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Trip World

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Trip World
European box art, for the Game Boy
DeveloperSunsoft
PublisherSunsoft
DirectorYuichi Ueda
DesignerToshihiko Narita
ProgrammerYuichi Ueda
ComposersPhase Out (Tsutomu Ishida, Masayuki Iwata, Atsushi Mihiro)
PlatformsGame Boy, Nintendo 3DS
ReleaseGame Boy
Nintendo 3DS
  • JP: November 30, 2011
  • EU: January 5, 2012
GenrePlatform
ModeSingle-player

Trip World[a] is a 1992 platform game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Game Boy. It was released in Japan in 1992. The game's plot centers around the bunny-like being Yakopoo and his quest to retrieve the flower of peace so that peace will return to his disarranged world. The protagonist's trademark ability is to shapeshift into different forms.

The game's reception was mixed; while it was praised for its graphics and music, it was criticized for its low difficulty and short length, with many comparing it to Gimmick!. The game was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS, via Virtual Console in Japan on November 30, 2011, and in Europe on January 5, 2012. A remastered version, Trip World DX, was developed by Limited Run Games and released in 2023.

Gameplay

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Yakopoo (right) facing against the first boss, Chong Pei (left).

Trip World is a platform game where the player controls Yakopoo[b], a rabbit-like creature that must retrieve the stolen flower of peace, called the Maita flower.[2] Since the inhabitants of Trip World turned mad because of its absence, acting as the enemies in the game.[3] The player must venture through five stages, each ending with a boss (and in some stages a mini-boss halfway through), that must be defeated to progress.[4] The stage settings include areas such as a mountain, a jungle, the ocean and a castle.[5]

Yakopoo is able to shapeshift between three different primary forms at any time, these forms are manually activated by the player when desired.[6] In his normal form, he is able to walk and to jump and can attack enemies by kicking them. When Yakopoo's ears transform into wings, he is able to fly in a limited way. This form doesn't allow to fly completely freely through a stage due to gravity, and since the player isn't able to change direction during flight, and Yakopoo always falls down when he touches a wall. In the third form, Yakopoo resembles a fish. While he can't move on the ground, the fish-like Yakopoo is able to swim well and attack enemies with foam in water. Beneath these three forms, Yakopoo also occasionally shapeshifts into other special forms for a limited time, by collecting special power-ups for a short time, that otherwise can't be activated manually. For instance Flower Yakopoo (stunn enemies with seeds) or Tail Yakopoo (tail attack with long range).[2][7][8][9]

The player's character has four health points and loses them by touching spikes or when being hit by enemy attacks; they lose a life when all health points are gone. Unlike many other platform games, (aside from bosses) most of the enemies in Trip World don't hurt the player's character on touch. Many benign enemies will become violent if attacked by Yakopoo however. Most of them just push Yakopoo around when not angered, while other enemies are able to attack in certain manners and do so freely.[2][4]

Plot

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The game is set in Trip World, a peaceful world where Yakopoo lives. He is a young member of the Shabubu race of bunny-like beings.[10] Yakopoo lives with his grandfather, an old Shabubu, on the holy mountain known as Mount Dubious, where the Maita Flower is found. The named flower is the flower of peace and is deemed to have supernatural powers. Because of this, it is usually protected by Yakopoo's grandpa, so that it won't fall in the wrong hands. However, one day mysterious shadowy creatures appear, attack Yakopoo's grandfather and steal the flower of peace.[2]

Since the Maita Flower has been removed from its place, the peace is gone and the inhabitants of Trip World get mad and don't stop quarreling with each other. In order to save his world, Yakopoo sets out to find the thieves and to return the Maita Flower.[5][3] In the game's last stage, Mirror Land, it turns out that the King of Mirror Land, a Shabubu himself, and his minions stole the flower. After Yakopoo defeats the King's minions and the King who fights Yakopoo in a robot, the Queen appears who hid with the Maita Flower during the fight. The King was actually possessed by a flower of unknown origin on his head which now disappears after his defeat. The King turns good again, Yakopoo's grandfather returns the flower to the holy mountain and the peace is back in Trip World.

Development and release

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Trip World was developed by Sunsoft. It was convinced by Yuichi Ueda after being influenced by Gimmick! (1992).[11][12][13] The game was released in Japan in 1992 and in Europe sometime in 1993,[14][15] while it was never released in North America.[16] The cartridge and its boxed packaging copies were sold at high prices in the following years, due to the limited amount of units that had been released.[2][17] A set of 19 Famicom Disk System development disks, previously belonging to Sunsoft, was obtained by a video game collector, DreamTR (Jason Wilson), and was later dumped. In one of the disks, it featured early animation frames for the player's character, Yakopoo.[2] The game was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS via Virtual Console in Japan on November 30, 2011,[4][18] and in Europe on January 5, 2012.[19][20]

In April 2023, Limited Run Games announced they were developing Trip World DX, a remastered version of Trip World, in collaboration with Sunsoft.[21][22][23] It was released for Nintendo Switch on November 30, 2023,[24] and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on February 15, 2024.[25] A Microsoft Windows version was also announced for Steam but never released on the storefront for unknown reasons, instead being sold exclusively in limited physical quantities through Limited Run Games' official website.[26]

Reception

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Contemporary reviews

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Upon release, Trip World has received a mixed response from critics. The German magazine ASM, stated that Trip World is "in any case a treat for action fans".[14] Video Games, another German magazine, referred to Trip World as a "better" platform game and lauded its graphics and music. The review's author commented that Trip World is "ideally suited" for inexperienced players due to its low level of difficulty. Video Games also praised the "clear game structure", but criticized the "missing lasting appeal" for experienced players.[15]

Retrospective reviews

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Retrospectively, critics had a similar sentiment about the game. Hardcore Gaming 101 praised the game's visuals stating it has some of the best visuals on the Game Boy. However, they also criticized the game for being too easy.[2] Marcel van Duyn of Nintendo Life was impressed with the visuals as well, but found the simplicity of the gameplay and the game's length to be lacking. Van Duyn therefore recommended Gimmick! instead, citing it as a game that was somewhat similar but did everything better.[8]

Retro Gamer included the game in their "Guide to the Game Boy" article in 2016 that listed the systems "essential releases".[32]: 26  The publication compared Trip World to Gimmick! and complimented the "high quality" graphics and sound as well as the variety of power-ups and large stages.[32]: 26 : 31 

Legacy

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Yakopoo later appeared in Sunsoft's fighting game, Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors as a mini-boss and with a more detailed look. His name is romanized "Yacopu" in this game.[2][33] According to game's plot, he is the pet of Galaxy Fight's final boss, Rouwe. Similar to some other transforming characters from other one-on-one fighting games, Yakopoo has the ability to shapeshift himself into whoever he fights against, providing a mirror match.[33]

Yakopoo makes an unnamed appearance as a minor character in 2019's Blaster Master Zero 2, an entry in Sunsoft's Blaster Master series developed and published by Inti Creates. Here, he is presented as an assistant creature accompanying the Metal Attacker "EIR" and its pilots Kanna and Kenwood. When protagonists Jason Frudnick and Eve arrive on the planet Stranga, Yakopoo is fed a variety of fruits that Jason is sent to collect and produces a medicine for Eve that alleviates the effects of the environment on her. Other references to Trip World can be found on the planet, such as flowers blooming from enemy mutants in reference to the Flower Yakopoo power-up.

Notes

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  1. ^ Trip World (トリップワールド)
  2. ^ Japanese: ヤコプ, Hepburn: Yacopu

References

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  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Szczepaniak, John (2017-05-04). "Trip World review". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  3. ^ a b "Die Geschichte" [The Story]. Trip World instruction booklet (in German). Sunsoft. 1993. p. 3.
  4. ^ a b c Sahdev, Ishaan (2011-11-25). "Friendly Platformer Trip World Set For 3DS Virtual Console In Japan". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  5. ^ a b "Stufen" [Stages]. Trip World instruction booklet (in German). Sunsoft. 1993. pp. 6–8.
  6. ^ "Spielkonsole" [Game Console]. Trip World instruction booklet (in German). Sunsoft. 1993. p. 5.
  7. ^ "Angriffsmethoden" [Attack Methods]. Trip World instruction booklet (in German). Sunsoft. 1993. pp. 10–11.
  8. ^ a b c "Trip World review: Bad Trip?". Nintendo Life. January 13, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  9. ^ Trip World (Game Boy) - Instruction manual (PDF) (in Japanese), Sunsoft, November 27, 1992
  10. ^ "Charaktere" [Characters]. Trip World instruction booklet (in German). Sunsoft. 1993. p. 9.
  11. ^ Sunsoft (November 30, 2023). Trip World DX (Nintendo Switch). Sunsoft, Limited Run Games. Level/area: Extras - Yuichi Ueda Interviews.
  12. ^ Sunsoft (2023-11-30), 【秘蔵インタビュー】ゲームボーイ版「トリップワールド」ディレクター植田祐一氏の開発秘話「コンセプトの作成について」 [[Secret Interview] Yuichi Ueda, director of the Game Boy version of "Trip World," talks about the development behind the scenes: "About creating the concept"] (in Japanese), archived from the original on 2023-12-01, retrieved 2025-11-22 – via YouTube
  13. ^ Sunsoft (2023-11-30), 【秘蔵インタビュー】ゲームボーイ版「トリップワールド」ディレクター植田祐一氏の開発秘話「GBゲームのプログラミング」 [[Secret Interview] Yuichi Ueda, Director of the Game Boy version of "Trip World," talks about the development behind the scenes of "GB game programming"] (in Japanese), archived from the original on 2023-12-01, retrieved 2025-11-22 – via YouTube
  14. ^ a b c "Trip World Review". ASM (in German). Tronic Verlag. June 1993. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c Markt & Technik Verlag (August 1993). "Dream Stuff: Trip World". Video Games (in German). p. 117. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  16. ^ Norman, Jim (2023-04-18). "Sunsoft's Classic Platformer Trip World Will Get New Colour Re-Release On Switch, GB And GBC". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  17. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2014-05-29). "15 Must-Have Games for 3DS Virtual Console". VG247. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  18. ^ "ニンテンドー3DS｜バーチャルコンソール トリップワールド｜Nintendo" [Nintendo 3DS | Virtual Console Trip World | Nintendo]. www.nintendo.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2011-11-25. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  19. ^ ddnetadmin (2012-01-07). "Retro Review: Trip World (3DS Virtual Console)". Digitally Downloaded. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  20. ^ "Trip World™". Nintendo of Europe SE. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  21. ^ "Trip World DX | Press Release". Limited Run Games. 2023-04-18. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  22. ^ Serin, Kaan (2023-04-19). "This 30-year-old Game Boy platformer is getting a colourised PC makeover". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  23. ^ Romano, Sal (2023-04-18). "Trip World DX announced for PS5, PS4, Switch, PC, and Game Boy Color". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  24. ^ "Trip World DX for Switch launches November 30". Gematsu. November 10, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Trip World DX for PS5, PS4 now available". Gematsu. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  26. ^ "Trip World DX (PC) - Limited Run Games". Limited Run Games. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  27. ^ "トリップワールド". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 206. ASCII. November 27, 2011.
  28. ^ "Trip World Review". Mega Fun. Monatlich. September 1993.
  29. ^ "超絶 大技林 '98年春版: ゲームボーイ - トリップワールド". PlayStation Magazine (Special) (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia. 15 April 1998. p. 503. ASIN B00J16900U.
  30. ^ "Trip World Review Score". Archived from the original on May 22, 2019.
  31. ^ Nickel, Thomas (March 5, 2024). "Trip World DX – im Test (Switch)" [Trip World DX – Review (Switch)]. M! Games (in German). Archived from the original on December 3, 2025. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  32. ^ a b White, Jon, ed. (2016). "The Retro Guide To... Game Boy". Retro. Vol. 89, no. 9. Imagine Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781785464133.
  33. ^ a b "Galaxy Fight Review". Hardcore Gaming 101. December 10, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
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