Tinkle Pit/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to direct Pitt (or Patti if you are player 2) around the mazes; if you are holding the first button, their Tinker Balls will not move with them. However, if the line between them has been cut by a Clipper, they won't move with them, even if you don't hold the first button.
 * Tinker Ball Button: Press and hold this button to make Pitt (or Patti if you are player 2) drop their Tinker Balls and create a line between the two of them as they walk around the mazes; once you have released it, their Tinker Balls will come back to them, killing any enemies they hit on their way.
 * Popcorn Button: Use this button to make Pitt (or Patti if you are player 2) throw a piece of Popcorn they have picked up (or the Tornado powerup).
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Pitt and Patti (ピット & パティ)
The protagonists for this game; Player 1 controls Pitt (the male Tinker Lander shown to the left), while the second player controls his sister, Patti (the female Tinker Lander shown to the right). Pitt is accompanied by a blue Tinker Ball, while Patti is accompanied by an orange one - and if you press and hold your Tinker Ball Buttons, they shall drop their Tinker Balls and create a line between the two of them as they walk around the mazes. Once you have released them, their Tinker Balls will come back to them, killing any enemies they hit on their way for 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and 7650 (Namco's goroawase number) points in succession; however, they will lose one life if they are hit by an enemy, or anything that is fired at them by one, with the exception of a Stinger's arrows. They shall also have the chance to earn an extra life once their combined score reaches 500000 points.

Heitai (兵隊)
These wind-up soldiers appear on: Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 19, 23, 24, 36, 42, 43, and 47; they first appeared in Toy Pop (1986).

Pookas (プーカズ)
These yellow-goggled tomato-like creatures appear on Stages 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 44 and 47; they also have the ability to pass through walls. They have previously appeared on: Dig Dug (1982), Dig Dug II (1985), Sky Kid (1985), and Sky Kid Deluxe (1986) - and the last two appearances were as a "helpful" character. A parade float of one also appeared in the first bonus stage of Marvel Land (1989).

Fygars (ファイガーズ)
These red-winged green dragons appear on Stages 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 28, 29, 33, 35, 36, 40, 41 and 47; they also have the ability to breathe flames through walls, when their wings (and feet) start flashing white. They previously appeared in Dig Dug (1982), and Dig Dug II (1985) - and an image of one, along with one of a Pooka, has also appeared on the walls below the scoreboard of the Urban Stadium in Great Sluggers (1993).

Moonils (ムーニルズ)
These flower-like creatures appear upon Stages 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 35, 37, 40, 41, 43, 46, and 47; they also have the ability to throw bottles which can fly over the walls at Pitt and Patti, and will also occasionally fall over (but can still kill Pitt and Patti).

Stingers (スティンガーズ)
These spider-like robots appear upon Stages 10, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 40 and 47; they also have the ability to fire arrows (which can pass through the walls) at Pitt and Patti to stun them, which could be just long enough for another enemy to strike them (if they are unlucky).

Clippers (クリッパーズ)
These scissor-like creatures appear on Stages 17, 18, 21, 27, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 44, 46 and 47; they also have the ability to cut the line between Pitt and Patti and their Tinker Balls, in which case the Tinker Balls will speak the text "Pick me up, 1/2P!" and they will have to walk back to them.

Timbots (ティンボットス)
These robots appear upon Stages 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, 39, 41, 43, 44 and 47; they also have the ability to fire lasers from their eyes at Pitt and Patti (which can pass through walls and cover one entire row or column of the screen), as well as rising up into the air to avoid those Tinker Balls.

Naka-G1 (ナカ-G1)
This robot, operated by a Moonil, is the boss of Stage 23; four Heitai will also start out in the corners of the maze, and every time Pitt or Patti kills one, another one will regenerate in one of the corners. Naka-G1 itself attacks by firing lasers at the ground to make it fall in temporarily, and if one of the Heitai falls into one of the holes it has created, it will die - but Pitt and Patti can die in this way as well.

Pachicks (パーチクス)
These hard-hatted chicken-like creatures appear on Stages 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33, 35, 39, 42, 43, 45, 46 and 47; they also have the ability to lean forward and poop out a spiked ball that can bounce over two of the walls before exploding (as hard as this factual information is to believe).

Pots (ポットス)
These vases appear on Stages 27, 30, 32, 38, 42 and 47; once tipped over by Pitt and Patti (or left long enough), they will shatter and release ten insects (which can be walked over by Pitt and Patti, for 10 points apiece), which will latch on to the Tinker Balls and slow their speeds temporarily.

Poppy Knights (ポピーナイトス)
These purple-armoured aliens appear on Stages 36, 37, 39, 42, 46, and 47; they also take two hits to kill (the first makes them lose their armour).

Blinky Clones (ブリンキークローンズ)
These clones of the ghost gang's leader appear on the first two phases of Stage 48 (and have Clyde's facial expression); four of them start out in the corners of the maze, and, every time Pitt and Patti kill one, another one shall regenerate in one of the corners. The real Blinky has previously appeared on: Pac-Man (1980), Ms. Pac-Man (1981), Kick (1981), Super Pac-Man (1982), Pac-Man Plus (1982), Jr. Pac-Man (1983), Pac & Pal (1983), Pac-Land (1984) and Pac-Mania (1987) - and the second, fifth and sixth ones were unauthorized titles created by Midway without Namco's permission. His image also appeared on an advertisement for "Ani San Seimei" (Kanji: 兄三生命) in one of the Japan League's stadiums in Kyūkai Dōchūki (1990).

Crystal Rods (クリスタルロッドズ)
When Maō (see the section below) is in his initial demonic form, he shall occasionally stand still, and summon seven of these evil versions of the Blue Crystal Rod from The Tower of Druaga (1984) in preset positions in the maze; a stream of laser beams will be fired from one to another (so you will have to watch the beams' movements carefully and stand in a place where they can't hit you), and once they have stopped, they will disappear.

Maō (魔王)
This demon is the boss of the forty-eighth stage; he initially attacks by summoning Crystal Rods in preset positions round the maze and making them firing a stream of laser beams, then firing sparks that run through the maze and disappear after a few seconds. Once you have drained all his energy in his initial demonic form, he will transform into an evil, black-and-purple version of Pitt (with a one-eyed, black Tinker Ball) - and once you have drained all his energy for this form, any Blinky Clones that are currently on screen will disappear and he will transform into an enormous one-eyed bat which has the ability to shoot flames (which will momentarily set the parts of the ground they land on alight) and seven shurikens from his tail. Once you have drained all his energy in this form, he will explode much like Naka-G1 did when you defeated it on Stage 23, and the game will end.

Maō No Musuko (魔王の息子)
If Pitt and Patti ever take too long over any stage, this smaller one-eyed bat will appear in the centre of the screen, and fly over to either of their current positions to try and kill them; he is easy enough to avoid, but he will soon move to their new position, so you will have to keep moving if you want to stay alive. Once you have killed the last enemy left on the stage (or he degenerates after making for one of the corners), he will disappear.

Bonus Targets (ボーナスターゲットス)
At the start of every stage there will be one small (500-point) bonus target and two large (1500-point) ones in the maze; whenever Pitt and Patti collect a small one, nothing will happen to the other ones but whenever they collect a large one, one of the small ones will transform into a large one and another small one will materialize at a predetermined position in the maze. The points they get for collecting them will be added onto their combined score at the end of the stage - and if they managed to collect all eight large ones between them, for 12000 points, they will receive a "perfect" bonus of 20000 points. The bonus dolls of the second world (Stages 5-10) also resemble Pino and Acha, from Toy Pop (1986); Acha's image also appears in an advertisement for "Yontorī" (Katakana: ヨントリー) in the same one of the Japan League stadiums as Blinky's "Ani San Seimei" advertisement in Kyūkai Dōchūki (1990).

Popcorn (ポップコーン)
At the start of every stage for the first four worlds there will be two pieces of Popcorn in the maze; however, for the next four worlds, there will only be one. Some enemies will also leave additional pieces behind when killed - and when Pitt and Patti pick one up, they can throw it by pressing the Popcorn Button. It will bounce off the walls of the maze until it hits an enemy, immediately killing him for 400 points; if one or more pieces of Popcorn are still bouncing off the walls of the maze at the end of a stage, they will evaporate for 100, 200, and 400 points in succession (so their use was not in vain).

Speed Up (スピードアップ)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, their shoes will start glowing and their walking speed will increase; its effects will last until they are killed.

Tinker Ball Speed Up (鈴玉スピードアップ)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, the speed at which their Tinker Balls return to them shall increase; the Kanji characters are suzu-dama.

Line Power Up (ラインパワーアップ)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, the line between them and their Tinker Balls will get electrified, temporarily shocking any enemies on it; it's also worth noting that if either player should hold down their Tinker Ball Button for long enough, their line will also be electrified automatically.

Kanabukuro (金袋)
When Pitt and Patti collect these money bags, they shall receive extra points; their point value initially starts out at 1000 and increases with each one collected, but, if either of them gets killed, their point value shall get reset back to 1000 (which could be seen as not fair for the other player).

Tornado (トルネード)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, they shall have to press the Popcorn Button to throw it; it will bounce off the walls of the maze until it hits an enemy and spirals outwards, killing any enemies who walk into the spiral for 3000, 6000, 9000, 12000, 15000 and 18000 points in succession.

Holy Halation (ホーリーハレーション)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, it will radiate a burst of energy that kills all enemies on screen for 3000, 6000, 9000, 12000, 15000, and 18000 points in succession; it is one of the most useful powerups in the game, as it can immediately clear some of the stages upon its collection.

Penguin Blizzard (ペンギンブリザード)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, a group of Penguins (from Emeraldia, 1993) will fly over the maze, and freeze all the enemies in it over; they will then shatter for 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000 and 12000 points in succession. This powerup can also immediately clear some stages.

Pac-Power (パックパワー)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, they will transform into Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, and all the enemies will turn into edible ghosts as the Kanji/Hiragana text of ''Ima da! Tabe chae!'' (今だ! 食べちゃえ!) scrolls across the screen; they can then eat them for 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000 and 12000 points in succession. Pac-Man has previously appeared on: Pac-Man (1980), Ms. Pac-Man (1981), Kick (1981), Super Pac-Man (1982), Pac-Man Plus (in 1982), Jr. Pac-Man (in 1983), Pac & Pal (1983), Professor Pac-Man (1983), Pac-Land (1984), Sky Kid (1985), Sky Kid Deluxe (1986), Pac-Mania (1987), Ordyne (1988), Kyūkai Dōchūki (1990), and Super World Court (1992) - and, a parade float of him also appeared on that first bonus stage of Marvel Land (1989). Ms. Pac-Man has also previously appeared on her aforementioned self-titled game - along with both Jr. Pac-Man, and Pac-Land. Pac-Man's image is also on the small orange flags on the Kōrakuen and Kōshien Stadiums' scoreboards, in the NS1-era titles (1988-90).

The image above displays how Ms. Pac-Man appears in this game; she is a 4096-colour version of Pac-Man's 1987 incarnation (only with her red bow).

Dig Dug Rock (ディグダグロック)
When Pitt and Patti collect this powerup, they will become invulnerable as a ton of rocks from Dig Dug (1982) start falling down from the top of the screen; any enemies they land on (watch the rocks' shadows) will be crushed for 2000, 4000, 6000, 8000, 10000 and 12000 points in succession.

Bonus Flags (ボーナスフラッグズ)
When Pitt and Patti kill all enemies currently on screen with a single return of their Tinker Balls, one of these Rally-X-style flags shall fall down from the top of the screen (watch its shadow, to see where it will land); the amount of points you shall receive for collecting it is 10000 (one multiplied by 10000), and if you kill all enemies currently on screen with a single return of your Tinker Ball for the next stage, another one will fall down from the top of the screen, but this one will have a 2, so the amount of points you will receive for collecting it will be 20000 (two multiplied by 10000). Their numbers will increase, every time you kill all enemies currently on screen with a single return of your Tinker Ball, until they reach 10 (100000 points - ten multiplied by 10000), you fail to kill all enemies currently on screen with a single return of your Tinker Ball, or you get killed (which is not very fair for the other player).

Special Flag (スペシャルフラッグ)
When Pitt and Patti's combined score reaches 500000 points, this flag will appear at the start of the next stage; once either of them has collected it, they will receive an extra life. It has previously appeared on Rally-X (1980), New Rally-X (1981), Xevious (1982), Libble Rabble (1983), Gaplus (1984), Super Xevious (1984), Sky Kid (1985), Sky Kid Deluxe (1986), Toy Pop (1986), Genpei Tōma Den (1986), Quester (1987), Marvel Land (1989), Cosmo Gang: The Video (1991), and Exvania (1992) - however, you must decide which of you is going to collect it before the start of the stage in which it is due to appear, for like Pino and Acha in Toy Pop, only one player can collect it (so you may have to let the other player have it if they need it more).

Bonus Characters (ボーナスキャラクターズ)
In every stage, except the two boss ones (23 and 48), there is a hidden bonus character to uncover; if you walk over its position in the maze (within 4-24 seconds of the stage starting, indicated by the Tinker Balls that represent your remaining lives at the bottom of the screen jumping), he/she/it will pop up, the Tinker Balls shall stop jumping, and you can collect him/her/it for extra points. But if you take too long to collect them, they will eventually disappear. Ms. Pac-Man, the "real-life" Acha, and Ki also appear as high-score characters, along with Leila Blitz from Rolling Thunder (1986) and Rolling Thunder 2 (1990), Momo Chan from Wonder Momo (1986), Waya Hime from Chouzetsurinjin Beraboh Man (1988), Sharon Areru from Numan Athletics (1993) and Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Densetsu (1989); a parade float of Beraboh Man himself aiming a kick at Waya Hime also appeared in the third bonus stage of Marvel Land (1989). Ironically, Beraboh Man himself does not appear in this game, given that he is a caricature of Namco's founder, Masaya Nakamura.