around the room, which Mikie can pick up and throw using the action button. Each bin holds three basketballs. Room three is the cafeteria where Mikie is pursued by two cooks and, again, the classroom teacher. One cook who stands at the top of the room occasionally throws a leg of meat directly at Mikie. On each table are roasts (3 per table) which Mikie can hurl at his enemies. Room four sees the student in the Dance Studio, where he must avoid dancing girls who stun him, as well as the dance instructor and, yet again, his classroom teacher. The final stage has Mikie avoiding football players in the garden outside of his school, who are guarding the hearts he must collect, attempting to reach his girlfriend Mandy.


Release

''Mikie'' initially underwent location testing in
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 ...
under its international title, with the same graphics and high school theme that would be used for the game's overseas releases, but Konami chose not release ''Mikie'' as is in Japan due to the game's premise of having a protagonist sneaking out of school after incidents of school violence at the time. As a result, an alternative version was produced for Japanese arcades titled , which replaces the school setting with a workplace. The classroom in the first level becomes an office and the teacher into a manager, the dance studio in the third level becomes the OL office, and the other levels (the hallway, the gym, the restaurant and the outdoor garden) are mostly unchanged aside from a few graphical modifications, but the football players in the final level are instead security guards. The game's soundtrack, which features chiptunes rendition of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
songs " A Hard Day's Night", and "
Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by The Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Broth ...
", had permission granted by
JASRAC The , often referred to as JASRAC, is a Japanese copyright collection society. It was founded in 1939 as a nonprofit organization, and is the largest musical copyright administration society in Japan. Overview JASRAC's main business activity ...
in Japan, with a license displayed on the instruction card and printed circuit board. In North America, the game was distributed by
Centuri Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 1 ...
, which had distributed Konami's previous arcade games in the region. In Europe, Konami debuted the game at
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's Preview '85 arcade exhibition in November 1984. A revised version of the game, titled ''High School Graffiti Mikie'', provided less violent action, in which Mikie's physical attack was changed from a head butt to a paralyzing shout, while his "death" animation was changed from rolling around on the floor to sobbing in contrition. The glass jars, which Mikie had to head butt three times to retrieve the heart inside, were replaced with bundles of three hearts, providing the same effect without requiring the player character to head butt glass. In the first level, the writing on the blackboard reads "Failure Teaches Success", instead of "E=MC2". Mikie's shout has no effect on his classroom teacher. After each completed "step" (the loops of the game) in this version, the speed of the enemy characters increases, with some of them even gaining new abilities.


Ports

''Mikie'' was ported to various home computers by
Ocean Software Ocean Software Limited was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and was based in Manchest ...
subsidiary
Imagine Software Imagine Software was a British video games developer based in Liverpool which existed briefly in the early 1980s, initially producing software for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20. The company rose quickly to prominence and was noted for its polishe ...
, with versions released for the
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...
,
Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...
,
BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
. An
SG-1000 The is a home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982, the SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nak ...
version of ''Shinnyū Shain Tōru-kun'', was also released exclusively in Japan by Sega.


Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Shinnyū Shain Tōru-kun'' on their December 1, 1984 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In Europe, ''Mikie'' was a major success in the coin-op market during 1985. ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...
'' reviewed the game in December 1984, calling it "a weird game" and "one of the most bizarre games" they had played. They noted that "the story is a little more complex" for an arcade game, and that a "certain element of skill is needed to collect and deliver" the messages and for "escaping from the powers above" but said it's "not a game to set the adrenaline running" compared to a
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
and that the "Japanese must have a very odd idea of what American boys study at school".


Notes


References


External links

* {{KLOV game, id=8696
''Mikie''
a
Retrogames.com
1984 video games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Centuri games Commodore 64 games High school-themed video games Imagine Software games Konami arcade games Konami games Maze games MSX games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer hotseat games SG-1000 games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Martin Galway ZX Spectrum games