Comical action game

Comical action game is a style of platformer where, rather than trying to get to the end, the player aims to defeat the enemies on screen. Commonly featuring co-op gameplay, enemies are defeated via running, jumping, and using other specialized attacks. Mario Bros. (1983) is commonly associated with the creation of the genre, with Bubble Bobble (1986) being credited as popularizing it and being influential of comical action games to come. The genre was very popular in Japan, with little of that success translating over to the West, hence the lack of an agreed upon name outside of Japan.