Pit-Pot

[anagrama]

Mornin' all. Apologies for the late posting, but extended birthday celebrations meant I was in no fit state to use a computer yesterday

So without further ado, allow me to introduce the new GOTW: PIT-POT![/b].



Originally released in Japan as a MyCard game (subtitled 'Fushigi no Oshiro', meaning 'The Magical Castle'), it was only available in the West on the European Astro Warrior/Pit Pot 2-in-1 (and also built into some of the later TecToy SMS3s), Pit Pot is a charming little exploration game in which you have to have 4 levels of increasing size to explore and navigate.
On each, playing as Igul the Knight and armed with a magical hammer, you have to (in a stunningly original plot) rescue the pricess by locating 3 treasures on each level- the Sacred Water (to remove the spell cast on the princess), the Magical Cross (to stop the witch's power) and a ring (to bring happiness, apparently!). Once you've got all three, you can wake the princess and save the day.
It's not quite as straightforward as that though, since each level contains several rooms which include a few puzzles to get past. Some are straightforward (eg. collect a treasure to reveal a hidden key), while some will have you pulling your hair out (eg. a particularly fiendish room at the end of the Beginner level).
The Practice level will show you most of the basics and is a walk in the park, but it gets quickly trickier after that. I've been playing this off & on for a while, and a currently only half-way through the 3rd level. Hope to amend that over the course of this week, though. (Making a map as you progress is highly recommended as it's easy to get disorientated on the later levels).

So let's hear some love for this under-appreciated little gem!

[Sinistral]

There should be screenshots for this game in our db now - the ones being linked to here don't seem to be showing correctly here or on the site main page.

[anagrama]

Oops, I'll fix that now. They're displaying OK for me though...

[Sinistral]

They'll display ok for you becasue they you have visited the site that they are from and will be stored in your browsers cache, alot of sites block remote file linking so you cant do this - this is why you see transbots avatar as "no remote linking" and he thinks its fine

[Stan]

Excellent choice. I love this little game. It reminds me of my early NES days. See, there was nothing quite as enjoyable as popping in Ice Climber or Popeye. They had this certain flare to them that is difficult to explain. Sort of this cutesy, silly feeling that really makes you nostalgic. I found it sad that the SMS really didn't seem to have any games that fit this feeling for me. Something like Bomberman, that's another one. And then, I picked up this little beauty on the 2in1 from some Germany guy for pretty cheap. Put that baby in, and WOW. Here it is, the kind of game I was looking for. Pit Pot is an awesome little game. Definitely has that "old school" game feel to it with fitting music, cutesy graphics reminiscent of Bomberman, and lots of fun. Basically, you run around mazes and collect treasure and keys while taking out enemies. You have a little hammer you use that can wipe out blocks (be careful not to wipe out some near where you're standing because the whole walkway can collapse). If you get stuck, you can just slam the outer walkway and the blocks return. It's a lot of fun, very simple and completely intuitive. Great game. I'll have to try some of the harder levels tonight.

[RaccoonLad]

I like this game so much, I bought a complete copy of it for the Mark III.

'Don't know if I'll ever sit down and actually try to solve the highest difficulty setting though.

[JellyCrystals]

This has enough to keep me asmused for an hour or two. I must admit it gets a little monotonous after a while, but then again a lot of "simple" games do. But yes, it isn't too bad at all.

[dezanuebe]

it´s a cool little game!!!

[Hades]

Man I've wasted hours on this game and i've only finished the first two difficulty levels. It is always a spiderpig when you are going around bashing blocks carelessly and then bam the whole platform sinks... I lost so many lives because of that.

I think this is a perfect example of a "simple" game, its fun, challenging and addictive... You always want to know just what is in the next room, cause maybe it's the princess!

[Stan]

Why can't you save her in the lowest level?

[CRV]

Stan said:

Why can't you save her in the lowest level?

What are you talking about?

If you want to cheat, here's a walkthrough:
db.gamefaqs.com/console/sms/file/pit_pot.txt

It has maps of all the levels.

[RaccoonLad]

Question to anyone:

In the Mark III version, there's a "Level Editor"
can this be used on any other screen than the initial "GO" screen?

[transbot]

Sinistral said:

...this is why you see transbots avatar as "no remote linking" and he thinks its fine

goddamnit.

So all the images I've posted here have been private jokes in the purest sense?
Well, I'm gona continue regardless, simply in the good old-fashioned English spirit of obstinance.
(and it gives my pictures a certain mystique that appeals to me. ;D)



Pit Pot? Not sure I've ever played this.
Those graphics sorta remind me of the old Spectrum PDs I got off My Sinclair magazine - if it's anything like as fun as the best of them, good choice, again.

[anagrama]

transbot said:

Pit Pot? Not sure I've ever played this.
Those graphics sorta remind me of the old Spectrum PDs I got off My Sinclair magazine - if it's anything like as fun as the best of them, good choice, again.

Then remedy the situation post-haste! It's a little fella with a big hammer - what more could you ask for?

It's pretty scarce in the UK, but they turn up much more regularly in France & Germany.

[anagrama]

Haven't had as much time this week to play it as I had hoped, but I'm making steady progress on the 'Average' level.
Co-incidentally enough, I've just been offered a copy of the Japanese version in a trade I'm working out elsewhere, so I'm going to try and get that one aswell. The level editor sounds intriguing - is it at all usable to non-Japanese reader?


Anyway, time's up here so onto the next one...