Cocoron

Cocoron
Famicom box artwork
Developer(s)K2
Publisher(s)Sur Dé Wave
Director(s)Akira Kitamura
Programmer(s)Akihito Ohta
Tsukasa Chibana
Artist(s)Kiyoshi Utata
Shinichi Yoshimoto
Takehiko Tamada
Composer(s)Takashi Tateishi
Yoshiji Yokoyama
Platform(s)Family Computer
Release
  • JP: 3 May 1991
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Cocoron[a] is a 1991 video game developed by K2 and published by Takeru for the Family Computer.[1][2] A version for the PC Engine was announced, but was not released.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Cocoron is a side-scrolling action game.[2][3] It features full character customization, allowing players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts.[4]

Development

Cocoron was directed by Akira Kitamura, who had previously designed the character Mega Man.[5] Kitamura had left Capcom to form the company Takeru. The score was created by Takashi Tateishi, who also did the music to Mega Man 2.[6] According to Tateishi, Kitamura requested "more cutesy" music for the game than previous titles.[7] The artist for the game was Takashi "Utata Kiyoshi" Kogure.[8][9]

Capcom wanted to release Mega Man 3 to market before Cocoron, and they refused to delay the title despite internal problems of production.[citation needed]

Release

The game was released in Japan on May 3, 1991.[1][2]

A port of the game to the PC Engine, titled PC Cocoron was announced,[10] and was previewed in various magazines, including Weekly Famitsu,[11] and Console Plus #28.[12] Ultimately however, it was not released, and a copy of PC Cocoron is in the possession of the Game Preservation Society.[10]

Reception

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40.[1]

Family Computer Magazine readers voted to give it a 19.7 out of 30 score.[13]

Wired writer Chris Kohler called the game boring, repetitive, and difficult.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: ココロン, Hepburn: Kokoron

References

  1. ^ a b c "ココロン [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  2. ^ a b c Isao, Yamazaki (2016). Famicom Complete Guide. Tōkyō: Shufunotomoinfosu. p. 175. ISBN 9784074176397. OCLC 967284999.
  3. ^ a b "Broke in Tokyo: Retro Game Shopping on a Weak Dollar". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  4. ^ "Playing With Power: Great Ideas That Have Changed Gaming Forever from 1UP.com". 17 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  5. ^ "【5月3日のレトロゲーム】今日はFC『ココロン』の発売28周年！". Gamedrive. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  6. ^ ""東京ゲームタクト2018"が5月4日・5日に開催決定、出演者第1弾を発表 - ファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 15 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  7. ^ "Takashi Tateishi". Brave Wave Productions. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  8. ^ Utata Kiyoshi Artdot Works (in Japanese). Japan: Game Area 51. 2011. pp. 138–141.
  9. ^ "GameSetWatch Osman, Little Samson Feature in Utata Kiyoshi Artdot Works". www.gamesetwatch.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  10. ^ a b Szczepaniak, John (August 4, 2014). The Untold History of Japanese Video Game Developers. SMG Szczepaniak. ISBN 978-0992926021.
  11. ^ "New Game Special Part I". Weekly Famitsu (160/161): 30–31. January 10, 1992.
  12. ^ "Le Japan en Direct". Console Plus (28): 22. January 1994.
  13. ^ a b 超絶 大技林 '98年春版: ファミコン - ココロン (Special) (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. 15 April 1998. p. 50. ASIN B00J16900U. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)