Arctic (FC)
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Arctic is a puzzle game originally developed by Artdink, the same company behind the A-Train games. It was ported to the Famicom as one of four Famicom/NES games by Crosstalk. The game plays in a similar fashion to A-Train, but is unique in its own ways. There are blue and yellow balls that move around the track when you press the Start button, and your goal is to guide the balls back to their respective-colored stations. You can move all the blue tracks at once with the A button and all the yellow tracks with the B button. You must also watch out for the silver balls on the track, which will send your balls back in the opposite direction.
The game also has a level select screen, so you don't have to start the whole game over whenever you turn off the game.
Though the game is completely in English, it was never released outside of Japan, possibly because Pony Canyon or FCI didn't believe the game would sell well.
The game was also released for other home computers such as the PC-9801 and MSX2.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
The game's title music is taken from the computer versions. However, the Famicom version includes all the pre-level themes from the MSX2 version, also by the same developer. For some reason, the music plays a whole step up from the MSX2 version. In addition, the track Arctic Game BGM is exactly the same as Arctic Main BGM, but with one of the square waves removed. In the MSX2 version, the song also plays much faster.
According to Kobayashi, the Famicom and MSX2 versions' arranger, the new music may have been written by another composer who worked for the developer. The songs Arctic Main BGM, Game Over BGM, and Winner BGM were most likely written by a composer from Artdink.
To do the arrangements, Kobayashi sequenced the music on a PC-8001 mkII computer, and gave the music to Kazuhisa Mitani to program into the game.
Like the MSX2 version, the Famicom version has a music test which gives all the names of the songs. All the songs in the Famicom version share the same titles with the MSX2 version, with the exception of City Route XYZ, which was titled City Route 201 in the MSX2 version.
Recording
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
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| 01 | Arctic Main BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 1:55 | Download | |
| 02 | Arctic Game BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 1:55 | Download | |
| 03 | Ran Ran Ran | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:36 | Download | |
| 04 | One Night King | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:45 | Download | |
| 05 | Fighting Ball! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 06 | Nori! Nori! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 07 | City Route XYZ | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 08 | Final Touch Down | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 09 | Children Plaza | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 10 | Pri Pri Hips! | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:31 | Download | |
| 11 | Game Over BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:09 | Download | |
| 12 | Winner BGM | Unknown | Yoshio Kobayashi | 0:08 | Download |
(Source)
Credits
- Ripper:
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Unknown Composer: Unknown
- Unknown Arranger: Yoshio Kobayashi
(No source; Game lacks credits.)
Neither the game nor the manual have credits. When you beat the final stage, the game takes you back to the first stage. The computer versions' manuals should be checked for credits, as the computer versions don't appear to have any in-game credits at all.
We reached out to Yoshio Kobayashi, who confirmed that he did the arrangements. He said that a composer that worked for the company part-time with the surname Yanagawa was likely the composer. However, due to the passing years, he is unable to remember his name.
Game Rip
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Audio Devices
The game uses the NES's 2A03. The Noise channel is never used. The sound driver used in this game was also used in Bakushou! Jinsei Gekijou (FC), Hillsfar (NES), and Jangou (FC).
Releases
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Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/579563-arctic/ - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/nes/arctic - MobyGames.
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| Notable Songs | Arctic Main BGM |
| Notable Personnel | Unknown • Yoshio Kobayashi |
| Notable Companies | Artdink • Crosstalk • Pony Canyon |
