Flicky
From Sega Retro
| Flicky |
|---|
| System(s): Sega System 1, SG-1000, Mega Drive, MSX |
| Publisher: Sega |
| Developer: Sega |
| Genre: Platform |
The original game Flicky was made in 1984 for Sega System 1 (arcade). Following its release, it was ported to the Sega SG-1000, MSX, Sega Mega Drive, and DoCoMo iMode mobile phones, featured a bird name Flicky rescuing her children from housecats. The game was designed by Youji Ishii, who was a member of Sonic Team until August 1999, when he left for Artoon.
Gameplay
In the game, the player controls Flicky, a bird who has to save the Chirps (Piopio in Japan), from housecats.
The player has to collect all of the Chirps and guide them through the exit. The player has to avoid the cat, Tiger (Nyannan) and the iguana, Iggy (Choro). They can also be killed by throwing items at them.
Players start with two lives and can gain more lives by acquiring certain scores, however there is a maximum of five lives they can attain.
There are 48 proper levels ("rounds") in the game. Completing these yields a "Congratulations" message, followed by the possibility of playing through the game again at a faster speed. These levels are numbered 49, 50 and so on, and levels which previously did not contain the Iggy now do contain it. Furthermore, some throwable items are replaced with different ones. Once the game has been completed a second time (passing level 96 = fast version of 48), the game repeats again, but there is no speed increase (i.e. level 97 is identical to level 49), and the game simply carries on in this fashion until the player loses all his/her lives.
Sonic the Hedgehog connection
The Flicky birds in the Sonic the Hedgehog games are derived from the bird in the Flicky arcade game. This is most obvious in Sonic 3D Blast (subtitled Flickies' Island in Europe and Japan), where the birds, who not only resemble but are explicitly named Flickies, follow Sonic around after being found in the same way the Chirps would follow Flicky in this game. Other mechanics were also similar, such as losing Flickies that happen to touch an enemy or hazard, or losing them all if Sonic did (though unlike Flicky Sonic could, depending on the circumstances, survive a hit). The point system (extra points awarded for rescuing Flickies/Chirps together instead of one at a time) had the same principle, as well.
In the Sonic Adventure Chao Gardens, the Flicky species became part of a different variety of animals that are small even in comparison to the playable "animals." This species is known as "small animals", but some fans still refer to them as Flickies.
Flicky is an unlockable game in Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Play Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine 30 times to unlock (including starting and quitting the game using R1/Z menu).