Marvel Land/Gameplay

Controls

• Joystick: Use the 8-way joystick to make Prince Paco run left and right, crouch, crawl left and right, and whip any clones he may have in a straight line at the enemies; each time a clone hits an enemy (then makes it explode), it shall change colour from blue to yellow to red before disappearing.
• Jump Button: Use this button to make Prince Paco jump; in the boss battles, this button makes him strike the boss with a hammer or force him (or her, for the case of Princess A La Mode) towards the big pit in the centre of the screen. If you should ever strike a boss unfairly, he shall tell you so.
• 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Characters

Prince Paco

The protagonist of the game; armed with only his ability to jump by default, he is on a mission to save Princess Luxy from the evil Mole King. His name is derived from the Latin word of "Pax" (which literally means "Peace") - and he will lose a life whenever he is hit by an enemy, or anything that is dropped on or thrown at him by one. He will receive an extra life at 150000, 450000 and 1000000 points, and on collecting a Rally-X Special Flag.

Fairies

From left to right: Florrie (World 1), Sylphie (World 2), and Sweetie (World 3); the three Guardian Fairies of Marvel Land appear imprisoned in the top-right corners of the boss rooms in the first three worlds of the game while the Bunny Girl (see the section below) appears in the top-left corner of the screen, to give Paco an explanation for how to defeat each boss. The boss battles for Worlds 1 and 4 are Rock-Paper-Scissors, while those for Worlds 2 and 3 are Tug-Of-War - and once you've defeated the Mole King, he shall grow to twice his original size, and start flying around.

Princess Luxy

The head of the 4 Guardian Fairies of Marvel Land, who is also an old childhood friend of Prince Paco, appears imprisoned in the top-right corner of the boss room in the fourth and final world of the game while the Bunny Girl (again, see the section below) appears in the top-left corner of the screen to give Paco an explanation for how to defeat the Mole King himself; as mentioned in the section on the Fairies above the boss battle for the fourth and final world is Rock-Paper-Scissors, and once you have defeated the Mole King, he shall grow to twice his original size and start flying around above Paco. Once you've hit him 25 times with your rotating Trident Crystals to kill him, you will still have to escape.

Uketsuke Komachi

This silver-pink robot (who is, in real life, Namco's mechanical receptionist, built by the company in 1985) only appears at the start of each world; she would later go on to be the Nikotama Gals' No. 6 in Super World Stadium '99, as well as the receptionist in the PS1 Namco Museum games.

Bunny Girl

As mentioned in the sections on Fairies and Princess Luxy above, this rabbit-eared woman appears in the top-left corner of all the boss rooms to give Paco an explanation for how to defeat each boss; she also appears briefly on World 1-1 after Paco collects his first "Clone" powerup to give him an explanation for using it, and reappears at the bottom of the screen for Worlds' 1 and 4 boss battles, to hold up signs with "1", "2" and "3" on them.

Powerups

• Boots: Having the external appearance of a brown boot, this one will allow Paco to walk faster than usual for a short period of time; much like the Mushrooms in Super Mario Bros., this is the most common powerup. Powerups can be found by pushing "Dust" containers, and opening chests.
• Clone: Having the external appearance of Prince Paco's head this one will allow (the real) Paco to whip five clones of himself in a straight line at the enemies by pushing the joystick up and down; as they hit the enemies, they will change colour from blue to yellow to red before disappearing.
• Wings: This one will give Paco a pair of dragon-like wings that allow him to jump higher and fly (to a certain extent), much like the Super Leaf did for Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 3; however, they shall disappear after a while, which is bad news if Paco is halfway over a pool or a pit.
• Joker: If you see this one, which has the external appearance of a skull, and Paco has any clones behind him you shouldn't really collect it as one of them will instantly disappear, regardless of what colour it is; however, if Paco doesn't have clones behind him, collecting it will have no effect.
• Lucky: Having the external appearance of the letter "L", this one will either give Paco 5000 extra points if he does not have any clones behind him, or cause another clone to appear behind him if he does (but if he still has five, the colour of the end one shall merely be changed back to blue).
• Rally-X Special Flag: Making its last appearance for the '80s, this Namco icon (now in 8192 colours) will give Paco an extra life on collection.

Bonus Foods

There are four different types of bonus foods that can be collected for extra points throughout the game: Drinks (300 points), Ice Creams (500 points), French Fries (700 points), and Hot Dogs (1000 points); if you see a flashing bonus food hovering around in front of you and jump up to collect it, four more bonus foods will appear at the same height that the original bonus food was collected (much like the hovering fruits in Namco's own Pac-Land did). However, they shall not increase in point value when collected - and the French Fries also have the letter "N" (for "Namco") on them.

Bonus Strawberries

Eight of these unique Bonus Foods appear upon World 3-4, and may only get collected for 3000 extra points if you crouch down and crawl over them.

Bonus Stars

There are two different types of bonus stars that can be collected for extra points in the bonus stages of the game as they fall from the sky: Silver (1000 points), and Gold (3000 points); However, once these stars have landed on the ground, they will explode into two smaller stars (which are worth 100 and 300 points respectively). These bonus stages also feature several parade floats of older Namco characters dating from 1980 to 1988.

Katatsumuri

These snail-like vehicles appear on Worlds 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1, and are driven by Mini Mogles (see their section for more information); 100 points.

Jet Mogles

There are two different varieties of these hang-gliding moles: the first ones appear on Worlds 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-3, 2-4, 3-2, 3-3 and 4-1 and drop their spears on Paco as he passes under them, while the second ones only appear on Worlds 1-3, 2-3 and 3-3; neither of them can be killed by jumping upon them, but they can be ridden in a manner similar to that of the ghosts' aeroplanes from Pac-Land and the Albatosses from the American Super Mario Bros. 2. Both types are worth 300 points when killed by clone - but some areas require you to ride on them.

Jidousha

These bubble-like vehicles appear upon Worlds 1-1 and 3-4 and, as with the Katatsumuri, are driven by Mini Mogles; however, these ones wear green crash helmets. They are worth 300 points and are the rarest of all the regular enemies seen in the game, except for the Foosen of course.

Pirawani

There are two different varieties of these alligator-like fish: the green ones appear on Worlds 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-5, 3-2, 3-4, 4-1 and 4-2, while the purple ones appear on Worlds 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 2-4, 2-5, 3-1, 3-2, 3-4 and 4-3; green ones cannot be killed by jumping on them (regardless of their mouth status), but the purple ones can. Both types are worth 300 points (in the case of the green ones, when killed by a clone).

Flying Kujira

These hang-gliding whales appear on Worlds 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, and 3-2, and, as with both Jet Mogle types, cannot be killed by jumping on them; however, you can still jump on top of them and ride them if they are flying to the right. They are worth 300 points (when killed by a clone).

Yari Mogles

These spear-wielding moles appear on Worlds 1-1, 1-2, 1-4, 2-1, 2-2, 2-4, 2-5, 3-2, 3-4, and 4-3, and also have a habit of hiding out in treasure chests (the ones they're inside jump around when approached, before they eventually burst out of their own accord); they are worth 100 points.

Captain Mogles

These Hook-like moles appear on Worlds 1-1, 2-2 and 3-2, and attack by throwing their three-cornered hats at Paco when he approaches them (which will return to them, like boomerangs); their hats cannot be destroyed by jumping on them, but if Paco has any clones behind him, he can just use them to destroy their hats, and cause them to walk around aimlessly without them. They take two hits to kill, and are worth 1000 points.

Pierrots

These French harlequins appear on Worlds 1-2, and 3-2, and attack by twirling around in a clockwise direction towards Paco as he approaches them; they shall also occasionally jump up into the air and twirl around with their right legs stretched out (to try and jump-kick Paco). 300 points.

Onidama

These spiked balls appear on Worlds 1-2, 2-5, 3-2, 3-4, 4-1, and 4-3, and will attack by hovering up and down in a fixed position; they cannot be killed and must be avoided because they can still kill you on contact. They are also the first indestructible enemy you will encounter in the game.

Heavy Metal Mogles

These punk moles appear on Worlds 1-2, 2-1, 2-5 and 3-1, and attack by firing six bolts of lightning from their guitars at Paco as he approaches them, before walking to the right, and firing six more bolts of lightning in the opposite direction, then walking back to the left; they are 700 points.

Giant Burgers

These anthropomorphic hamburgers appear on Worlds 1-2, 3-1, and 3-2, and attack by jumping into the air in an attempt to land on Paco as he approaches them; much like the Baganns from Baraduke, they look somewhat like an "evil" version of Pac-Man, and they are worth 300 points.

Kikurage

These mushroom-like trees appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-2, 2-4, 2-5 and 4-2, and attack by waking up as Paco passes them and slowly chasing after him; they are worth 300 points, but novice players may think that they are just part of the background at first and get a shock once they wake up.

O-Heads

These pumpkin-headed spirits appear on Worlds 1-4, and 4-3, and attack by letting their big heads roll off towards Paco, as he approaches them; they are worth 500 (for the head) + 700 (for the body) points. They are also almost as rare a sight in the game as those aforementioned Jidousha.

Medusa Heads

These heads of that mythical Greek goddess (who was, incidentally, the first boss for Namco's own Phelios, which was released in the previous year) appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-5, 3-1, 3-4, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4, and attack by firing two lasers from their eyes; they cannot be killed by jumping on them and are worth 700 points when killed by a clone. They can also be found upside-down sticking to ceilings while still firing lasers at Prince Paco.

Oguchi

These big-mouthed creatures appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-5, 3-4, 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3, and attack by blowing Paco away from them as he approaches them (which shall not kill him directly, but may blow him into another enemy that is coming towards him from behind); they are worth 500 points.

Kameleon

These turtle-like chameleons appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-2, and 3-4, and attack by sticking their tongues out at Paco, in an attempt to reel him into them, as he approaches them (much like the Maguneiza NP1 had done to Beraboh Man, with their magnetic beams); they are worth 700 points.

Bakudan Mogles

These piratical moles, whose patches are over their left eyes, appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-5, 3-1, 3-2, 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3, and attack by reaching into their sacks to throw bombs at Paco as he approaches them; if Paco has any clones behind him, he can use them to destroy these bombs, but it appears that they have unlimited supply of bombs, and will continue to throw them at Paco, until he manages to kill them. Much like the Captain Mogles, they take two hits to kill, and are worth 1000 points - and they can often be found upon platforms which cannot be reached with a jump.

Totem Poles

These stacked Native American carvings appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-5, 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4, and attack by spitting fireballs at Paco as he approaches them; they are worth 500 points when killed with a clone, as they cannot be killed by jumping on them, but landing on top of one cannot kill you.

Crawlers

These jellyfish-like creatures appear on Worlds 1-4, 2-5, and 4-2, and attack by curling up into a ball and spinning towards Paco at a 45-degree angle; they are worth 500 points and are also the last of the regular enemies that make their first appearance in the inceptive world of the game.

Great Condor

This three-legged purple bird is the boss for the first world; as mentioned in the section on the Fairies above, his minigame is "Rock-Paper-Scissors": Rock () beats Scissors, Paper () beats Rock and Scissors () beats Paper. The hands are decided randomly by the slot machine at the bottom of the screen - if you have a winning one, you can strike the Great Condor with a hammer by pressing the Jump Button, but if you have got a losing or tied one and press the Jump Button to strike him anyway he will tell you that it is not fair. If he has a winning hand, you must shield yourself by pushing your joystick to the right to prevent him from striking you with his own hammer; the best of three wins the battle, and the Bunny Girl holds a sign with the round number on it in the bottom-right corner. Once you defeat him, the room will disappear and Florrie will be freed.

Tanks

These military vehicles appear upon Worlds 2-1 and 4-2, and (like the Katatsumuri and Jidousha) are driven by Mini Mogles, but these ones are also wearing green helmets; however, unlike the Katatsumuri and Jidousha, they cannot be killed by jumping on them, but they can be ridden in a manner similar to that of the ghosts' cars from Pac-Land (and the Shyguys from the American Super Mario Bros. 2). They can also fire bullets at Paco from the cannons that are mounted on top of them - and they are worth 500 points when killed by a clone. They are also almost as rare as the O-Heads.

Bakufu Trumps

From left to right: Club, Diamond, Heart and Spade; these anthropomorphic playing cards, which all look similar to the "Trumps" from Namco's own Toy Pop, appear on Worlds 2-1, 3-1 and 3-2, and attack by jumping into the air to land on Paco as he approaches them. 100 points.

Ballet Dancer Mogles

These feminine-looking moles appear on Worlds 2-1 and 3-1, and attack by twirling towards Paco and jumping up into the air as he approaches them; as with the Pierrots, they stick their right legs out as they jump into the air in an attempt to jump-kick Paco, and they are worth 300 points.

UFO Mogles

These extraterrestrial moles appear upon Worlds 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, and 4-1, and like the Jet Mogles and Flying Kujira, cannot be killed by jumping on them; however, they can be ridden in a manner similar to that of Sue from Pac-Land (who later appeared in Pac-Mania), and the Pidgits from the American Super Mario Bros. 2. They are worth 700 points when killed by a clone - but some areas again require you to jump up and ride on top of them.

Pyon Mogles

These athletic moles appear on Worlds 2-2 and 2-4, and will attack by jumping into the air in an attempt to land on Paco as he approaches them much like the Bakufu Trumps; they're worth 300 points, and it is worth noting that pyon (written in Katakana as ピョン) is the Japanese for "skip".

Oni

These cloud-flying demons appear on Worlds 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, and 3-4, and attack by dropping bolts of lightning on Paco as he passes under their clouds; they are worth 700 points, and their clouds will also disappear on their death. They are also similar to Lakitu from the Super Mario Bros.

Mecha-Mogles

These Transformer-like robotic moles appear on Worlds 2-2 and 3-1, attack by opening up at their front panels to release groups of Mini Mogles (see the section below) at regular intervals while firing lasers from their noses, and take three hits to kill; they can't be killed by jumping on them, but can be ridden much like the Tanks (which are driven by the aforementioned Mini-Mogles). They're worth 3000 points when killed by a clone.

Mini-Mogles

Outside of the Katatsumuri, Jidousha and Tanks, these miniaturized moles appear upon Worlds 2-2 and 3-1, and attack by simply walking towards Paco; they are worth 100 points, but despite their sizes, they can still kill Paco if they walk into him (this may happen when there are a lot of them).

Wanidori

These pterodactyl-like birds only appear on World 2-5, and cannot be killed by jumping on them; however, they can be ridden much like the Jet and UFO Mogles. They are worth 100 points when killed by a clone - and the first one you encounter will require you to jump onto and ride him.

Demon Angle

This anthropomorphic anglerfish is the boss of the second world; as mentioned in the section upon the Fairies above, his minigame is Tug-Of-War: both Prince Paco's and his own pulling power are shown, at the bottom of the screen (in green and red respectively), and whoever possesses the stronger power will be the only one who can pull. You must repeatedly press the Jump Button as quickly as you can to build up your power meter and gradually force the Demon Angle towards the pit in the centre of the screen and when he starts to force you back towards the pit, you must push your joystick down to hinder him - however, he'll automatically overpower you if the battle is drawn out for too long. Once he falls down the pit, the room shall disappear and Sylphie will be freed; in the Japanese version's "EASY" mode, he will appear at the end of World 1-4.

Icemen

These anthropomorphic ice creams (who have four smaller ice creams for limbs), appear on Worlds 3-1 and 3-4, and attack by running towards Paco; they are worth 100 points, and are the first of only two regular enemies that get introduced in the third and penultimate world of the game.

Maigo

These crying girls appear upon Worlds 3-1 and 3-4, and attack by latching onto Paco to slow him down (much like the Mice did to the Runner in Metro-Cross); to throw them off, you shall have to rapidly wiggle your joystick back and forth. They are worth 500 points, when killed by a clone.

Princess A La Mode

This obnoxious, middle-aged woman is the boss for that third world; like the Demon Angle, her minigame is Tug-Of-War: both Prince Paco's and her own pulling power are shown at the bottom of the screen in green and red respectively, and whoever possesses the stronger power will be the only one who can pull. You must repeatedly press the Jump Button as quickly as you can to build up power and gradually force A La Mode towards that pit in the centre of the screen - and when she starts to force you back towards that pit, you must push your joystick down to hinder her. As with the Demon Angle, she will automatically overpower you if the battle is drawn out for too long; once she has fallen down the pit, the room will disappear and Sweetie will be freed. In the US version, the game will end after the third bonus stage that follows - but in the Japanese version, it will not.

Otoshigons

These dragon-like creatures appear on Worlds 4-1 and 4-2, and attack by jumping out of pools of water to spit flames at Paco as he approaches them; they're worth 300 points, and it is also worth noting that if the difficulty is increased, you shall see them on a much earlier world than usual.

Maneki Sphinxes

These ancient Egyptian monuments (the original of which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World), appear upon Worlds 4-1 and 4-3, and attack by bouncing towards Paco as he approaches them; they have their right forepaws raised in the manner of a Maneki Neko (which was one of the four kinds of items in Hopping Mappy) and wave them as they bounce towards you, take two hits to kill and are worth 1000 points.

Dokatants

These anthropomorphic ants appear upon Worlds 4-2, and 4-3, and attack by sticking their pickaxes into the walls that they are facing, to trigger rockslides; they're worth 700 points, but it's advisable to kill them with a clone attack (rather than by jumping on them) because of the rockslides.

Foosen

This balloon-like creature appears, if Paco remains in one place for too long, on any non-rollercoaster area (given that the rollercoaster areas are auto-scrolling) and attacks by simply hovering towards him; it's worth 100 points, but even if you kill it, it will return (like Ugo 401 in Beraboh Man).

Mole King

The main antagonist of the game, who looks somewhat like Oda Nobunaga from Namco's own Mirai Ninja had he been a mole, is the boss for that fourth (and final) world; as with the Great Condor, his minigame is Rock-Paper-Scissors: Rock beats Scissors, Paper beats Rock, and Scissors beats Paper. The hands are decided randomly by a slot machine at the bottom of the screen - if you have a winning one you can strike the Mole King with a hammer by pressing the Jump Button, but if you have got a losing or tied one and press the Jump Button to strike him anyway, he shall, like the Great Condor, tell you that the strike was not fair. If he has a winning hand, you must shield yourself by pushing the joystick to the right, to prevent him from striking you with his own hammer; the best of three will win the battle. As with the Great Condor, the Bunny Girl holds a sign with the round number in the bottom-right - and, once you've defeated the Mole King at his minigame, he will grow to twice his original size and start flying around at the top of the screen while firing lasers at you. The three Trident Crystals that you received after defeating all previous bosses shall also start circling around Paco at this point, and you must use their power to attack him; once they have touched the Mole King 25 times, to defeat him again, you will receive 100000 points for every life you have remaining, but you will still have to escape from the dungeon with Princess Luxy in tow.