Baku Baku Animal

Short description: 1995 video game

"Baku Baku" redirects here. For the song, see Baku Baku (song).

Template:Game guide

Baku Baku Animal

North American Windows box art

Developer(s)| Sega
Publisher(s)| Sega
Platform(s)| Arcade, Sega Saturn, Game Gear, Windows, Master System, mobile phone
Release|

April 1995

* Arcade

* JP: April 1995[1]

Saturn

* JP: November 10, 1995[3]
* PAL: May 1996[2]
* NA: June 19, 1996[4]

Game Gear

* JP: January 26, 1996[6]
* EU: July 1996[5]
* NA: 1996

Windows

* JP: August 2, 1996[8]
* NA: September 5, 1996[7]

Master System

* BR: 1998

Mobile

* JP: February 13, 2002[9]

Genre(s)| Puzzle
Mode(s)| Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system| Sega Titan Video (ST-V)[10]

Baku Baku,[11] released in Japan as Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. is a 1995 puzzle video game developed and published by Sega for Japanese arcades. It was later ported to the Sega Saturn, Game Gear, and Microsoft Windows, with the latter version being Sega's first network-compatible PC game.[12] A Sega NetLink-compatible version of the game was also announced,[13] but never released. The Japanese onomatopoeia "Baku Baku" roughly translates to "Chomp chomp".[14]

## Contents

* 1 Plot
* 2 Gameplay
* 3 Reception
* 4 Other media
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 7 External links
* 8 Features
* 9 History
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links

## Plot

The King is hosting a competition to hire a royal zoo keeper for his daughter's numerous pets. The main character, Polly, must fight her way through other applicants to earn the position. Each opponent has an intro dialogue with different responses based on if the player wins or loses.

> Bug: "How lucky, my opponent is only a little girl!" Polly: "Hmph! How rude! I'll show you who's the weak one!"

> --Sega, Baku Baku Animal

## Gameplay

Arcade screenshot

Baku Baku Animal is a falling block puzzle game in which the player lines up falling animal and food tiles. When an animal is adjacently aligned to a tile of its favored food (e.g. monkey and banana), the animal eats the food. The number of connected food tiles eaten in one bite from an animal tile determines the point amount; more connected tiles means more points for the player. When animals eat food tiles, they also make random blocks fall in the opponent's area, right after the opponent's currently falling blocks. The object of the game is to make one's opponent unable to place more blocks.

## Reception

Reception

| Review scores

Publication| Score
EGM| 7.375/10 (Game Gear)[15]
GameSpot| 7.8/10 (Saturn)[16]
IGN| 8/10 (mobile phone)[11]
Maximum| 4/5 (Saturn)[17]
Next Generation| 4/5 (Saturn)[18]
Sega Saturn Magazine| 90% (Saturn)[19]

In Japan, Game Machine listed Baku Baku Animal as the eleventh most successful arcade game of May 1995.[21]

The Saturn version was met with critical acclaim upon release, with Maximum calling it "the best 'next generation' puzzle game we've seen to date".[17] Sega Saturn Magazine said the game had "some of the most addictive puzzle play since Tetris",[19] and GameSpot called it "a must own" for "Saturn owners who have even a remote interest in puzzle games."[16] GamePro called it "undeniably the best puzzle game in the world so far."[14] Critics lauded the addictive gameplay, especially in two-player competitive mode,[16][17][18][19][14][20] but the cute graphics and sounds were met with general approval as well.[16][17][19]

Reviewing the Game Gear version, the four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that the gameplay concept of Baku Baku Animal is simple and accessible, yet has enough strategic possibilities to engage even veteran players. Andrew Baran summarized it as "non-threatening fun anyone can enjoy".[15]

Baku Baku won Computer Gaming World's 1996 "Classic/Puzzle Game of the Year" award. The editors wrote, "The beauty of this game [...] lies in its ability to suck you in and keep you coming back for more and more. If you haven't already tried it, beware: Baku Baku will eat up your time."[22] It was a finalist for the Computer Game Developers Conference's 1996 "Best Trivia or Puzzle Game" Spotlight Award,[23] but lost the prize to You Don't Know Jack XL.[24] Electronic Gaming Monthly named the Game Gear version a runner-up for "Hand-Held Game of the Year" and the Saturn version a runner-up for "Puzzle Game of the Year" (beaten in both cases by Tetris Attack).[25]

Baku Baku Animal was named the 72nd best computer game ever by PC Gamer in 1997.[26]

## Other media

Baku Baku Animal's predecessor Tetris (1989) on Game Boy

A white label 12-inch EP consisting entirely of dance tracks using sound effects from Baku Baku Animal, recorded by The Dream Team and Timebase for the Suburban Base label, was circulated to disc jockeys in 1996.[27]

Additional evidence for the popularity of Baku Baku Animal is its use as an example of a falling-block puzzle game (a sub-genre of the tile-matching video game). A 1997 The Psychologist article about video game violence used it to describe puzzle games along with Tetris.[20] In a 2007 article titled Swap Adjacent Gems to Make Sets of Three: A History of Matching Tile Games (Figure 3), its legacy is noted within the history of tile-matching video games. Author Jesper Juul states Baku Baku Animal's gameplay rule ("special objects to match") distinguishes it from previous titles.[28]

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo was compared to Baku Baku Animal in Sega Saturn Magazine: "The bottom line is that Super Puzzle Fighter II X is a brain-rending game of skill and cunning, which is effectively a remake of Baku Baku Animal, albeit one with some of the best presentation ever seen in the hotly contested field of Sega Saturn puzzle games."[29]

## Notes

## References

1. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編 (1971–2005). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 134. ISBN 978-4990251215. https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n135/mode/2up.
2. ↑ "Checkpoint". Computer and Video Games (EMAP) (175): 61. June 1996. https://archive.org/details/Computer_and_Video_Games_Issue_175_1996-06_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n59/mode/2up.
3. ↑ "Software List (Released by Sega)" (in ja). Sega. https://sega.jp/history/hard/segasaturn/software.html.
4. ↑ "Baku Baku". http://sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/baku.htm.
5. ↑ "The Release Schedule". Computer Trade Weekly (Opportunity Publishing Ltd) (596): p. 17. 15 July 1996.
6. ↑ "Software List (Released by Sega)" (in ja). Sega. https://sega.jp/history/hard/gamegear/software.html.
7. ↑ "Press release: 1996-08-26: Sega Entertainment kicks off fall line-up with free PC games promotions". August 26, 1996. https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_1996-08-26:_Sega_Entertainment_kicks_off_fall_line-up_with_free_PC_games_promotions.
8. ↑ "ばくばくアニマル" (in ja). http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/athome/pc/baku/baku.htm.
9. ↑ "ゲーム" (in ja). http://sega.jp/game/.
10. ↑ Leadbetter, Rich (March 1997). "Rage Hard!". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (17): 46–49.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Buchanan, Levi (2003-04-28). "Baku Baku: Who would have thought being a fricking zoo keeper would be so addictive?". IGN. http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/04/28/baku-baku. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
12. ↑ "Sega Entertainment Unveils its First Network-Compatible PC game". Sega. 1997-03-27. http://www.sega.com/segapc/news/releases/networkgames.html. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
13. ↑ "Sega and Sony Prepare for Nintendo 64". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (20): 16–17. August 1996.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "ProReview: Baku Baku Animal". GamePro (IDG) (93): 64. June 1996.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Review Crew: Baku Baku Animal". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (83): 28. June 1996.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Gerstmann, Jeff (December 1, 1996). "Baku Baku Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/baku-baku-review/1900-2533803/. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 "Maximum Reviews: Baku Baku Animal". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (Emap International Limited) (4): 139. 1996.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Every Sega Saturn Game Played, Reviewed, and Rated". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (25): 63. January 1997.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Hickman, Sam (March 1996). "Review: Baku Baku Animal". Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap International Limited) (5): 74–75.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Carter, Chip; Carter, Jonathan (1996-11-26). "Tetris fans find new twists, turns in updated version of game". Rome News Tribune: pp. 15. https://books.google.com/books?id=Hps0AAAAIBAJ&lpg=PA15&dq=Baku Baku Animal&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false.
21. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (496): 25. 1 June 1995.
22. ↑ Staff (May 1997). "The Computer Gaming World 1997 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (154): 68–70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80.
23. ↑ Staff (April 15, 1997). "And the Nominees Are...". Next Generation. http://www.next-generation.com:80/news/041597e.chtml.
24. ↑ "Spotlight Awards Winners Announced for Best Computer Games of 1996" (Press release). Santa Clara, California: Game Developers Conference. April 28, 1997. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011.
25. ↑ "The Best of '96". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (92): 86, 88. March 1997.
26. ↑ Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). "The PC Gamer Top 100". PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.
27. ↑ "The Future Sound of Game Music". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (24): 88. December 1996.
28. ↑ Juul, Jesper (2007-03-08), "Swap Adjacent Gems to Make Sets of Three: A History of Matching Tile Games" (in en-US) (PDF), Artifact: Emerging Form (Copenhagen, Denmark: IT University of Copenhagen) 1 (4): pp. 205-217, doi:10.1080/17493460601173366, ISSN 1749-3463, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/artifact/article/view/3904/3599
29. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard, ed. (February 1997), "Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo", Sega Saturn Magazine (Emap) (16): p. 21, ISSN 1360-9424, OCLC 1065262533

## External links

* MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

## Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

## History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## See also

* IGDB - game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/.
2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/.
3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1.
4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521.
8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media.
9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned.
10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner.
11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames.
12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games.
13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/.
14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/.
15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/.
16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/.
17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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