ChuChu Rocket!

Overview

ChuChu Rocket! is a top-down action-puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast in Japan on November 11, 1999, in North America on March 7, 2000, and in Europe on June 9, 2000.

In ChuChu Rocket, players are given a 12×9 tiled board and must guide semi-autonomous space mice (the eponymous "ChuChus") to their rocket by placing arrows on the board to re-direct their movement, taking care not to have space cats ("KapuKapus") also board the rocket. Along with single-player puzzle modes, the game features a competitive action mode for up to four players, where players race to send ChuChus to their rocket while sending KapuKapus to their opponents' rockets.

Along with an in-game puzzle editor, with players able to upload their puzzles online, the game was one of the earliest Dreamcast games to support online multiplayer. Sonic Team used the networking experience for their later MMORPG Phantasy Star Online.

It later received a handheld conversion for the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, and in Europe on December 7, 2001. This version features Single-Pak Multiplayer for up to four linked handhelds, along with over 2,500 additional puzzles (all of which were user-submitted from the Dreamcast version), a sprite editor, and an enhanced level editor (with support for non-puzzle modes). The original release of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg included a limited version of the game as an unlockable. The Japanese version of the game later received a digital re-release as a Virtual Console title for the Wii U on October 21, 2015.

ChuChu Rocket also received smartphone ports for iOS devices on October 28, 2010 and for Android devices on November 23, 2011, and later received a smartphone successor, known as ChuChu Rocket! Universe.

Gameplay

The objective of the game is to guide a group of space mice, or Chu Chus, into an escape rocket (hence the name of the game) while avoiding the space cats, or Kapu Kapus. The mice move in straight lines and always turn at right angles when they hit a wall. The player can guide the mice by placing arrow platforms, by pressing one of the four face buttons, to turn the mice into a given direction. All of the mice in a level must be on board the rocket before it takes off, and if a cat, which would follow the arrows just like a mouse would, comes in contact with any mice or the rocket itself, it's game over and the level must be reset.

Game Modes

4-Player Battle - The objective is to guide as many mice into you rocket within a time limit. One to Four players.

Team Battle - The same objective as 4-Player Battle, only the four people playing can split up into two teams. One to Four players.

Stage Challenge - Simple puzzles that must be completed within 30 seconds. One to Two players.

Puzzle - This is the main single player mode, the player must guide the mice through to the ship with a limited number of arrow panels.

Puzzle Edit - Create and save your own puzzles. One player.

Network - Online aspect of Chu Chu Rocket, where you can battle friends, chat using a Dreamcast Keyboard, take on expert puzzles and upload your own.

Options - Switch sound options, turn Jump Pack on/off, Music Test, Time and Speed settings, Records and preferred Language.

Other Info

• 1-4 Players
• VMU compatible: 3 blocks
• VGA box compatible
• Keyboard compatible
• Arcade Stick compatible

Unofficial Atari ST Port

The game also got an unauthorized, almost arcade-perfect port to the old 1985 Atari ST home computer in 2001. It was made by the demoscene group Reservoir Gods and featured all the sound effects and levels from the Dreamcast original, remade music, and lots of secrets to unlock. It also features new content exclusive to the Atari ST port. It used the Atari ST mouse to control the game.

There were two versions of the port. One for Atari machines with >2MB RAM and one for machines with only 1MB RAM. The 1MB version didn't include any sound effects but was otherwise the same game.

The game is free to download, and can be found on Reservoir Gods' homepage.