Penguin Adventure


Penguin Adventure is an action-adventure platform video game released by Konami in 1986. It is a sequel to Antarctic Adventure and has the distinction of being the first game that game designer Hideo Kojima worked on; he was an assistant designer. It has been acclaimed as one of the best MSX action games for its gameplay, depth, variety and rich pseudo-3D tile-based graphics with sprites. The story follows Penta, a penguin who has to bring home a golden apple in order to cure Penguette, the Penguin Princess.

Gameplay

This title significantly expanded upon the gameplay of Antarctic Adventure by most notably adding a greater variety of stages and enemies and RPG elements: boss fights, purchasable items, and several mini-games. Items can be purchased through three different fisherman, in exchange for fish, that give Penta new abilities. One of the items that can be bought is a gun, originating as a reference to Konami's Vietnam War-themed animated feature Penguin Memories. The usage of this gun would also be reflected in Penta's son "Pentarou" during his appearances in the Parodius series.
Level design and variety have increased from Antarctic Adventure; there are forest levels, ice levels, water-based levels, caves, and even some outer-space bonus levels. There are several shortcuts, usually hidden underneath holes in the game, that allow the player to go on almost completely different paths. The game also featured multiple endings, with the hidden good ending available when the player pauses the game a certain number of times. In the bad ending, the princess dies, while in the good ending, she lives, an idea that Kojima would later use again in Metal Gear Solid and, to an extent, .

Ports

In 2006, Konami Digital Entertainment Tokyo serialized a series of digital comics based on the video game of the same name titled Yume Tairiku Adobenchā: Penta no daibōken Korokorokokoro no Penko-hime.