3/5 ★ – lupincentral's review of Mappy Kids.

“Mappy Kids” is a cute 2D platformer for the Nintendo Famicom. The title is the fourth in the “Mappy” series from Namco, and stars the offspring of the original character, named “Happy”. Players must control “Happy” and traverse through a series of bright and colourful environments, kicking enemies, and nabbing treasure. Treasure means cash, and our hero mouse needs all he can get his hands on, as he has a house to pay for (and as we all know, accommodation is not cheap these days)! At the end of each stage, players spin a slot machine and either gamble away the money they earned thus far, or increase their winnings. This money can then be spent at the shop, in which players are able to buy sections of a house for our hero to live in (such as windows, doors, a car, fence, etc). The idea of the shop, and purchasing bits of the house to build up “Happy”'s home is fantastic, however I feel the mini-games that played during the gambling section get a bit too repetitive. They tend to repeat, and when you've completed one once, there's nothing new to see. It's a really cute premise, and despite a floaty jump that takes some getting used to, plays well. Hazards and enemies litter the stages, and each presents quite the challenge, as it is only four hits until players lose a life. More lives can be won in the end of level slot machine, but they are hard to come by — so caution is advised when moving through each stage. A criticism I have is that it is sometimes difficult to work out what harms you and what doesn't when moving around stages. Hidden springs can send you flying into bottomless pits, and some enemies dart about the screen, giving you little margin for error. It isn't “NES hard” though, and feels perfectly manageable when compared to some other games of the era. Why am I reviewing “Mappy Kids”? Well… I just picked up a handheld Evercade system, a portable gaming machine that uses cartridges to emulate classic titles from the past. “Mappy Kids” is included in the first Namco collection, and marks the first time the game has ever been localized, released in the West and emulated to a high standard. The game won't be winning any awards in my opinion, but it's a hidden gem that those outside of Japan never got an opportunity to play. As someone terrible at the original “Mappy”, I really enjoyed “Mappy Kids” for what it was, and thought it was a brilliant first title to try on the Evercade. 6/10