[All Stages and No UFO Shortcuts]
Okay so the only reason I know about this game is because I actually own the "Mario IV" hack game and it still feels odd that this game was marketed officially, and in a real famicom cartridge no less.
When I recorded this, the game resolution was a lot smaller than the actual screen so it left a completely BLANK column to the left. To compensate, I designed some small overlays for each respective world to fill that awkward gap/ void. And trust me, the gap looks really UGLY and distracting if left alone. The screen deformities on the right side I can't do much about since characters can walk all the way there unlike the left side (which is untouchable). The flickering bar above the status screen is not as bothersome as the left side issue so I just left it alone.
This game is originally japanese as was the "Mario IV" Hack, a translation patch was used to convert it into english.
I don't recall a lot of armadillo game characters that weren't minor characters or mere henchmen. When playing the game as the non-hacked version, I couldn't get the impression of Armored Armadillo from Mega Man X out of my mind, mainly because he was the ONLY video game armadillo that I recall. Alright... so there is also Armadillomon and Sandshrew, but I primarily remember them via Anime, and I don't use Sandshrew that often when I play Pokemon either.
The game is pretty difficult mostly because of its' rigid game mechanics. Billy the Shell arguably has less traction than Luigi; more often than enough he ends up sliding a lot on the ground, and is even worse when Billy transforms into a kangaroo. Jumping can be a real pain, especially during areas where precision is critical. In addition to jumping, bouncing and ricocheting (which also contributes to jumping mechanics), it is damn near impossible to estimate and target. The supposed caveat I observed when playing the game is that there are A LOT of 1-UPs, both in items and scoring 30,000 points. Unlike Mega Man, Billy has the advantage of being able to move on spikes, but only while rolled up; this is VERY important to remember because later on, many stages will require spike traversals. Porcupine spikes and propeller fish... propellers however, can still kill you when rolled up.
Despite not being an actual Mario game despite the hack, Armadillo carries a few game elements that seem to appear in Mario's later titles:
*Billy's bouncing jumps is similar to Mario's triple jump chain. Each bounce/ jump builds on the previous to a highest possible height.
*The World Map is very similar to Mario Party boards.
*Billy's Wall Jump is similar to Mario's as such that Mario latches onto the side, but will continually slide down if he doesn't jump to the other side. Billy's performance is arguably the very first time Nintendo attempted the wall jump in their own games.
*Apple Shrinking is remarkably reminiscent of the mini-shroom seen in both Mario Party titles and The New Super Mario Bros. in which the shrunken form enables entry into smaller enclosures and enables longer and more airborne jumps. The only difference is that a shrunken Billy the Shell cannot climb ladders at all, until he re-enlarges himself through a funnel gate; however, wall-jumping is a lot easier, as was the case for mini-Mario.
With regards to references:
*The Cacti enemies are very similar to Kirby's Cappies, and the choice of coloring Green and Red are similar to Koopa Troopa shells and also in behavior because the Green Cacti will continue to move forward and Red Cacti patrol back and forth, detecting ledges and edges.
*Transformations (most of them) reflect Mario Power-ups in which they can shield one damage (including spikes) and lose the power-up as a result; however, instant death attacks can still bypass this such as the BIG MOUTH enemies.
*Plot is similar to the typical Mario saving Peach from Bowser, only in this case, replace Mario with Billy, Peach with Sheryl, and the Koopa Gang with the Black Bean Gang.
*Intermission letters in between worlds are almost exactly the same as SMB3, except you don't get items and it is always from an unfriendly source.
*Again from SMB3, the idea of the start screen animation (before the menu appears) are very similar.
*When playing a 2-player game, the second player wears a green hat, while the first has a red hat. Mario and Luigi allusion?
Title Music is (if not already obvious...) Armored Armadillo's Stage from Mega Man X.
Armadillo/ Arumajiro (NES/ FC) is owned by Nintendo/ IGS, copyright 1991.
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![Armadillo (NES/ FC) Playthrough Part 08 - [World 8] New York](//s.ytimg.com/yt/img/pixel-vfl3z5WfW.gif)
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Armadillo (NES/ FC) Playthrough Part 08 - [World 8] New Yorkby DragoonMyuutsu892 views
Thank you, DragoonMyuutsu. I loved to play this game most when I was a kid! Wow, I really really miss this so much... this is so nice. I don't think this game was just released in Japan, I am Taiwanese, my sister and I still love this. Awesome!
92202036 1 year ago
You're welcome :) I'm pretty certain this game was only released officially in Japan. It could be that bootleg copies of this game and the Mario IV hack version circulated outside the country. I some how managed to get a hold of the Mario VI hacked cartridge.
DragoonMyuutsu 1 year ago
what is this?? I never heard of this game before
ShadowWolf401 1 year ago
A very obscure Nintendo game that was only released in Japan. There's a short Wikipedia article on it. I wouldn't have known about this game at all if I didn't own the hacked version of it, which replaces the main character with the SMB3 Mario sprite.
DragoonMyuutsu 1 year ago