Monday Morning MAME Club [5/17/04] - Pandora's Palace

[Flack]

"Hello ... is there anybody out there ..." - Pink Floyd.

Due to all the nice weather we've been having, everybody has been outside shopping for games and not inside playing MAME like they should be! That's okay, this little platformer picked by Ze_ro will have people coming back in droves.

PANDORA'S PALACE by Konami is Ze_ro's MAME Club pick of the week!
Download: PANDORAS.ZIP (~50k)



This week's contest: Let's get at least ten reviews! Or, let's see who can reach the highest score or level!

Download the ROM if you don't already have it, give it a spin, and respond to this topic with your review! Have you played this game before, or is it brand new to you? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!

Club Members:

Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
digitalpress (N/A)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
ghsqb (N/A)
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81
Qbert
k8track
Hamsnibit
Lady Jaye
Sofa King Gud
jgenotte
Schenley
Kaine23
Arqueologia_Digital
Jiscan
-hellvin-

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

Next week is slip81's turn to dish out the MAME'ing goodness. For now, grab yer joystick and hold it tight as you ...

... MAME On!

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Very nice game to play, maybe a little difficult...but cool.

[ManekiNeko]

It's a pretty neat game, arguably better than Konami's other Donkey Kong derivitive Roc 'n Rope. The best part is when the hero grabs a handful of magic grapes. He becomes a mighty warrior while festive Greek music plays in the background! Every time I hear that song I feel like dancing!

JR

[-hellvin-]

Current High: 46010 at Level 4

Man this game is pretty damn tough. I like it a lot though, it's pretty addictive.

[Ze_ro]

Man, I love this game! It's probably the 2nd most played game in MAME on my computer (the top spot goes to Berzerk). I'm not sure what it is that makes this game so fun, but it hasn't lost it's polish since the first time I tried it. In fact, I can't remember exactly how I found it in the first place... I think I was just looking through random ROM names and thought it sounded interesting.

I've always loved classic platform games, and this one seems to have it all... catchy music, difficult enemies, tricky jumps, bonus levels. If only this game had better distribution and advertising, it could have become one of the unforgettable classics.

My highest score so far is 87,760.

--Zero

[scooterb23]

This game is just stupid fun

I'd never heard of this game until now...it is a very tricky jumping game, and I love it.

Best score: 10840 Level 2...stupid springing platforms...

[Ze_ro]

I managed to up my best score to 99,160... but I haven't been able to beat level 9 yet. It has this annoying flying flame that I haven't found a way around yet.

By the way, in case people haven't figured it out, the idea is to jump on the enemies after you grab the grapes... even when you're powered up, they can still knock you back if you just walk into them. Jumping on them will eliminate them completely though. Due to the rather "loose" logic of this game though, you can eliminate enemies as long as you somehow land on top of them... so sliding down a pillar onto an enemy will do the trick, dropping onto an enemy while standing on a moving platform will also do the trick. Another example of the game's loose logic really shows up on the levels with the bouncing platforms... you can often survive very long falls if you happen to be jumping onto a platform (Jumping OFF of them is another story entirely).

Also, there are only about 5 levels in this game... once you beat them all, you'll play them again, but with more enemies and some slight changes (more moving platforms, more fires, etc). Also, you can get a LOT of points on the bonus levels if you do well on them.

--Zero

[Icarus Moonsight]

The best I can do so far is LVL 5.
Score: 46070

I am gonna be hooked on this one for quite awhile
Excellent pick Ze_ro!!!
BTW Flack pls add me to the Club!

[Icarus Moonsight]

After playing this game for about 5 minutes I found myself completely absorbed. Timely jumping has never been a strong point of my gaming ability, which makes Pandoras perfect for honing my lackluster jumping skills. I did manage to improve alittle while reaching LVL 9 with a score of 73770 on my best run. If your prone to falling off platforms like I am this game will evoke one of two responces; either you'll see it as a fun game to buff up on, or, your monitor is on it's way out the window followed by a stream of profanity. I never would have found this game had it not appeared here in the Club. I look forward to many more selections like this.

Arrg.... fell off the platform again.