Mappy

Mappy is a mouse cop whose goal is to retrieve stolen goods from the Meowkies. Guiding Mappy, the player traverses the mansion's many floors, collecting the goods and running away from the pink Meowkies while the big red one named Goro just does his own thing I guess. Each level is comprised of six floors of hallways filled with goods such as paintings and electronics. Each floor and hallway is accessed via trampoline. This trampoline is only usable for a couple bounces at a time but the Meowkies and Goro cannot harm Mappy while using it. Doors are Mappy's only defense against the enemies. Most will be colored beige but some are rainbow colored when closed and blue when opened. When opening the beige doors, the enemies on the side that opens are pushed backwards if close enough. The blue door creates sound waves when opened temporarily eliminating all enemies in it's path. The level ends when all objects are found. Occasionally there is a bonus stage where Mappy bounces on trampolines and collects balloons within a certain time limit.

Mappy is a basic game. Simple premise. Simple goal. The mechanics are more complex than other games like Pac Man. Actually, speaking of, this game is very similar to Pac Man in a lot of aspects. The goal is collecting ambiguous objects. The main character spends most of their time running away from the enemy. All of the levels have an almost maze-like structure. The main character has limited defense against their enemy. Mappy and his villains are also designed to be cartoony, colorful, and recognizable in a similar style as Pac Man.

Personally, I find Mappy to be the better, more adaptable game. It's difficulty is more manageable while still delivering a challenge. If there is a flaw it's that the set up can be a little unfair. Most deaths happen when enemies corner you and it is impossible to avoid or recover when that happens. The requirement for extra lives is very steep mostly because there are few opportunities for building up enough points. For example, the point system felt balanced in Galaga because different enemies carried different point amounts and there were plenty to choose from. The bonus stages in that game focus on freely shooting as many of those enemies as possible to not only grant the player a breather moment but to also act as a reward for progressing to that point in the game. Mappy's reward is popping balloons on a very strict time limit and the points acquired in these stages amount to very little. Personally, I don't find the bonus stages in Mappy to be all that fun or rewarding anyway. They are way too brief and introduce another challenge rather than act as a break for the player. The reward earned is also not worth it.

MAPPY IS ADORABLE

You play a mouse Mappy and need to collect appliances in a stage to get to the next level. You must avoid contact with cats(yet you can jump on trampolines for a guaranteed safe-spot), which you can only defeat if you let a gust of wind blow them when opening doors which you can strategically close afterwards. It's a surprisingly deep game, and even if it wasn't, the comic sprites and sweet fairground/ragtime music will always make you want to get back for more Mappy.

THIS GAME IS WHAT HAPPINESS FEELS LIKE