Clu Clu Land [Model HVC-CL]

Clu Clu Land © 1984 Nintendo.

Clu Clu Land is a single screen puzzle/action game. The aquatic kingdom of Clu Clu Land is at stake - a group of sea urchins, the Uniras, have stolen all the treasures of the country. Goruppi (aka Gloopy) the bubble fish (known as Bubbles in the rest of the world) ventures out to retrieve all the gold they have taken along with them and hidden inside their underground lair. Each stage simply consists of a grid of turn posts. Gloopy is very fast but can't stop nor turn by himself, and therein lies the very core of the gameplay - she must hang onto these posts to turn around, or bounce off walls to change direction. All the gold is also hidden from view - Gloopy must uncover they all within a time limit by running over key locations on the maze (the gold bars usually form a recognizable shape on the playfield, helping the player to figure out where they are). Each maze is also riddled with traps and other hazards, such as black holes (this is where the Uniras come from, but then can swallow up Gloopy as well) and rubber bands (Gloopy bounces off them). Special items also appear from time to time on the playfield, they include Timers (freezes time), fruits and sacks (bonus points) and Flags (extra life). Finally, Gloopy can shoot electric shock waves to stun the urchins - but they eventually recover unless she crushes them against the outside walls. The mazes come in five different colors, and each color features four different pattern shapes (for a total of twenty). A bonus round awaits the player every six levels, in which Gloopy has to find and collect as many gold bars as possible within a time limit.

Finally, Clu Clu Land features a two simultaneous player mode.