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Catrap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catrap
North American Game Boy cover art
DevelopersSharp MZ
Yutaka Isokawa
Game Boy
ASK Kodansha
PublishersSharp MZ
Softbank
Game Boy
DesignerYutaka Isokawa
ComposerMasao Asakawa
PlatformsSharp MZ-700, Game Boy
ReleaseSharp MZ-700
1985
Game Boy
  • JP: June 1, 1990
  • NA: October 1990[1]
GenrePuzzle-platform
ModeSingle-player

Catrap, known as Pitman in Japan and Power Paws in the United Kingdom[2], is a 1985 puzzle-platform game developed by Yutaka Isokawa for the Sharp MZ-700 computer. A port to the Game Boy[3] developed by ASK Kodansha was released in Japan in June 1990 and North America in October 1990 by Asmik. ASK retained the rights to the game after splitting from Kodansha, re-releasing the game on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in October 2011.

The word Catrap refers to the frequent number of times the player is trapped and needs to reverse their movements and the two anthropomorphic cats the player must maneuver to advance through the levels.

Destructoid credits the game with using a time-rewind mechanic before games like Blinx, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Braid.[4]

Gameplay

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Catrap is a puzzle game. The player directs the avatar, an anthropomorphic cat, to navigate a room while clearing obstacles and kicking monsters and ghosts off the screen. Once the player has knocked all of the enemies off the screen, they advance to the next level. Advancement grows difficult for the player as increasingly intricate obstacles are presented to complicate the process of overcoming all of the monsters and ghosts. The game encourages trial and error. A player may try one combination of manoeuvres by moving the obstacle in one direction, then they may find themselves trapped. The player can hit the 'A'-button to reverse their movements and try again in a different way until they find the solution that enables them to access all of the enemies and knock them off the screen. Trial and error make up a large portion of the game. Players can also create their own mazes.

There are 100 levels for the player to clear, each one more difficult than the last with more room for error and typically take longer to complete. The first level involves no obstacles with one monster on the opposite side of the screen to knock off; the last level involves a blockade of boulders and a conundrum of ladders for the player to move and navigate to clear several floating ghosts, the most difficult level with the smallest margin for error.

Development and release

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The game concept was originally created in 1985 on a MZ-700 home computer by Yutaka Isokawa. The BASIC listing of the game was published in the August 1985 issue of the magazine "Oh!MZ Publications" as a type-in program.[5][6][7] The popularity of the game caused it to be picked up for Game Boy conversion in 1990. In the Game Boy version there is a nod to the MZ-700 version, the layout of round 77 is a big M and Z. In 2004 it was released for I-mode mobile phones as Pitmania and Pitmania 2, with graphics more similar to the original MZ700 game. Pitmania 1 Infinite was released in 2007, which had improved and more colorful graphics. A version was released for the Nintendo 3DS in the 3DS eShop in October 2011[8] and for DSiWare in December 2011.[9] In 2012 the game community restored a faithful as possible Sharp MZ-700 version from the available source code variants.[10]

Reception

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Catrap holds a rating of 8/10 on Nintendo Life[16] and 5/5 on Arcade Spot.[27]

References

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  1. ↑ "Directory of Game Boy Games". Nintendo Power. No. 16. Redmond, WA: Nintendo. September–October 1990. p. 62. ISSN 1041-9551. OCLC 18893582.
  2. ↑ Greaves, Sharon (April 1993). "Off the Wall!". GB Action. No. 11. p. 58. Retrieved July 10, 2026. Oh, and gamers may have noticed a Japanese game called Catrap. Just for the record, the programmers didn't rate the title so it's been changed to Power Paws specifically for the UK market.
  3. ↑ Szczepaniak, John (August 2012). "A basic history of BASIC". Game Developer. Vol. 19, no. 8. pp. 35–39. ISSN 1073-922X. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  4. ↑ Davis, Ashley (September 2, 2009). "Why Catrap is the coolest puzzle game you've never played". Destructoid. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Who created PITMAN?". Hardcore Gaming 101. August 8, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  6. ↑ Massey, Tom (September 12, 2014). "The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers DVD review". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved July 10, 2026. [Catrap] creator Yukata Isokawa's emphatic emotional response to receiving a long-lost magazine featuring his original source code is particularly memorable.
  7. ↑ Isokawa, Yukata (August 1985). "パズル グーム PITMAN" [Puzzle game PITMAN]. Oh! MZ (in Japanese). pp. 105–111. ISSN 0910-7614. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  8. ↑ Fletcher, JC (October 13, 2011). "NintendoWare Weekly: Catrap, 101-in-1". Joystiq. Retrieved October 14, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Catrap, laberintos CLÁSICOS EN DSI". Marca Player (in Spanish). No. 39. December 2011. p. 105. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ "The (almost) original version of Pitman (Catrap) preserved". Hardcore Gaming 101. July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  11. ↑ Anglin, Paul (August 1993). "Power Paws". Go! (supplement to Computer and Video Games). No. 22. p. 19.
  12. ↑ "新作ゲームクロスレビュー". ファミコン通信 (in Japanese). No. 102. June 8, 1990. p. 19.
  13. ↑ Andromeda (December 1990). "Game Boy ProView: Catrap" (PDF). GamePro. No. 17. p. 142. ISSN 1042-8658.
  14. ↑ "Tests Game-Boy: Pitman". Génération 4 (in French). No. HS02. October 1990. p. 87.
  15. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. (October 13, 2011). "Catrap Review". IGN. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Review: Catrap (3DS eShop / GB)". Nintendo Life. October 12, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Retro Round-Up". Retro Gamer. No. 97. December 8, 2011. p. 98.
  18. ↑ Dyer, Andy (August 1993). "Power Paws". Total!. No. 20. p. 47. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  19. ↑ "5月24日号特別付録 ファミコンディスクカード ゲームボーイ スーパーファミコン オールカタログ". ファミリーコンピュータMagazine (in Japanese). Vol. 7, no. 10. May 24, 1991. p. 201.
  20. ↑ "Power Paws". GB Action. No. 15. August 1993. pp. 24–25. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  21. ↑ Rovin, Jeff (May 1991). How to Win at Game Boy Games. New York, New York, U.S.A.: St. Martin's Press. pp. 55–61. ISBN 9780312926328.
  22. ↑ "Power paws". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 11. August 1993. pp. 46–47. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Pitman". Power Play. September 1990. p. 128.
  24. ↑ "Power Paws". SNES Force. No. 2. August 1993. p. 67. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  25. ↑ "A-Z of Games". Super Gamer. No. 1. April 1994. p. 126. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Pitman (Power Paws) for Game Boy". Top Secret (in Polish). No. 29. August 1994. p. 46. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Catrap - Play Game Online". Arcade Spot. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
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