Penguin-Kun Wars (Arcade)

This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: MAME lists two Japan sets. Investigate the differences.

In the far-off year of 1999, war has been abolished in favor of a new type of violent competition: Sixteen small animals fight in the UPL Memorial Dome, hurling large pink spheroids at each other. Each animal starts with five spheroids; whoever ends up with the most at the end of 60 seconds (or the player who ends up with all ten spheroids on their side) loses the match. If an animal loses twice in one match, they are banished from society, left to fend for themselves in the lands beyond, the mutant realms.

Begun, the Penguin-Kun Wars have.

Unused Graphics#

	Tsutomu Fuzisawa, the game's designer (and probably artist), hid his name in the graphics ROM three times. The second one is only in the JP set.
	Two missing title screen graphics: A parrot, and a frame of Penguin curled up in a ball (US version only).
	A purple version of the thrown balls, with every appropriate frame. Perhaps at one point, one side would be pink and the other purple.
It's coming right for you LOOK OUT	A fireball or explosion that uses the same frame setup as the pink and purple balls.
Hi I'm from a completely different game	A small graphic of Penguin that doesn't match the game's graphical style, and for good reason: it's near-identical to the downward-facing penguin graphic included with Family BASIC (and by extension Binary Land), which released the year before Penguin-Kun Wars. Likely just a placeholder.
	Here's a small unused graphic of Penguin that does match the game's style. It's similar to, and the same size as, the opponent graphics.
	There's a pink version of the tinier Penguin as well, possibly meant to be used for Player 2.
	Penguin has three different dance animations, none of which are used. The Pink Penguin only has one dancing frame left in the ROM.
	A completely cut opponent, this raccoon has most of the required animations and frames. All he's missing are victory and bombed animations.
	Several one-frame characters, which include a mantis, a bunny, a monkey, Medusa (??), a dinosaur, and a centipede.
	These all look like board obstacles. The Frog could have devoured anything that got too close, while the ooze and rocks would have just got in the way.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Hidden Text#

Two of the developers' names are hidden in the main CPU at 0x0040:

I.ogata M.komeda

This apropos text is at the end of the main CPU at 0xFD61:

* End of Program *

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences#

Japan	US

For some reason, Penguin-Kun's "bombed" frame was redrawn a bit in the US version.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

v · t · e The Penguin Wars series
Arcade	Penguin-Kun Wars
Game Boy	Penguin Wars
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4	Penguin Wars