COLUMN: 'Arcade Obscurities' - Namco's Dancing Eyes
February 2, 2007 7:36 AM |
[Arcade Obscurities is a bi-weekly column by Solvalou.com's Arttu Ylärakkola, probing some of the most interesting and obscure arcade games yet to be covered in the geek gaming press, thanks to Arttu's JAMMA board collection, and our insatiable quest for knowledge. This third column looks at Namco's odd/creepy 1996 3D puzzle action title Dancing Eyes.]
We all know the stereotypical perception of females in most video games. It gets even more embarrassing when dealing with games that contain women only to attract a bigger crowd: just think about all the zillions of "sexy" mahjongg games or "erotic" Qix clones.
However, when examining such a "genre" more carefully, one can find some that are actually very playable, some that are just plain offensive, and some that are out-there weird. Yes, weird in the way that makes you wonder how on earth such projects ever got greenlighted by a sane company. A prime example of a game like that is Namco's Dancing Eyes.
Dancing Eyes, Shrinking Clothes?
In Dancing Eyes you are a mouse in a grid-like landscape. When moving around the landscape's gridlines, you can (by pressing a button) eat away the lines. If you succeed in eating all the lines around one or multiple grid sections, that part of the landscape disappears. Eat enough and you complete the level, and can choose the next one from two presented choices. Your only problem is that there are various nasties that try to catch you. But fortunately pick-ups are available which give you special abilities, such as faster movement or weapons which you can use to eliminate your enemies.
What makes Dancing Eyes weird is that in most levels, the landscape which you try to destroy is clothing! There's nothing too weird (remember that we're talking about Japan-only video games here) about undressing 3D models of big-eyed Japanese girls, but after a stage or two you start to unconver such things as cows, male bodybuilders, sweaty salarymen. Unsurprisingly, the game lets you freely rotate the camera around while the undressed person/animal/whatever poses for you once the level has been completed.
The Novelty Effect!
Is Dancing Eyes a good game? No, but it's a perfect example of the kind of Japanese arcade weirdness that gets giggles from anyone who's ever seen the game. It's a road to insanity, as you start a new game, and while your mouse eats away a teenager's army wear in Level 1, you think it as a completely normal video game activity.
Then again, your comparison point is probably: "That cow with the enormous udders in Level 5's barrel was weird". Don't get me wrong - I am not moralizing: it's just that Dancing Eyes goes far beyond the weirdness of a normal T&A puzzle game.
So - Dancing Eyes, released in 1996, runs on Namco's PlayStation 1-like System 11 hardware. The game's not available for any console format, but don't despair if you don't have an arcade cabinet set-up: you can buy an action figure instead!
Categories: Column: Arcade Obscurities
7 Comments
They actually had this game at a local Los Angeles arcade for a few years. It was actually pretty fun to play and hilarious. It's reminiscent of the Qix variatiions, but with enough original gameplay to keep you engaged.
Oddly enough in the arcade I frequented this game and those same naughty Qix variations and mahjong games were very popular with girls. I'm guessing a lot of them weren't interested in the other games and they didn't want to watch their boyfriends play SNK fighters for hours, so it was the most interesting option.
Chris McDougall | February 2, 2007 9:40 AM
This must be some kind of generic porn game game-play, because its exactly the same as "Miss Nude World '96", which I found in some MAME ROM collection.
Miss Nude World '96 was more pornographic (actual nude photos of women), and for no apparent reason sometimes the naked lady turned into a picture of a zombie. Truly bizarre.
UnbornApple | February 2, 2007 12:08 PM
The naked ladies turn into zombies when you screw up. I can't remember exactly what triggers it, but it wasn't random as many people seem to believe.
Cycle | February 2, 2007 5:46 PM
You know, this is fully emulated by Zinc FYI
LordDaMan | February 2, 2007 7:40 PM
Yes, and it's also emulated by MAME.
arttu | February 4, 2007 3:35 AM
The soul still burns!
mister slim | February 4, 2007 11:55 PM
you know where i can get miss 96 nude? like for free
sadas | March 24, 2007 2:44 PM