Developer: Pixel Games
Publisher: exA-Arcadia
Release: May 29th, 2023
Type: Single-screen platformer
Players: 1-2, simultaneous
Hardware: EXA Board
ARCADE EXCLUSIVE?: Partially (Some content)
Rating: Green Label – Suitable for all ages
Synopsis: Retro gaming goodness like it was 1983
Review
“Retro is so hot right now” is a pervasive sentiment out there these days, shown by the success of companies like Arcade1up or movies like Wreck-It Ralph. What if there was a brand new game that looked and played just like a game released for arcades back in 1983? While having the “retro” or “8-bit” look is nothing new in gaming, a developer perfectly nailing both the look and feel of a game from that era is rare. Fortunately for Pixel Games, they achieved that and thanks to exA-Arcadia, you can enjoy a “new retro” game in arcades.
The premise behind Donut Dodo Do! is simple, just like things were in the 80s. A giant dodo bird has stolen the donuts from Billy & Bella’s bakery, so you must go and get them back. As a single screen platformer, savvy retro gamers will be able to find elements from many classics here. It might be from Nintendo’s Popeye, Mario Bros, or Donkey Kong; Data East’s Burgertime or even Valadon’s obscure Bagman.
As you get the donuts back on each stage, avoid enemies like rats, ghosts and…toilet seats. Once collected, the giant donut on the level is unlocked and you have to touch it to move on to the next stage.
There are two game modes you can play: Arcade (18 stages) or Score Attack, which allows you to select the difficulty and you only play six stages within that difficulty. You get three lives to make it as far as you can, but if you lose them all, insert another coin in true arcade fashion to continue.
“Isn’t this on consoles though?” – Yes, it is, that’s where it launched first. But this arcade version does have some additions. First, there are two characters now thanks to the addition of Bella, wife to Billy. You can select either one when you begin to play and you can also play together. Adding a second simultaneous player is always welcome, as from an operator perspective, single player games always struggle to perform better than multiplayer ones.
There is also the addition of a new stage, the “Steel Works Sizzle.” This level features a number of green slides that you need to use to navigate around the screen, which reminds me very much of Bounty Bob Strikes Back for the old Atari 400/800 computers.
I’m not sure if the tunes are any different from the console version but if you’re into NES-style chiptunes, you’ll feel right at home here. Even if you aren’t, the tunes are catchy and well-done.
The enemies are straight forward enough but one must really be paying attention to all the parts of the stage to manage getting by. The rats just move back and forth on their platforms but I found that if I’m not paying attention, I might accidentally fall or slide down right on top of one at the wrong moment; The toilet relentlessly chases you around the screen (which in that sense, it does feel a little like another 80s classic, Lode Runner); The giant dodo will spit or poop out fireballs that you have to deal with; Then in normal mode the toilet gets smarter and the ghost appears to occasionally chase you around the screen.
Getting points is easy enough – collect the donuts before the timer runs out. The more time you have, the bigger bonus you earn. That said, it does have a combo system as well as a “Sugar Rush” component that allows you to get the higher scores. How it works is that you can grab any donut for starters but as soon as you do, a random donut on the screen will begin to glow. If you grab that, it gives you 125 points instead of 25; Then grabbing the next glowing donut without grabbing a non-glowing one, gives you 250, and so on. If you can obtain all of the glowing donuts in a row, you get the Sugar Rush bonus – which also overcomes the lower time bonus you’ll have in doing this.
You can also grab fruits that pop-up on the screen, ala Pac-Man, to boost those points higher. Thankfully there are leaderboards for both modes, although its crazy that I have to be thankful that such a basic feature is implemented in a game these days. Granted, such a thing is typical for exA games, which all have boards from what I’ve seen. But so many modern games by big studios don’t have them anymore, which is rather irritating.
RATINGS
GRAPHICS
Whenever you intentionally make a game look old, it’s not going to be a graphics showcase. Over the years this trend has worked out well for the console space but as an arcade operator, games that look this way seem to confuse customers. They may not realize that it’s a brand new game so they think it’s just an old obscure game they’ve never heard of because it looks that way, and sometimes they keep moving on. For purists (people who can still enjoy playing something on an Atari 2600 or an NES), graphics don’t matter and you can appreciate the way that this game looks. Its like it did come out of 1983. If you’re looking for something that pushes the hardware though, this ain’t it.
For a little more technicality, the game is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio but for anyone using a 16:9 screen (which will be most exAs), it has these “art blades” on each side which look great. An artist who had worked on titles like MegaMan 3 drew it, so that might be why.
As an aside, Donut Dodo was created using the Godot engine. I’d seen some things about that engine before but this is the first game that I know of that I’ve played that uses it.
AUDIO
As mentioned, this has a fun and catchy chiptune track that sounds like it was created for the NES. The sound effects fit well and I don’t believe they were ripped from an existing NES game. It has some voice samples of a female narrator, which come out crisp and are done well. You might get a tune or two stuck in your head, but at least they are fun tunes.
CONTROL
When I first played this game, I was caught off guard by how quickly and smoothly your character moves around the screen. This is because I’m quite used to the many other platformer classics mentioned above, where jumping and climbing ladders was a slower process. Donut Dodo Do! is easy to control and you only need one button to jump. I never felt like I was fighting the controls while playing, which is also a plus.
HARDWARE PACKAGE
I normally call this section “Cabinet” since that is a separate category to focus on for arcades, but this is only available in kit form, so that doesn’t really fit. Instead, when you order this separate from an exA board system, it comes in a small, but long box that includes the cartridge, a manual and related artwork including an A1 size poster. There are also instruction strips in both English and Japanese. Some exA carts come with different colors; Donut Dodo Do! is black, while the cabinet design is really up to the operator and what they’ve done there.
OPERATOR FEATURES
This category isn’t for the gamers as much as it is my fellow arcade operators; If you’re part of the former group, you can skip to the next section. For ops though, there are quite a few options that you can adjust when you push TEST while in the game itself. These include: Coin settings/Free play(thankfully, this has an option to charge a different amount to continue than when you start, which some exA games are missing); Screen orientation; Screen Scale; Screen Effect (this is the one with scanlines, CRT); Language; Sound settings; and Auto Quit (this is something in all exA games where if set to on, the game will go back to the exA menu after about five minutes; Otherwise, it’ll just sit in the game’s attract mode until credited).
ENTERTAINMENT
If you like 80s style collect-a-thon games where your skill on jumping around the screen and avoiding enemies is paramount to winning, then you can’t go wrong here. I’ve yet to have one of my kids try it though to get their opinion on it but as an old school gamer with a bunch of games like this sitting in my collection, this scratches an itch I didn’t knew I had.
As usual, this is a game that is best played with a friend. Both of you working together to get a sugar rush ups the fun ante – I just wish I could find an easier way to convey that to my customers, who so far have given it a little attention but not as much as my Donkey Kong. That might require me to move my exA around though, so they notice it when they come in to play a classic game.
Are there any secrets hidden within the game? Not that I’ve discovered yet, although I also have been more focused on scoring than on exploring for such things. That would be a nice touch though.
RECOMMENDED?
If Donut Dodo had been produced 40 years ago, it would have had a bunch of home ports and would be fondly remembered today as a classic. If you are into any game that was forged in the early ’80s, then you’ll love this. Unfortunately with as many games are released these days, it’s easy for it to get lost in the fray.
If you’re “Gen Z” though, I’m not sure how you might take to it. Some kids I watch play these days have a hard time figuring out where to put their coins into a game, much less navigating a character around a screen. That said, I think that any kid should give the game a chance as it is a lot of fun and it has plenty of charm to it.
For operators, if you already have some retro games sitting around, then this is a great addition to that mix – particularly if you operate a retrocade. It’s also one of the most affordable titles available for the exA so if you have an exA board already, why not take the plunge. I’ve been operating DDD on the same system as Gimmick Exact Mix! and DDD has been outperforming it.
As for exclusive content, I really do appreciate the addition of the 2nd player and another stage, although I would like to see an extra stage or two added on to it eventually, or perhaps another unique bonus stage. Say you have one where two players face off against each other with a chasm in-between them. You then have to try and pelt your opponent with a donut. That or do a homage to Shinobi but instead of shurikens and ninjas, you’re chucking donuts at dodos. That would be some sweet justice indeed.
