Panic

Sega console exclusive

A virus has infected the world's computer network, which effects all electronical devices on the earth. However, a special program called "Panic!" is designed to counter the effects of the virus and restore the network back to working order. You play Slap the Boy and his sidekick, Stick the Dog(they're not actions, it's their names) who set out to restore the network back to working order.

Released: 23 April 1993
Platforms: Sega CD VIC-20
Genres: Adventure Platformer Puzzle
Developers: —
Publishers: Data East
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Comedy
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB T
Composers: Kei Tani

About

Panic! is a puzzle point and click video game developed by Sega and Office I and published by Sega in Japan and Data East USA in North America for the Sega CD, in collaboration with the Theatrical Group WAHAHA Hompo. It was released on April 23, 1993 in Japan, localized to North America in October 1994, and later released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on August 8, 2002. The game involves pressing numerous buttons in order to transverse a young boy, called Slap, or his dog, called Stick, through a complex labyrinth. It is one of the few Sega CD games that supports the Sega Mega Mouse.

Keywords

dinosaurs
chicken
dancing
pixel art
snow
dog
nudity
bear
airplane
snowman
explosion
anthropomorphism

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Each level is presented as a new area with a mechanical device, and a set of buttons to press. Each button causes a humorous surrealist animation and/or teleports Slap to another room. Sometimes the buttons are booby-trapped and cause the destruction of a variety of monuments. The grid also features a few game overs, marked by flashing skulls on the map.

The buttons themselves have no indication on what they do when pressed. It is possible to backtrack into previous levels, and buttons once pressed are not marked, unless they were booby-trapped. The game's pause menu features a map of the rooms and how the player has progressed on them — though with no indication of the path or what lead to where — and the player must reach the bottom of the map to win the game.

Story

During the intro, the game explains that a virus has infected the world's computer systems. Slap and his dog Stick (who has been sucked into his TV) must carry an antidote to the central computer to fix it. To this end, Slap and Stick must traverse a grid of levels, pushing buttons to advance.

Reception

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly noted that Panic! is not actually a game, but opined that it is nonetheless very original and enjoyable for a while, though all but one of them also felt it gets boring fairly quickly. 75 out of 10. GamePro panned the game, chiefly for its trial-and-error gameplay which requires players to watch many "pointless" scenes.

They added: "You might feel differently if there were at least great jokes coming from the switches, but the humor is mostly simplistic cartoons with childish graphics, like basic versions of animations from Monty Python." They gave Panic! 0 or lower. Game Players magazine described the game as being made "for people on drugs, by people on drugs."