Line #30 VideoGame/DottoriKun


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dottorikun.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Yes, this was made in 1990.]]
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4	''Dottori-Kun'' is a 1990 arcade game by Creator/{{Sega}}.
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6	The gameplay is identical to the Sega arcade game ''VideoGame/HeadOn'' released in 1979. You're a car racing through eleven mazes, trying to grab all the dots in each one while dodging Xs. Your car can't brake, but it can change directions when it finds an opening, and your only advantage over the opponent is a turbo button. Even scraping against your enemy will cause the screen to reset. In later levels, more opponents are added, and they begin to speed up.
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8	''Dottori-Kun'' wasn't intended to be a particularly original game, nor was it intended to be played in arcades. It is a tiny, budget PCB that was made to comply with new a regulation in Japan that said that arcade cabinets could not be sold bare. Several companies, including Sega, created tiny, low-budget "games" that would be sold with their arcade cabinets. ''Dottori-Kun'' was intended to be removed from the cabinet by the arcade owner and replaced with another, better game. It was also used to test the hardware of the cabinet.
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10	----
11	!!Tropes found in this "game":
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13	* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
14	** The Xs do not have their own turbo abilities in order to make sure that the game is at least fair for you. However, they begin to speed up as the game progresses.
15	** You can hold down in a certain direction to change lanes ''before'' you reach a gap, which makes movement faster and easier.
16	* CollisionDamage: The Xs kill you by colliding with you.
17	* ContinuingIsPainful: Dying resets the entire maze, forcing you to collect all of the dots that you already collected.
18	* CutAndPasteEnvironments: There is no difference between the eleven mazes.
19	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The game is entirely black and white in order to save on costs.
20	* DifficultyByAcceleration: As the game progresses, the X's move at a faster and faster rate.
21	* EndlessGame: There aren't any changes after the eleventh level, but the game keeps going anyway.
22	* MazeGame: The game is similar to ''VideoGame/PacMan'', but you play as a car with no method of fighting back against your opponents.
23	* {{Minimalism}}: All of the gameplay elements and graphics are as minimalistic and generic as possible.
24	* MinimalistCast: The only characters are Dottori-Kun himself and at most three Xs.
25	* NoEnding: After the eleventh level, the game keeps going without reaching an end.
26	* NoNameGiven: The X's are never given names in the game.
27	* NoPlotNoProblem: The game doesn't have a plot; just collect dots and avoid all of the moving Xs.
28	* NotTheIntendedUse: The game was never meant to be "played" in the first place. Despite this, some people have studied the game and have even made [[https://youtu.be/MmHl_RvtC-U speedruns of it]].
29	* OneHitPointWonder: Dottori-Kun dies as soon as he touches an X.
30	* ProtagonistTitle: The game is named after Dottori-Kun, the protagonist and the character controlled by the player.
31	* {{Retraux}}: This game was made in 1990, but it looks like it was made in the days of ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}'' or ''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}''.
32	* SilenceIsGolden: Sound is intentionally left out in order to save on costs.
33	* StylisticSuck: The game was intended to be bland and uninteresting because it was a low-budget PCB that was supposed to be replaced with a better game.
34	* TwoDecadesBehind: Though released in 1990, it's a simplified version of a 1979 game with simple black and white graphics more reminiscent of games from the early to mid 1970s.
35	* XMakesAnythingCool: What else to make the enemies cooler than a few simple Xs?
36	* YouALLLookFamiliar: All of the Xs look the exact same.

Context VideoGame / DottoriKun