Garfield no Isshukan: A Week of Garfield (FC)

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Garfield no Isshukan: A Week of Garfield
Garfield no Isshukan - FC.jpg
Platform: FC
Year: 1989
Developer: Mars Corporation

Garfield no Isshukan: A Week of Garfield is an action game by Towa Chiki released in 1989. Despite the fact that the game is based on the American comic strip of the same name, the game was released exclusively in Japan, possibly due to licensing problems. Despite the game being exclusive in Japan, the game itself is entirely in English.

From what we see on the title screen, it appears Odie has escaped, so John Arbuckle sends Garfield out to find Odie. Over the course of the 7 days of the week (9 stages, Saturday and Sunday containing two levels of their own), Garfield must get from point A to point B. Along the way, there are many locked doors in which he must find a key before proceeding. Garfield must defend himself from spiders, birds, inchworms, frogs, baseballs, and several other crazy obstacles. Along the way, items can be found and collected by moving/jumping in certain areas. Garfield can also eat lasagna for temporary invulnerability. Watch out for the fishbones though, as they will deplete Garfield's health. Milk and Coffee powerups restore health to Garfield's health meter.

The game has been received very poorly by both Japanese and American players alike, citing the game's unfair difficulty and numerous problems. Several problems are present in this game; when you pick up a weapon, the game does not tell you how much ammunition you have. Also, despite the game's timer going up instead of down, each stage has a time limit that must be completed or else Garfield will lose. There are also no lives and a limited number of continues. On top of that, there is no recovery time when Garfield takes damage, resulting in fast, cheap deaths.

The game also suffers from lackluster graphics, despite its release 6 years after the Famicom debuted in Japan.

This was the only Famicom game developed by Mars Corporation.

Screenshots

Garfield no Isshukan - FC - Title Screen.png

The game's title screen.

Garfield no Isshukan - FC - Gameplay 1.png

Defeating a spider that blocks the way in the first level.

Garfield no Isshukan - FC - Gameplay 2.png

John talks to Garfield after each level is cleared.

Garfield no Isshukan - FC - Gameplay 3.png

A church level. Say your prayers, because this level is unforgiving!

Music

The game has 10 songs, which is a decent amount for an action game from 1989. The game seems to be the only work of a composer whose first name is unknown, K. Yajima. The songs fit the theme of the game, in that they start off slow-paced, but get faster as the game goes on.

It sounds like the composer wrote MIDI files that were converted to the game's unique sound driver. This is supported by the instruments' volume being different with each note, as if the conversion tool was designed to read note velocity. However, the composer could have also used a custom form of Music Macro Language, or possibly written the music in the traditional way, in 6502 assembly macros.

# Title ComposerArranger Length Listen Download
01 Title Screen K. YajimaUnknown 1:27
Download
02 Monday/Tuesday K. YajimaUnknown 1:18
Download
03 Wednesday/Thursday K. YajimaUnknown 0:49
Download
04 Friday K. YajimaUnknown 1:01
Download
05 Saturday K. YajimaUnknown 0:36
Download
06 Sunday K. YajimaUnknown 1:53
Download
07 Invincibility K. YajimaUnknown 0:36
Download
08 Game Over K. YajimaUnknown 0:04
Download
09 Stage Clear K. YajimaUnknown 0:06
Download
10 Ending Theme K. YajimaUnknown 2:44
Download

Credits

(Source)

The first name of K. Yajima is unknown, as it appears to be his only credit in a video game. Though the game's main programmer Masashi Itoi has sound driver credits for Game Boy and Genesis games, he is not listed here for sound programming, so even though it's highly likely he programmed the game's sound driver, more evidence should be collected first before he's credited as such.

There is a T. Saito, along with two other people credited for 'Collaborator', right after the composer credit to K. Yajima. T. Saito is most likely Takashi Saito, who composed two Game Boy games that Masashi Itoi did the sound programming on. It is unknown if the Collaborator credit is just a special thanks mention, or perhaps the three people helped on music and sound effects.

Game Rip

Format

Download

NSF.png


Ripping NES music is an arduous process that is beyond the scope of the site. The recording was made in NSFPlay Synthesia mod.

Audio Devices

The game uses the Famicom's RP2A03. The sound driver used in this game was only used in this game alone.

Releases

  Japan.svg   Japan
Garfield no Isshukan - FC.jpg
Title: ガルフィールドの一週間 (A Week of Garfield)
Platform: Famicom
Released: 1989-04-07
Publisher: Towa Chiki