Namco's Mappy is a fast-paced, vertical-scrolling arcade game where you control a mouse police officer named Mappy. Your goal is to recover stolen goods from the mansion of the *Mewkies* (cats) and their leader, *Goro*. Lacking a direct attack, Mappy must rely on trampolines, flashing doors, and microwaves to outsmart his feline foes. This guide covers trampoline safety, microwave door traps, item scoring combos, and bonus levels.
1. Trampoline Physics and Safety Limits
The floors of Goro's mansion are connected by vertical trampoline paths. Trampolines behave under strict physics rules:
Mid-Air Invincibility: Mappy is completely safe from cats while bouncing on a trampoline. Cats will bounce alongside you but cannot hurt you in mid-air.
Trampoline Colors (Stress Limit): Each time you bounce on a trampoline without landing on a floor, its color changes, indicating structural stress:
Green: Normal bounce (safe).
Blue: Second consecutive bounce (safe).
Yellow: Third bounce (safe, but warning).
Red: Fourth bounce (dangerous). Bouncing again on a red trampoline will cause it to tear, sending Mappy falling to his death.
Resetting Stress: Touching any floor instantly resets the trampoline back to Green.
2. Interactive Doors & Microwave Traps
Mappy can open or close doors by pressing the action button. There are two main door types:
Regular Doors: Can be opened in either direction. Opening a door directly in a cat's face will knock them down and stun them briefly.
Flashing (Microwave) Doors: When opened, flashing doors emit a powerful, scrolling wave of microwave energy that sweeps across the entire floor, carrying any cats in its path off the screen. This yields large points and clears the floor safely.
3. Loot Item Scoring Combos
To clear a level, you must retrieve all 10 stolen items scattered across the mansion. Collecting items in identical pairs consecutively grants multiplier bonuses:
Radio (100 pts): Collect consecutively for a multiplier.
Television (200 pts): Medium value.
Computer (300 pts): High value.
Mona Lisa Painting (400 pts): Very high value.
Safe (500 pts): The highest value item. If you collect Goro's safe while Goro is hiding behind it (indicated by Goro's face flashing behind the item), you earn a massive **1000-point bonus**.
4. Pro Defense Tactics
Baiting Cats on Trampolines
If you are being pursued by multiple Mewkies, jump onto a trampoline. Cats will follow you onto the rope. Bounce up to a higher floor, wait for them to jump after you, and immediately drop back down to the floor below. This scatters the group and gives you space to collect items.
The Bell Trap
In later stages, green bells hang from the ceilings. Strike a bell with Mappy's head to drop it. Any cat caught beneath the falling bell is knocked out and swept off the board.
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