Wonder Momo (ワンダーモモ - lit. Wandā Momo) is Namco's last eight-bit arcade game - released at the end of 1986 exclusively in Japan and running on the company's outdated System 86 hardware. It is a fighting game in which the player must take control of Momo Chan, an actress who is playing the part of the superheroine "Wonder Momo", in live stage show at the "Namco Theater"; she can initially only attack by kicking out at the other actors and actresses who are playing the parts of her enemies, and doing so will build up her "WONDER" meter, in the top-left corner of the screen. Once that meter has been completely filled, she will transform into a different outfit by spinning around rapidly in place and gain a secondary weapon to attack all the enemy actors and actresses with: the "Wonder Hoop", which will bounce round the stage after she has thrown it so she will have to catch it before throwing it again - however, once the "WONDER" meter is empty, it will disappear as Momo returns to normal.
This game (much like Kaitei Takara Sagashi, Phozon and Genpei Tōma Den), was never released in the United States, probably on account of its slightly questionable content; when Momo jumps up, the player can visibly see her underwear as her miniskirt lifts up. She must also watch out for cameramen in the audience, who are determined to get a photograph of her - as their flashes can temporarily stun her for a short period of time. And, at the start of the game, the player will be greeted with a parody of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo featuring Momo and a Modoki (the latter plays the part of the "mask").
The game was later converted for the NEC PC-Engine (in 1989), and was also featured in the Encore edition of the Namco Museum series for the Sony PlayStation; but its eponymous main character also reappeared in 16-bit form as a high-score character in Tinkle Pit (1993), before reappearing with eight other older Namco arcade characters (four of whom were also Japan-exclusive) in Namco x Capcom.
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Title screen.
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Default high score table.
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MGM opening cutscene.
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The first act of the game.
