History VideoGame / Plok

''Plok'' is a UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem game developed by Software Creations in 1993. It's a {{platformer}} starring Plok, an [[LivingClothes animated pile of clothes]], who wakes up one day to find out that the flag on his house (a family heirloom) has been stolen. After retrieving it from nearby Cotton Island, he returns to his island of Akrillic and finds out that it's been taken over by fleas! He travels through his colorful, surreal island, vanquishing fleas along the way and eventually entering the Flea Pit to battle the Flea Queen.

A digital re-release of the game looks unlikely, as the Pickford Bros. are unsure who currently owns the rights, but they have dropped occasional hints over the years of possibly making a sequel. (Most people who've looked into it believe that the rights have reverted back to the Pickford Bros.) However, Plok himself did show up in another game — as a miniboss in the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx game ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaku_%28video_game%29 Zaku]]''.

* RipVanWinkle: Remember when Plok took a well-deserved power nap at the end of the game? Well, he just woke up from it. ''Twenty years later''. (This is because nobody woke him up for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis or UsefulNotes/GameBoy ports or sequel that never came back in TheNineties.)

** [[UsefulNotes/XboxOne "XBone"]] was also introduced as a character, pretty much solely for the Kinect voice and image recognition gags.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Fleapit, where each level puts Plok behind the wheel of a different vehicle that arguably ''cripples'' Plok (in exchange for letting him fly or jump wide gaps or whatever the stage calls for). The final boss is no exception to this

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Fleapit, where each level puts Plok behind the wheel of a different vehicle that arguably ''cripples'' Plok (in exchange for letting him fly or jump wide gaps or whatever the stage calls for). The final boss is no exception to this.

* UnderwearFlag: The first world has the title character trying to hoist a flag onto the pole at the end of each level, only to find that the flag's been replaced by something else: in the very first level, he hoists up a pair of boxer shorts.

* HaveAGayOldTime: Plok says "I've been diddled again!" when the flag is not there. While an innocuous word in 1993, "diddle" is now usually associated with sex abuse.

* SpikeBallsOfDoom: Spiky metal spheres appear as an obstacle.
* StockFemurBone: Grandpa Plon digs femur bones.

* ExcitedShowTitle: The logo shown in the title screen appends an exclamation point to the game's title, though that's the only place where the game is officially referred to as ''Plok!'' and all other materials call it just ''Plok'' without the exclamation mark.

-> ''"Plok is an irresistible, irrepressible, unstoppable, highly improbable and downright dangerous bundle of pure energy.\\

* LongSongShortScene: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJLOFhROXk8 bonus stage theme]] loops for one minute, which doesn’t seem too long... except that the bonus stages only last 40 seconds at the very most. Since players can’t pause during bonus stages, it is impossible to hear the full song in game.

''Plok'' is a UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem game developed by Software Creations in 1993. It's a {{platformer}} starring Plok, an [[DancingPants animated pile of clothes]], who wakes up one day to find out that the flag on his house (a family heirloom) has been stolen. After retrieving it from nearby Cotton Island, he returns to his island of Akrillic and finds out that it's been taken over by fleas! He travels through his colorful, surreal island, vanquishing fleas along the way and eventually entering the Flea Pit to battle the Flea Queen.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The Shprouts come in several forms: the Shcuba Shprouts, the Shcuba Shield Shprouts, the Shky Shcuba Shield Shprouts...

A digital re-release of the game looks unlikely, as the Pickford Bros. are unsure who currently owns the rights, but they have dropped occasional hints over the years of possibly making a sequel. (Most people who've looked into it believe that the rights have reverted back to the Pickford Bros.) However, Plok himself did show up in another game - as a miniboss in the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx game ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaku_%28video_game%29 Zaku]]''.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Text in the game comes in three colours: red indicates narration (and Cotton Island levels), yellow is Plok's dialogue (and Akrillic levels), and blue is enemy dialogue (and fleapit levels).

* EvilLaugh: During the start of a Boss Battle or somehere in the middle, someone is heard laughing, presumably the [[BigBad Flea Queen]] herself.

* GottaKillEmAll: Your goal throughout Akrillic is to hunt down and kill every last flea present throughout the stages, and [[AntiFrustrationFeatures the UI will both tell you how many are left and sometimes point you in the general direction of the nearest remaining one.]] Once you've cleared them out, only then will the level-ending flag will spawn, and begin traveling from the last flea's place of death toward the level exit. Mind you, this doesn't mean that the other enemies or level hazards go away...

* LongSongShortScene: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJLOFhROXk8 bonus stage theme]] loops for one minute, which doesn’t seem too long . . . except that the bonus stages only last 40 seconds at the very most. Since players can’t pause during bonus stages, it is impossible to hear the full song in game.

* NoobCave: The Cotton Island levels are much shorter and simpler than the Akrillic levels since the goal is just to find the flag. [[spoiler:Subverted with the Legacy Island levels, which are similarly short 'go the the goal' levels but are considerably less simple.]]
* OptionalBoss: All the bosses that aren't the Bobbins Brothers become sort-of optional in Child's Play, since while you normally just skip their stages, you only get to do so once - they can still show up if you get a Plokontinue just before the point at which you'd normally fight the bosses and end up being sent back before their location afterwards. The Penkinos were obviously designed to work like this, however, since the previous level practically gives the player one, and later levels get increasingly less generous with the continue tokens (this said, you're fighting them on Normal regardless).

** The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray, and is very unwieldy. This said, the constant bouncing is at least consistently-timed, and the Flea Spray does have a nice spread to it...]]

* RetrauxFlashback: The Grandpappy Plok dream sequence is entirely in black-and-white, plays an old-timey soundtrack throughout, and even has title cards styles like old silent films. [[spoiler: The boss track stays the same as before, but given that you're fighting three Bobbins Brothers, you'll be a little too busy to worry about the dissonance.]]

** If you die and [[OutOfContinues run out of continues]] (or "Plokontinues" as they're called), you have to start over from a point likely very distant from the area you were. Heck, there's only really 4 permanent save points in the game (The starts of Akrillic, Legacy Island and the Fleapit, and post-Legacy Island Plok's House), and they're lost when you shut the game off. Since this game is so long and difficult and there is a [[NintendoHard very, VERY high chance you'll be going back to those points quite often]], few people actually manage to finish it.

** Oh, and to get those Plokontinues in the first place, you have to complete levels without dying - which only gets you a quarter of the Plokontinue, by the way - or pick up special items that might not even exist in a given stage and ALSO only give you a quarter of a Plokontinue. [[UnstableEquilibrium Either way, it's a bit of a kick in the shorts to anyone who's already having trouble just getting through the levels AT ALL.]]
** There is also a lack of a save system ''or'' [[PasswordSave password feature,]] due to a low budget not allowing for save batteries as well as the Pickford Bros. wanting people to play fair instead of cheating their way to the final levels. Unless you're using an emulator, [[strike: or Virtual Console,]] it ''must'' be done in one go.
* ShortRangeShotgun: One of the powerups gives Plok a short range blunderbuss that fires out a spread of 5 bullets that travel a rather short distance. Much more useful than you'd think, because it overrides the enemies' MercyInvincibility.

* ThemeNaming: The islands in the archipelago - as well as the archipelago itself - are named for fabrics: Poly-Esta, Akrillic, and Cotton Island. The exception is Legacy Island, which Plok himself never visits (the Legacy Island section of the game being a flashback to his Grandpappy's exploits).

* AlienInvasion: Turns out the Fleas were aliens - and there's more where they came from.
* CowboyCop: Zob, who has no qualms about stepping over others jurisdictions in pursuit of the Flea Queen. [[spoiler:Turns out he's a more advanced Flea trying to apprehend Plok for accidentally summoning the Queen.]]
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Rockyfella - the last boss Plok fought before entering the Flea Pit - is a nice guy now, though this may be more a case of him mellowing out in the two decades since their previous encounter.

-->'''Rockyfella''': Woah! I forgot he could do that!\\
'''Editor's Note''': So had we!
* GetOut: [[spoiler:The "maximum sentence" Plok receives from the Zobians is effectively being told to get out of System Z, which is what he and Rockyfella were trying to do in the first place]].

* RipVanWinkle: Remember when Plok took a well-deserved power nap at the end of the game? Well, he just woke up from it. ''Twenty years later''. (This is because nobody woke him up for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis or UsefulNotes/GameBoy ports or sequel that never came back in TheNineties).

* [[spoiler: AWinnerIsYou: Played straight, most probably to anger-inducing levels if you somehow made it that far - the ending is basically just another bit of post-stage banter by Plok, and the credits.]]

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Fleapit, where each level puts Plok behind the wheel of a different vehicle that arguably ''cripples'' Plok (in exchange for letting him fly or jump wide gaps or whatever the stage calls for).

* KungFuProofMook: Shprouts, which need to be hit a second time immediately after the first hit to defeat them; taking too long resets their vulnerability. They become even more kung fu proof in later stages, where they carry shields that render them invincible unless they are hit in the back.

* NoobCave: The Cotton Island levels are much shorter and simpler than the Akrillic levels since the goal is just to find the flag.
* OptionalBoss: All the bosses become optional in Child's Play, since they only show up when getting a continue just before the point at which you'd normally fight the bosses. The Penkinos were obviously designed to work like this, however, since the previous level practically gives the player one (but like every boss in Normal, you always fight them).

** The [[PoisonMushroom cowboy outfit]]: It makes Plok shoot a fake gun ([[BANGFlagGun with a "BANG" flag coming out]]). It doesn't do anything but give you back missing legs.
** The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray, and is very unwieldy. This said, the Flea Spray does have a nice spread to it...]]

** Rockyfella is most likely a pun on billionaire John D Rockefeller.

** If you die and [[OutOfContinues run out of continues]] (or "Plokontinues" as they're called), you have to start over from a point likely very distant from the area you were. Heck, there's only really 5 save points in the game. Since this game is so long and difficult, few people actually manage to finish it.

Sorry. The above editor lost his hands halfway through typing.

** The [[WolfpackBoss Penkinos]] are four flying, penguin-like things that drop damaging stars down on Plok. When low on health, they will drop those stars in rapid succession.

** [[MeaningfulName Rockyfella]] the rock monster summons more hands for his rock throwing attack as his health gets lower.

* BonusStage: Hitting certain HP-restoring fruit when they're at their maximum size will take you to bonus stages (instead of just destroying them), which allow you to collect tons of shells or warp 2-3 levels ahead.

* EasyModeMockery: Playing the "Child's Play" mode leaves you unable to enter the Fleapit, Legacy Island, or several of the game's other stages (largely boss fights). Although one of the particularly annoying skipped boss fights becomes unskipped if you continue from a certain stage after a Game Over.

* FakeDifficulty: The Fleapit in its entirety. Every stage involves a new and different vehicle, most of which have touchy controls and hard-to-use weapons.

* NintendoHard: Many people actually never get to complete the game without the help of an emulator. The developers actually apologized for making it so hard, even. Everything starts off tough but doable for the first world, but after you clear the first boss, all bets are off and sheer sadistic insanity lies around every corner ready to kill you for the slightest mistake.

** The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray, and is very unwieldy.]]

* RetrauxFlashback: The Grandpappy Plok dream sequence is entirely in black-and-white and even has title cards styles like old silent films.

* SpellingBonus: Beating a level without dying earns you one of four P-L-O-K letters. Getting all four earns you a continue. You can also collect a red checkmark token in a level to instantly get a letter.

* WarpZone: Due to any save system (even passwords) being absent, the developers placed a number of warps throughout the game, allowing players to skip through levels as fast as possible.

[. . .]\\

* BonusBoss: All the bosses become this in Child's Play, since they only show up when getting a continue just before the point at which you'd normally fight the bosses. The Penkinos were obviously designed to work like this, however, since the previous level practically gives the player one (but like every boss in Normal, you always fight them).

* MonochromePast: The flashback levels, which also use silent film-style title cards and piano music.

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe Plok he]]

* BonusBoss: All the bosses become this in Child's Play, since they only show up when getting a continue just before the point at which you'd normally fight the bosses. The Penkinos were obviously designed to work like this, however, since the previous level practically gives the player one (but like evry boss in Normal, you always fight them).

** There is a giant miniboss flower called the Budd, which [[mookMaker spits out mini versions of itself]] called Budd Lites.