It's been awhile since I've done one of these: a fanart of an obscure arcade game!

I was inspired by a friend to make this. This is Toy Pop, an arcade game made by Namco and published in 1986! You play as one of the titular characters, Pino and Acha (in which they resemble Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood respectively), as they traverse a castle full of other toys out to stop you from proceeding forward. The main objective is to save your friends from an evil witch and wizard, or as the game puts it:

"PINO AND ACHA ARE GOING TO MAJYO'S CASTLE TO SAVE FRIEND."

As mentioned earlier, you must scale the castle and defeat the wizard and witch. In order to do so, you must find four hearts in each level (or box as in "toy box") placed in jars in order to open the gate to the next box. You start off with a standard projectile attack, but there will be power ups you can find in the presents scattered throughout that'll aid you in your journey, such as a pin and a bomb. These powerups can't just be used willy-nilly, as each powerup can only attack a specific enemy, meaning that there's a bit of strategy involved. For example, the pin can be used against the balloon enemies, and the bomb can be used against the tank enemies. Thankfully, the game is kind enough to show you what powerup can hurt which enemy, as it's displayed on the top of the screen. Not only do the presents contain powerups, they also contain treats for those sweet, sweet points. There are also traps waiting about in said presents, such as a boxing glove, which can temporarily stun you if you get in the way of it. The enemies are always coming after you, so it's best to stay on your feet.

This game was a Japan-exclusive title, which wouldn't be released to the west until the first Namco Museum. You can still play this game today thanks to emulation efforts like MAME and Hamster's Arcade Archives series.

Whether you read this or not, I at least hope you've enjoyed the art piece. ;)

Toy Pop © 1986 BNEI
art by me