Line #37 VideoGame/Zapper


1	[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zapper_uk.png]]
2	->'''''Available:''''' ''Rugged individualist, outdoorsy type, cynical. Physically fit with springy reflexes. Into avoiding trouble and self-defense using electrified antennae. Yellow. Looking for adventure with the right person.''
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4	->'''''This is One Wicked Cricket!'''''
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6	When squabbling siblings Zapper and Zipper end up breaking their TV's antenna in their struggle, elder Zapper has the wise idea of using his unfortunate younger brother as a makeshift signal receiver... and unwittingly ends up getting him abducted by thieving magpie Maggie in the process. Now Zapper must save the little grub from the clutches of the feathered criminal, but the journey ahead won't be an easy one...
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8	Released in November 2002[[labelnote:*]]in the US and Canada; March 2003 elsewhere[[/labelnote]], ''Zapper'' was developed by Creator/BlitzGames and published by [[Creator/{{Atari}} Infogrames Interactive]] for Platform/PlayStation2, Platform/NintendoGameCube, Platform/{{Xbox}} and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows; a UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment was also available.
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11	!!''Zapper'' contains examples of:
12	* AlliterativeName: '''M'''aggie the '''M'''agpie.
13	* AllThereInTheScript: None of the multiplayer characters (also seen giving you hints throughout the game's story mode, [[YouAllLookFamiliar repeated multiple times]]) are given names in the game proper; however, internal text strings (viewable in the game's [[DebugRoom developer menu]]) reveal their names to be Keith[[labelnote:]]the green one[[/labelnote]], Lugg[[labelnote:]]the blue one[[/labelnote]], Ping[[labelnote:]]the pink one[[/labelnote]], Lustre[[labelnote:]]the red one[[/labelnote]] and Gadget[[labelnote:*]]the [[MechanicalInsects robotic]] one[[/labelnote]]. The presence of these names in the game code suggests that they were supposed to be visible on the multiplayer mode's character select screen, but were cut from the final product.
14	* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: In an amusing inversion, the [[https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/21019-zapper-one-wicked-cricket-windows-front-cover.jpg North American box art]][[labelnote:]]also used for the Australian PC release[[/labelnote]] depicts Zapper with a DreamWorksFace, while on the [[https://r.mprd.se/GCN/Covers/Zapper%20One%20Wicked%20Cricket.jpg European/Australian box art]] (also pictured above), he sports a DeterminedExpression. A third variation, used as a preliminary cover for the European version before being swapped out for the final release[[labelnote:]]presumably at the last minute, as it was [[https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/476262-zapper-one-wicked-cricket-playstation-2-media.jpg still used]] on some versions as the disc label artwork[[/labelnote]], has him sporting a more blank expression. Strangely enough, European releases of the game[[labelnote:*]]except for the [=PS2=] version, which opts for the standard generic black-on-white plain text[[/labelnote]] still use the American cover design on the spine.
15	* BeeAfraid: Bees appear as enemies in the White Knuckle Water and Crazy Apiary levels.
16	* BigBoosHaunt: Spook Ville starts as a graveyard full of {{Bedsheet Ghost}}s combined with a town from a Western. Voodoo Choo Choo contains the ghost enemies as well and is generally more Halloween-themed.
17	* BigYes: Heard when you crush an egg, pick up an extra life or helmet, and when you end the level.
18	* BloodlessCarnage: Zapper often gets torn apart when he dies.
19	* BossOnlyLevel: Hasta la Vista Magpie, a level which, judging by the surroundings, takes place on top of some kind of dingy power station.
20	* BrutalBonusLevel: The last bonus level, Atomspheric. You have to get Zapper through what basically amounts to a long tight corridor, with a mine constantly turning around him, and if said mine touches a wall, he dies, so the player has to constantly move by taking the mine into account, which is extremely tricky to do. To make this a further headache, you have to effectively play through the level twice in order to collect all 100 orbs and thus end the level.
21	* {{Checkpoint}}: The magpie eggs act as level checkpoints.
22	* DirectContinuousLevels: Occurs only once, with the log at the end of Half Acre Wood leading straight into White Knuckle Water; the rest of the game's levels are largely self-contained.
23	* DragonHoard: Maggie's nest is one of these, built on top of a skyscraper in a city.
24	* DungeonTown: The first level, Overgrown Undergrowth, is one of these, taking place in a bug-sized town. It even starts right outside Zapper's house. The locals are mostly just there to explain how the game works.
25	* EnfanteTerrible: Maggie's offspring all steal for her.
26	* FeatheredFiend: Maggie the Magpie steals anything shiny, including Zapper's brother Zipper.
27	* GiantEyeOfDoom: The engine in Voodoo Choo Choo has an eye at the front. Zapping it will net you a few extra lives.
28	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: One of many ways that Zapper can die. It can be caused by anything from sword-wielding statues to saw blades to nail guns.
29	* HornetHole: The first unlockable level, Crazy Apiary, is a beehive with stationary bees as traffic hazards and flying bees that try to attack you. The level is timed, but taking the flying bees out extends the timer.
30	* InvincibleMinorMinion: A few enemies such as the miners in Rockface Chase and the vacuum robots in Cutting Edge Inc. won't even die to a super-zap. The cacti in Spook Ville are stunned by the super-zap, but will only die to the retractable spike hazards in the level. Unfortunately, they stay in specific areas and not all have spikes in them...
31	* IrisOut: Or a "reverse" iris-in, if you will, where a black rotating "Z" gradually fills the screen at the end of a level. A more traditional iris-out occurs in the ending cutscene.
32	* LawOfOneHundred: Almost every level has exactly 100 orbs to collect. Two of the unlockable levels, Zap Pest and Showdown, change this to 100 points obtained by taking out enemies.
33	* LethalLavaLand: There are three segments in Raptor Cavern where you have to jump across rivers of lava.
34	* LightAndMirrorsPuzzle: Laser Maze is, as its name suggests, a deadly version of this with lasers that slice Zapper in half if he tries to move through them. They need to be deflected by rotating the red mirrors in the area.
35	* LilyPadPlatform: Lily pads are the main type of stationary platform in White Knuckle Water.
36	* ALizardNamedLiz: The magpie antagonist is named Maggie, predictably.
37	* LocomotiveLevel: The eighth level is named Voodoo Choo Choo and takes place on a Halloween-themed train.
38	* LumberMillMayhem: Cutting Edge Inc. is set in a lumber mill with timber in various stages of being turned into boards serving as moving platforms. Hazards include saw blades and nail guns.
39	* MinusWorld: Downplayed. Pausing the game while it is transitioning out of the level can move the camera outside the playable area, giving you some pretty strange views while paused.
40	* OrangeBlueContrast: Can be seen on the main menu screens, with Zapper's largely yellow/orange body contrasting nicely with the dark blue background.
41	* PaletteSwap: A few.
42	** Blue orbs are worth one point, pink orbs are worth five, and yellow orbs must be collected in a certain order to unlock a secret area.
43	** Once their shells are removed, snails just look like yellow-green slugs. Also, slugs usually contain blue orbs while snails contain pink orbs.
44	** The red ant enemy that appears early in the game is joined by a yellow variant in the unlockable Zap Pest level.
45	* PickupHierarchy:
46	** '''Primary''': Magpie Eggs
47	** '''Secondary''': Yellow Orbs, Extra Lives
48	** '''Tertiary''': Regular Orbs, Coins in bonus levels
49	** '''Extra''': New Shields
50	* RailShooter: Crazy Apiary is one of these set in a beehive, where you use your super-zap to take out flying bees and extend the timer.
51	* ReformulatedGame: As was common for multi-platform releases at the time, the game had a version for GBA--developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment[[note]]yes, the same one that made the infamous ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' [=PS2=] game[[/note]]--that, for technical reasons, played differently from the other versions. Notably, it includes an adaptation of the scrapped oil rig world seen in pre-release builds of the console/PC game.
52	* ScreenTap: Zapper will do this on the title screen if you wait long enough.
53	* SpeakingSimlish: What little spoken dialogue there is consists of this.
54	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: Take a wild guess what Zapper's defining ability is.
55	* StrippedToTheBone: The result of walking into a steam cloud from one of the whistles in Voodoo Choo Choo. Oddly, zapping slugs and de-shelled snails also causes this to happen, with ribcages simply appearing within them at the moment of death.
56	* SuddenlyVoiced: Zapper himself became this in the US TV ads, in a voice that sounds nothing like how he does in the game.
57	* TauntButton: Console versions of the game have a dedicated "chirp" button, which serves no apparent purpose other than to remind the player that Zapper is a cricket.
58	* TechnicolorScience: The Laser Maze level has lots of tubes of bubbling green liquid scattered around.
59	* TempleOfDoom: Canopy Heights is an outdoor version of this, featuring crumbling pillars as platforms and trapped tiles that cause darts to be fired at you.
60	* TimedMission: The first three unlockable levels have timers that can be increased by zapping enemies.
61	* TitleIn: Every level displays its name for a few seconds upon entry, complete with a short animation.
62	* UndergroundLevel: Raptor Cavern is a cave containing dinosaur fossils and lava rivers.
63	* VagueAge: While Zipper appears to be an infant, what with his lack of limbs and all, Zapper's age in relation to him is somewhat ambiguous; he's ''probably'' a kid if his voice and bickering with Zipper in the opening cutscene is anything to go by.
64	* VariableMix: Most levels have a main musical theme and a more subdued version that's used in secret areas. A few levels like Cutting Edge Inc. also have tracks for different parts of the level, all of which change seamlessly to the next one as you move.
65	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can zap the helpful bugs who give you hints just to be a dick, however you cannot kill them (even by super-zapping them at close range) and they'll ''always'' [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment zap you back]] no matter how far away from them you are.
66	* WhiteGloves: Zapper sports what looks like these in-game, though curiously not on the cover artworks.
67	* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: Zapper and his brother Zipper are part of a civilization of bugs with arms and expressive, humanlike features. Several of these with varying designs appear throughout the levels to give you tips about various aspects of the game.
68	* YourHeadASplode: The pink globs in the Laser Maze level cause Zapper's head to explode upon contact.
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Context VideoGame / Zapper