Mikie
Encyclopedia
Mikie, known in Japan
as , is a arcade game
by Konami
where the player must guide a student called "Mikie" around the school, classroom, and locker room to collect hearts which make up a letter from his girlfriend Mandy while being chased by various members of the school staff. To defend himself the game character can head-butt teachers and throw basketballs at them.
The game's soundtrack features The Beatles
songs A Hard Day's Night
, and Twist and Shout
(though the songs are not credited, so there is no evidence they had permission to use them).
The school corridor is where Mikie will be chased by the janitor and his classroom teacher, who follows him outside. This is the way to gain access to the rest of the school building, each room representing a different challenge or level. Mikie will be cued to the proper door to enter by a large, flashing "In" - opening any other door will result in Mikie being punched by a coiled boxing glove or hairy foot, stunning him. One of the doors, however,contains a scantily clad girl: opening this door is worth 5,000 points. Mikie can also pick up extra points by picking up lunch boxes, and opening a grate that contains a burger and soda. In addition to head-butting, enemies (the janitor and the classroom teacher) can also be stunned by slamming doors in their faces.
The second room is the locker room, where the objective is to break the lockers to get the hearts, while being pursued by a janitor, a cook, and the classroom teacher. In addition to the head-butting, there are three bins of basketballs located around the room, which Mikie can pick up and throw using the action button. Each bin holds three basketballs.
Room three is the cafeteria where Mikie is pursued by two cooks and, again, the classroom teacher. One cook who stands at the top of the room occasionally throws a leg of meat directly at Mikie. On each table are roasts (3 per table) which Mikie can hurl at his enemies.
Room four sees the student in the Dance Studio, where he must avoid dancing girls who stun him, as well as the dance instructor and, yet again, his classroom teacher.
The final stage has Mikie avoiding football players in the garden outside of his school, who are guarding the hearts he must collect, attempting to reach his girlfriend, Mandy.
After each completed Step (level) the enemies speed up, and some even gain new abilities.
subsidiary, Imagine Software
for the Amstrad CPC
, Acorn Electron
, BBC Micro
, Commodore 64
, MSX
and ZX Spectrum
. The SG-1000
was released only in Japan by Sega.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
where the player must guide a student called "Mikie" around the school, classroom, and locker room to collect hearts which make up a letter from his girlfriend Mandy while being chased by various members of the school staff. To defend himself the game character can head-butt teachers and throw basketballs at them.
The game's soundtrack features The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
songs A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (song)
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
, and Twist and Shout
Twist and Shout
"Twist and Shout" is a song written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell. It was originally titled "Shake It Up, Baby" and recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by The Beatles with John Lennon on the lead vocals and originally released on their first album...
(though the songs are not credited, so there is no evidence they had permission to use them).
Overview
The game starts at Mikie's classroom. Mikie must bump the students out of their seats to collect the hearts they're sitting on, while simultaneously avoiding the classroom teacher. Once all hearts are collected by the player he is allowed to leave the room and enter the school corridor.The school corridor is where Mikie will be chased by the janitor and his classroom teacher, who follows him outside. This is the way to gain access to the rest of the school building, each room representing a different challenge or level. Mikie will be cued to the proper door to enter by a large, flashing "In" - opening any other door will result in Mikie being punched by a coiled boxing glove or hairy foot, stunning him. One of the doors, however,contains a scantily clad girl: opening this door is worth 5,000 points. Mikie can also pick up extra points by picking up lunch boxes, and opening a grate that contains a burger and soda. In addition to head-butting, enemies (the janitor and the classroom teacher) can also be stunned by slamming doors in their faces.
The second room is the locker room, where the objective is to break the lockers to get the hearts, while being pursued by a janitor, a cook, and the classroom teacher. In addition to the head-butting, there are three bins of basketballs located around the room, which Mikie can pick up and throw using the action button. Each bin holds three basketballs.
Room three is the cafeteria where Mikie is pursued by two cooks and, again, the classroom teacher. One cook who stands at the top of the room occasionally throws a leg of meat directly at Mikie. On each table are roasts (3 per table) which Mikie can hurl at his enemies.
Room four sees the student in the Dance Studio, where he must avoid dancing girls who stun him, as well as the dance instructor and, yet again, his classroom teacher.
The final stage has Mikie avoiding football players in the garden outside of his school, who are guarding the hearts he must collect, attempting to reach his girlfriend, Mandy.
Variations
A clone of the game, subtitled "High School Graffiti", provided less violent action, in which Mikie's physical attack was changed from a head butt to a paralyzing shout, and Mikie's "death" animation was changed from rolling around on the floor to sobbing in contrition. The glass jars, which Mikie had to head butt three times to retrieve the heart inside, were replaced with bundles of three hearts, providing the same game play effect without requiring your character to head butt glass. In the first level, the writing on the blackboard reads "Failure Teaches Success", instead of "E=MC2". Mikie's shout has no effect on his classroom teacher.After each completed Step (level) the enemies speed up, and some even gain new abilities.
Home Ports
Several ports were released in the UK by Ocean SoftwareOcean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
subsidiary, Imagine Software
Imagine Software
Imagine Software was a British video games developer based in Liverpool which existed briefly in the early 1980s, initially producing software for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20...
for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Acorn Electron
Acorn Electron
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system....
, BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
. The SG-1000
SG-1000
The SC-3000 was the computer equivalent of the SG-1000.The SC-3000 sold for ¥29,800 in 1983 and was marketed as a computer for beginners...
was released only in Japan by Sega.