Nintendo’s Popeye was a 1983 arcade release; a significant if not well known game. Despite current obscurity Popeye was released at the height of Nintendo’s creativity.
Nintendo Arcade Games of the early 80s:
- 1979 – Radar Scope
- 1980 – Sheriff
- 1981 – Donkey Kong
- 1982 – Sky Skipper
- 1982 – Popeye
- 1982 – Donkey Kong Jr
- 1983 – Mario Bros
- 1982 – Donkey Kong 3
Some interesting popeye facts:
- In the Early 60s Nintendo Released Popeye Playing cards as a ramen promotion.
- Donkey Kong (the first release w/mario) was originally imagined as a Popeye game but the licensing rights fell through.
- Nintendo released a Popeye Game & Watch game in august 1981, 5 months after the arcade release of Donkey Kong.
- The 1983 Popeye arcade game eventually released was partially designed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
I got really lucky and was able to affordably pick up a working Popeye from another collector January 2015.
One of the only things that wrong with game was some extreme water damage on the instructions.
Popeye doesn’t hold a candle to the dynamic gameplay of Donkey Kong but the same 2 feel and limited controls of its companions.
