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(c)1994 Datam Polystar
(c)1993 Success
(c)1992 Ascii
Cartridge SHVC-K9
Puzzle/Action game
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Keeper is the conversion of a cute puzzle game published by Datam Polystar
and originally released for the Sharp X68000 computer. Strange fossil stones have
surfaced after the terrible eruption of Mt Cod and two weird looking fluffy animals
with pointy ears and big eyes seem to be the nearby village's only hope - our unlikely
guardian heroes must now protect the water springs and collect the buried marine fossils
to save the day. Interestingly, two other characters can also be played as - the cute
Makendou and he weird looking black Maririn. Keeper's game mode
features a five by five grid where colored fossil stones randomly appear at a constant
rate. Our heroes can freely move around the grid and can either pull or push the colored
stones - if three or more of the same color or the same symbol happen to be aligned,
they automatically disappear. And to help our fluffy heroes in their journey, special
blocks also randomly appear and can freeze time for a short moment or have the power
to replace any block and consequently help the player overcome increasingly desperate
situations. A Puzzle mode borrows the same concept but gives the player a set
number of blocks that need to be cleared up within a limited number of moves. This mode
features a simple password system and each one of the sixty levels can be revisited
at will. The two play modes also feature a two simultaneous player option that can
be enjoyed in cooperative or a more intense versus form.
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Keeper was first released in 1993 for the Sharp X68000 computer by
Success and ASCII Entertainment (picture on the left). It was converted for the Super Famicom
the following year (version tested here). Keeper was also released in 2002 for
Sony's Playstation as part of the SuperLite 1500 series.
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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Keeper is an interesting mix of the good old Tetris and
top-down action - align three blocks to make space to the countless waves
of fossil stones that soon will fill up the whole grid and bring the
unavoidable 'Game Over' screen. That sorts of resume the Game
mode pretty well, it is fun overall but the lack of variation and the monotonous
gameplay give you no much reason to shoot for a higher score...
The Puzzle Mode is probably my favorite part of the game and it
quickly becomes really challenging. Some of the later puzzles are
downright hardcore and intricate - they'll definitively bend your mind
in ways you never thought possible. All in all, Keeper is a
nice and challenging puzzle game - but I only wished Success
had done a better job with its level design, perhaps more diverse
levels would have been a welcome addition.
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