Kickle Cubicle

Kickle Cubicle
Box art
Developer(s)	Irem
Publisher(s)	Irem
Platform(s)	Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
Release date(s)	JP June 29, 1990 NA September, 1990 EU 1990
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player
Media/distribution	2-megabit cartridge

Kickle Cubicle, known in Japan as Meikyū Shima (迷宮島^?, lit. "Mystery Island"), is a puzzle game developed by Irem for the arcades in 1988 and then ported to Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Gameplay is somewhat similar to the Adventures of Lolo series.

Story

Title screen

The protagonist Kickle wakes up one day to find his homeland, the Fantasy Kingdom, turned to ice by the Wicked Wizard King. The King has imprisoned the people in Dream bags. Only Kickle was unaffected. Kickle sets out to save the kingdom with his special freezing breath, which he uses to turn the invaders into ice to use against his foes.^[1]

Gameplay

The player must travel through the four lands in the Fantasy Kingdom, which Kickle plays in a set order. Each land has a boss at the end. After completing all four lands, the "special game" begins, consisting of 30 harder levels.^[2]

The player controls Kickle to solve a series of puzzles that take place on frozen islands. The goal of each level is to collect the red Dream Bags.^[3] There are several types of deadly enemies.^[4] Kickle can use his freezing breath ability to turn some enemies into ice to create walkways on water or to defeat other enemies. He can also create a pillar of ice in front of him to act as a block.^[5]

Regional Differences

• The Japanese version tends to have more enemies present in the various levels.
• In the Japanese version, the player can attempt the different worlds in any order. In the North American and European releases, the world order is fixed.

References

1. ^ Instruction Booklet p. 4
2. ^ Instruction Booklet p. 8
3. ^ Instruction Booklet p. 6
4. ^ Instruction Booklet pp. 10-11
5. ^ Instruction Booklet p.5

External links

• Kickle Cubicle at MobyGames