Toy Pop/Gameplay

Controls

• Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to direct Pino (or Acha if you're player 2) around each floor of Majyo's castle. (On bonus floors, they can only move horizontally; pushing the stick up or down on these floors will have no effect, apart from making Pino and Acha face out the cabinet's monitor at you).
• Firing Button: Use this button to make Pino (or Acha if you're player 2), fire their currently-possessed weapons at the enemies. Each type of enemy will only die when fired on with a particular weapon. (On bonus floors, pressing this button will make them jump, instead of fire their current weapon).
• 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Characters

Pino and Acha

These two dolls are the protagonists of the game; Player 1 controls Pino (left), while Player 2 controls Acha (right). They are both on a mission to save their friends from the clutches of the witch Majyo - and in order to do this, they will be given 90 seconds (1:30 minutes), to shoot open the jars that are scattered around the castle's thirty-nine non-bonus floors and collect the hearts they contain so that the double-doors that the hearts will fly towards when collected will open fully, and allow them entry to the next floor. Along the way, they'll also have to shoot open the boxes that are scattered around these non-bonus floors and collect the weapons they contain to kill the enemies that are pursuing them around them; as mentioned above, each type of enemy will only die when fired upon with a particular weapon, which makes this game somewhat harder than Namco's earlier multi-directional shooters.

Heitai

These tin soldiers are worth 10 points when fired upon with a Pellet () or any other weapon except for Bolts, which will only freeze them temporarily. They also reappeared in 16-bit form as enemies in Tinkle Pit. They don't fire, but are really good at following you.

Level appearances

Floor 1, Floor 2, Floor 3, Floor 4, Floor 6, Floor 7, Floor 9, Floor 11, Floor 12, Floor 13, Floor 14, Floor 15, Floor 17, Floor 19, Floor 20, Floor 21, Floor 23, Floor 25, Floor 26, Floor 27, Floor 28, Floor 29, Floor 30, Floor 33, Floor 34, Floor 35, Floor 36, Floor 37, Floor 39, Floor 42, Floor 43

Cars

These red automobiles are worth 20 points when fired upon with a Wheel (). As with the Heitai, a Bolt will freeze them temporarily, when one happens to be fired upon them. They act exactly like Heitai.

Level appearances

Floor 1, Floor 2, Floor 3, Floor 4, Floor 7, Floor 13, Floor 14, Floor 18, Floor 19, Floor 20, Floor 23, Floor 25, Floor 29, Floor 30, Floor 33, Floor 34, Floor 36, Floor 38, Floor 39, Floor 41, Floor 42

Tanks

These gray military vehicles are worth 30 points when fired upon with a Bomb (). As with the Heitai and Cars, a Bolt will freeze them temporarily, when one happens to be fired upon them; however, it is surprising that the other enemy types are immune to Bombs. They move very slow and only fire missiles occasionally.

Level appearances

Floor 2, Floor 5, Floor 15, Floor 19, Floor 21, Floor 27, Floor 28, Floor 34, Floor 35, Floor 36, Floor 37, Floor 41

Domdoms

These blue balloons are worth 50 points when fired upon with a Pin (). As with those Heitai, Cars, and Tanks, a Bolt will freeze them temporarily, when one happens to be fired upon them; however, they also possess the ability to pass over floor walls on account of what they are.

Level appearances

Floor 3, Floor 4, Floor 5, Floor 6, Floor 9, Floor 11, Floor 14, Floor 15, Floor 17, Floor 19, Floor 20, Floor 21, Floor 25, Floor 26, Floor 28, Floor 29, Floor 31, Floor 33, Floor 34, Floor 35, Floor 37, Floor 38, Floor 39, Floor 41, Floor 43

Trumps

These anthropomorphic playing cards are worth 40 points when fired upon with a Flame (). As with the Heitai, Cars, Tanks and Domdoms, a Bolt will freeze them temporarily when one happens to be fired on them; however, as with the Bombs, it is surprising that all the other enemy types are immune to Flames. They can fire arrows amd move faster going up and down.

Level appearances

Floor 4, Floor 5, Floor 7, Floor 10, Floor 11, Floor 13, Floor 15, Floor 18, Floor 19, Floor 22, Floor 26, Floor 27, Floor 28, Floor 29, Floor 34, Floor 37, Floor 38, Floor 39, Floor 41, Floor 43

Robots

These metal androids are worth 90 points when fired upon with a Bolt (). This weapon will also temporarily freeze any other type of enemies, when it is fired upon them. They also fire bolts that siimply kill you and don't stun enemies.

Level appearances

Floor 9, Floor 12, Floor 15, Floor 17, Floor 18, Floor 19, Floor 20, Floor 22, Floor 23, Floor 25, Floor 27, Floor 30, Floor 31, Floor 34, Floor 36, Floor 37, Floor 38, Floor 39, Floor 41, Floor 43

Osaru

These cymbal-crashing monkeys are worth 80 points when fired upon with a Spring (). As with the Heitai, Cars, Tanks, Domdoms and Trumps, a Bolt will also freeze them temporarily. They can fire small pellets and back up.

Level appearances

Floor 10, Floor 12, Floor 13, Floor 15, Floor 17, Floor 19, Floor 20, Floor 26, Floor 27, Floor 30, Floor 33, Floor 34, Floor 36, Floor 37, Floor 38, Floor 39, Floor 41, Floor 42

Mahou

This wizard appears on the seventh, fifteenth, twenty-third, thirtieth and thirty-seventh floors of the castle, and is not vulnerable to any of those normal weapons; he can only be killed with the Tornado Attack (which will take effect after you collect three "7" cards), or the Star Shot (which will take effect after you collect three "star" cards), for 5000 points. The four Katakana characters in his death explosions read as "Yarareta" (ヤラレタ).

Majyo

This witch only appears on the forty-fourth floor, and is again not vulnerable to any of those normal weapons; she can only be killed by collecting the hearts that randomly appear around the floor (which will fly towards her as if she was a moving double door) for 20000 points. Again, the four Katakana characters in her death explosion read as "Yarareta" (ヤラレタ) - and once you have defeated her, the game will be over and go into its ending.

Items

Hearts

These yellow playing-card symbols can be found in four of the jars () that are scattered around each non-bonus floor of the castle; once you have collected one, it will fly towards the double door (), and cause it to open a little way. Once all four on the current floor have been collected, the double door will be fully opened - and once one player has entered it, the other player will have to enter it as well before the game will proceed to the next floor.

Shirts

When Pino and Acha are hit by an enemy, they will lose their outer clothes, and are reduced to underclothes; and if they are hit again, it will cost them a life. However, if they find a Shirt in their colour (blue for Pino and red for Acha) on the third, fourth, sixth, eleventh, fifteenth, twenty-third, twenty-seventh, thirty-third, thirty-fifth, thirty-eighth, and forty-second floors of the castle, their outer clothes will be restored - until, of course, they get hit again.

Rally-X Special Flags

Making their seventh cameo appearance in a Namco arcade game (and it was to be their last in 8-bit form), these yellow pennants will appear at the start of a floor, after the players' combined score has reached a multiple of 15000 points by default (the arcade owner can change the multiple to 20000 if he wishes); the player who collects it will receive an extra life, so you should decide at the start of that floor which one of you needs it more than other.

Bonus Foods

These edibles can sometimes be found in the boxes that are scattered around each of the castle's thirty-nine non-bonus floors (much like weapon icons); the Candy is worth 50 points, the Shortcake is worth 100 points, the Donut is worth 200 points, and a Bamkuhen is worth 300 points.

"7" and "Star" Cards

Much like the weapon icons and bonus foods, these cards can sometimes be found in the boxes, that are scattered around each of the castle's thirty-nine non-bonus floors; once one of the players has collected one, it will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. Once three of either type have been collected, a special effect will be activated for the player who collected the third one - three "7" Cards will activate the Tornado Attack, and three "Star" Cards will activate the Star Shot. These are the only ways to kill Mahou on the five floors where he appears given that he is invulnerable to you.

Lanterns

When one of these old-fashioned lamps appears randomly appears and one of the players collects it, all boxes that contain weapon icons upon the current floor will immediately be opened; this saves you having to search for one when you need it, (like when a particular enemy is chasing after you).

Jet Boots

When one of these winged shoes appears and one of the players collects it, it will give them the ability to move around the floor and fire their current weapon at a faster speed for 15 seconds. As with a Rally-X Special Flag, you should decide which one of you needs it the most when it has appeared...

Forks

When one of these items of cutlery appears and one of the players collects it, it will immediately transform every enemy currently on the screen into a 300-point Bamkuhen; you should try to collect as many of them as you can. However, these ones will eventually disappear if not collected quick enough.

Flowers

When one of these yellow plants appears and one of the players collects it, it will make them invisible and invulnerable to enemy attacks for a short period of time; however, as with the Rally-X Special Flags, and Jet Boots, you should decide which one of you needs it the most when it has appeared.

Hourglasses

When one of these sand timers appears and one of the players collects it, it will temporarily freeze every enemy on screen for 10 seconds as if they had fired upon them with a Bolt; however, the frozen enemies can still injure Pino and Acha if they run into them, so you should be mindful of this fact...