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Pepsi Man Game

PepsimanDeveloper(s)KIDPublisher(s)KIDProducer(s)Hisayoshi Ichikawa(1)Designer(s)

Nobuaki Umeda(1)

Nozomi Takeguchi(1)

Keisuke Itou(1)

Programmer(s)Artist(s)Kotaro UchikoshiPlatform(s)PlayStationRelease

JP: March 4, 1999

Genre(s)ActionMode(s)Single-player

Pepsiman(a) is an action game developed and published by KID for the PlayStation. It was released in Japan on March 4, 1999, and is based on the American carbonated soft drink Pepsi's eponymous superhero mascot. It focuses the player on avoiding obstacles by running, dashing, and jumping, while Pepsiman automatically runs forward through each of the game's stages.

The game was made with a low budget, prompting the decision to make videos in-between stages that show a man drinking Pepsi, as they were cheap to produce. The game also features 3D cutscenes, for which the future visual novel writer Kotaro Uchikoshi created 3D models. While an American publisher did look into acquiring the rights to publish the game in the United States, it remained a Japan-exclusive game.

See full list on superheroes.fandom.com. Pepsi Man The Best Game. In This Game Your Mission Is abstaining from Cars And Other Boxes. It Is An Interesting And Difficult Game. I Hope You Will Like This Game Very Much.

Reviewers frequently compared the game to other games, including Crash Bandicoot, and commented on its simplicity and its price, which was thought to be low. A writer for Complex included it on a list of company-branded games that 'didn't suck', commenting that it is not a bad game as long as the player can tolerate the large amount of advertisement in it. According to Uchikoshi, the game did not sell well.

Gameplay(edit)

Gameplay of Pepsiman. Here, he is jumping on an intersection in an attempt to avoid a moving car.

Pepsiman is an action game(2) that consists of four stages, each divided into smaller segments,(3) and each involving the superhero Pepsiman saving a person who is dehydrated, such as a military man in the middle of a desert, by giving him a can of Pepsi.(4) The first three stages are based on real locations, San Francisco, New York City and Texas. The last one takes place in Pepsi City.(5) The game is played from a third-person perspective, with Pepsiman automatically running forward through the stages,(4) sometimes running through people's living rooms.(3) The player takes control of Pepsiman himself, aiming to dodge obstacles, such as cars, construction cranes, and people,(4) as well as Pepsi-branded obstacles, including a Pepsi truck.(6) The player does this by using four different moves: running, dashing, jumping, and super-jumping.(3) The player gains points by collecting Pepsi cans.(6)

In some stages, Pepsiman's head becomes stuck inside a steel drum, which inverts the controls, and in some, he rides on a skateboard. Throughout each stage is a number of checkpoints; if Pepsiman gets hit by obstacles too many times, the player is required to restart from the latest checkpoint. Each stage ends with Pepsiman being chased by an object,(4) including a giant Pepsi can.(6) In between stages, the player is shown videos of an American man (played by Mike Butters) drinking Pepsi and eating chips and pizza as he watches Pepsiman.(4)

Background and development(edit)

Pepsiman is based on Pepsi's mascot of the same name, which was created for Pepsi's Japanese branch.(4) The character, whose fictional backstory says he used to be a scientist who transformed into a superhero after coming into contact with 'Holy Pepsi',(7) was featured in Japanese Pepsi commercials(4) and in the Japanese version of the video game Fighting Vipers; he became popular in Japan,(8) spawning related characters such as Lemon Pepsiman and Pepsiwoman,(7) and Pepsi decided to promote the character with a video game.(4)

The game was developed by the Japanese video game developer KID. It was made on a low budget, which led to the decision to make the low-cost video scenes of actor Mike Butters drinking Pepsi.(9)(10) The game also uses 3D event scenes, which were modeled by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who would later be a scenario writer for visual novels at KID. This was Uchikoshi's first job; he had been hired to plan video game adaptations of board games, but ended up being part of the development of Pepsiman instead, which was already in progress when he joined KID in 1998.(9) The game was released in Japan by KID for the PlayStation on March 4, 1999;(2) while an American publisher was looking into acquiring the rights to publish the game in the United States,(8) it remained Japan-exclusive. Despite this, the game is entirely in English, not Japanese.(4) According to Uchikoshi, the game did not sell well.(9)

In 2019, the game was featured in an episode of James Rolfe's comedy web seriesAngry Video Game Nerd, with an appearance of Butters.(11) The soundtrack for the game received a vinyl release in 2020 by the European label Chipped Records.(12)

Reception(edit)

Review scoresPublicationScoreFamitsu25/40(2)GameFan90/100(13)Joypad2/10(14)Gamers' RepublicB-(15)Planet Playstation88/100(16)

Writers for Famitsu called the game 'super-simple', comparing it to Metro-Cross and Paperboy, and calling it a simplified version of Crash Bandicoot.(2) Others have made similar comments. A reviewer for IGN also compared it to Crash Bandicoot, described the gameplay as 'simplistic (and) route memorization-based', and said that the thing the game would be remembered for was its 'extremely bizarre premise'. They still felt that the game was not bad, and that it was worth the price, which they noted was low.(3) James Mielke at GameSpot called the game a 'nifty little distraction', and said that the gameplay was similar to the 'old-school gaming dynamics of yesteryear'. He commented on the low price, but said that it was difficult to find imports of it.(8)Gamers' Republic magazine rated the game a B-.(15)Gamers' Republic later listed the game in their 1999Video Game Buyers Guide and Y2K Preview as one of the best games to import from Japan that year.(17)

In 2011, Allistair Pinsof at Destructoid reviewed the game, calling it a mix between Paperboy and Muscle March in terms of the complexity and pace, and compared the gameplay to Crash Bandicoot. He found it to be 'such a gloriously twisted, charming spectacle' that it would be difficult not to like it; he said that the main reason to play the game is 'the sheer lunacy' of it, saying that the game is 'obsessed' with America, and portrays Americans as 'unhygienic hillbillies' in a manner that makes it unclear if it is a self-aware parody or not. He concluded that the game is funny, but not great, and that the ridiculous premise and its large amount of small details make the game 'charmingly brain-dead'.(4) In 2013, Justin Amirkhani at Complex included the game in a list of company-branded video games that 'didn't suck', saying that while the game's graphics had not aged well, it was mechanically very similar to Temple Run, which Amirkhani called his favorite iOS game. He concluded that Pepsiman is not a bad game for people with quick reflexes, as long as they can stand the high amount of advertising within the game; he claimed that Pepsiman was the advergame with the largest amount of 'logos-per-second'.(6)

In 2015, Retro Gamer magazine listed it as number 18 on their list of 'The 20 Greatest PlayStation Games You've Never Played'.(18)

Notes(edit)

References(edit)

^ abcdefKID (1999). Pepsiman (PlayStation). Scene: Credits.

^ abcd'ペプシマンまとめ (PS)'. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on 2015-11-29. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

^ abcd'Pepsiman: PlayStation's Strangest Moment?'. IGN. Ziff Davis. 1999-03-09. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

^ abcdefghijPinsof, Allistair (2011-03-11). 'It Came from Japan! Pepsiman'. Destructoid. Modern Method. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

^Nakamoto, Shinsuke (July 1999). 'PS版ペプシマン'. colawp.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2019-05-11.

^ abcdAmirkhani, Justin (2013-06-02). 'Pepsiman - 10 Company Branded Video Games That Didn't Suck'. Complex. Complex Media. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

^ abHalls, Kiara (2020-03-01). 'No Corporate Mascot Will EVER Be as Bizarre as Pepsiman'. Comic Book Resources. Valnet, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-14.

^ abcMielke, James (1999-04-15). 'Hands On: Pepsiman'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

^ abcSzczepaniak, John (2014-08-11). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. 1. SMG Szczepaniak. pp. 298–313. ISBN978-0-9929260-0-7.

^Foster, Neil (2015-08-31). 'Pepsiman'. Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2016-12-30.

^'『ペプシマン』に怒れるゲームオタクが鉄槌をくだす！「AVGN」最新エピソードはペプシを届ける奇妙で懐かしのヒーローによるアクションゲーム'. Denfaminico Gamer (in Japanese). Mare, Inc. 2019-05-09. Archived from the original on 2020-01-05. Retrieved 2021-01-14.

^'「ペプシマン」のアナログレコードが発売。ペプシコーラのCMキャラクターを起用した1999年のPlayStation用ソフトがまさかのサントラ化'. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas, Inc. 2020-10-19. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2020-10-19.

^Rodriguez, Tyrone (November 1999). 'PepsiMan - Hurry, PepsiMan, there's a world of thirsty people out there!'. GameFan. Vol. 7 no. 11. Shinno Media. p. 86.

^Martinez, Humberto (September 1995). 'Zoom: Pepsiman'. Joypad (in French). No. 85. Yellow Media. p. 126.

^ abHalverson, Dave (June 1999). 'World Republic Review: Pepsiman'. Gamers' Republic. No. 13. Millennium Publishing. p. 85.

^'Pepsiman'. Planet Playstation (in Italian). February 2000. p. 92. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

^'Best of Imports '99'. Millennium Presents: 1999 Video Game Buyers Guide and Y2K Preview. Millennium Publications. 1999. p. 118.

^'Top 20 Greatest PlayStation Games You've Never Played'. Retro Gamer. No. 137. January 2015. p. 37.

External links(edit)

Pepsiman at MobyGames

Pepsiman can be played for free in the browser on the Internet Archive

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pepsiman_(video_game)&oldid=1036836239'

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/Pepsiman

Go To

P-P-P-P-PEPSI-MAAAAAN!

'There isn't enough Pepsi for everyone, and violence has flared up amongst those wanting Pepsi! Exhausted people are collapsing because they can't refresh themselves with Pepsi! If it continues like this, there will be a worldwide shortage of Pepsi, and we'll have a real problem!'

Pepsiman is a 1999 Licensed Game for the PlayStation developed by KID, based on a series of Japanese TV commercials featuring Pepsi's Product as Superhero mascot, Pepsiman.

See All Results For This Question

The player controls Pepsiman, who runs and jumps through four 3D stages on urgent missions to deliver Pepsi to thirsty American citizens. In between stages, Mike Butters sits at home guzzling Pepsi and saying wacky slogans (in English with Japanese subtitles).

Pepsi Man Game Ps4

Pepsiman previously appeared as a Secret Character in the Japanese Sega Saturn version of Fighting Vipers. The surprising resemblance between this game and the first stage of Sonic Adventure 2 is probably coincidental.

Reviewed by the Angry Video Game Nerdhere.

This game contains Pepsi and examples of the following tropes:

Pepsi Man Game For Sale

1-Up: Collecting 20 Pepsi cans gives an extra life at the of the level (so all 100 in a level gives 5 lives), though on Expert Mode you only get an extra life for each 25 cans.

And Your Reward Is Clothes: Pepsiman's previous design is an unlockable and you can unlock a wire-frame version of Pepsiman if you collect every Pepsi can in every level. Beat the game on Expert difficulty and you can make Pepsiman straight up turn invisible.

Bathos: This game does not take itself seriously at all. Between the increasingly absurd situations that require Pepsi, the slapstick situations Pepsiman can be in (such as having a trash bin over his head for part of a level), the live-action cutscenes with intentionally broken English, and other things, the game goes for a more comical approach of its mascot-based nature.

Beggar with a Signboard: The sidewalk beggars are holding up 'Give Me PEPSI' signs.

The Blank: Pepsiman lacks a face. He's still able to scream at times despite having no mouth.

Bookends: The first and last 'Boss' is the giant Pepsi can.

Bottomless Pits: The stages have bottomless pits all over the place, including on city streets.

Chase-Scene Obstacle Course: Act 3 of each level involves Pepsiman being chased by something and Pepsiman has to navigate through obstacles to survive.

Checkpoint: All but the running-towards-the-camera scenes have spinning checkpoints. Each one sets the timer to a certain value when you die and restart from there.

Company Cross References: The man in the cutscenes can be seen eating a bag of Lays potato chips, which are made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo.

The Determinator: Aside from stopping briefly for a Pepsi, or unless you run out of time or lives, pretty much nothing would stop Pepsiman from doing his duty.

Does This Remind You of Anything?: Subverted with a red truck mercilessly chasing after Pepsiman in one of the stages, which looks suspiciously like Coca-Cola's... until its logo spells out 'Cave Pizza' for The Reveal.

Eagleland: The gameplay depicts the beautiful Eagleland which Pepsiman augments, while the FMVs have the stereotypical boorish Eaglelander depicted as fat and gruffy.

Edible Collectible: Pepsiman collects Pepsi cans he runs into along the way.

Endless Running Game: Likely the Ur-Example, as it existed long before the genre exploded on smartphones.

Engrish: Between each stage you are treated to a slogan in broken English. Unusual in that it's an American saying them.

'Pepsi for TV Game' 'Pepsi for Pizza' 'Pepsi: Only My Choice' etc.

Everything Trying to Kill You: Including countless objects related to the very brand you're working for.

Funny Foreigner: The reason why Mike Butters was selected to play the Pepsi fan. In Butters's own words, he was trying to invoke Hank Hill.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: The ending of the second part of Stage 2 has Pepsiman Roofhopping across a series of New York buildings, but the final building has a noticeably larger jump to make. Don't bother jumping and you fall down and lose a life. Press the jump button and Pepsiman... gets halfway across the gap and fails the jump anyway, although this still counts as clearing the level.

Inconveniently Placed Conveyor Belt: The first part of the Pepsi Factory area is entirely running along conveyor belts that run in either or neither direction while dodging things sliding along or falling onto them, as well as avoiding the inexplicably placed Bottomless Pits.

Indy Escape: Every stage ends with Pepsiman running towards the camera away from some unstoppable object, including giant Pepsi cans and the 'Cave Pizza' truck (whose logo looks suspiciously like Coca-Cola's) that chases him in one of the commercials.

Interface Screw: The sequences where Pepsiman gets a garbage can stuck on his head, which inverts the player's right and left controls.

Iron Butt Monkey: Pepsiman will always get through hilarious harm from which not even playing perfectly will save him. It's still hilarious as Pepsiman takes it all like nothing, except for a few grunts.

Just Train Wrong: Despite being set in America, the trains in the subway stage are clearly based on Japanese models, and run on the 1,067mm narrow gauge track commonly used in Japan.

The San Francisco cable cars are an exception, using the same 1,067mm track gauge as the Japanese railways, yet Pepsi-Man's rendition of the line◊ features horrendously crooked standard-gauge track.

Level Goal: Scene I of every stage ends at a Pepsi vending machine, and Scene II ends in front of a large thirsty crowd.

Life Meter: The size of the Pepsi symbol near the number of cans collected indicates how many more hits Pepsiman can take.

Mercy Invincibility: The usual flashing invincibility from colliding with anything without dying.

Nintendo Hard: The game's difficulty skyrockets as it goes on. Instant kill hazards become more frequent and good twitch reflexes are increasingly more required.

Potty Emergency: The Stinger shows our Pepsi-chugging TV watcher finally getting up off his chair, grabbing his crotch, and running off to the bathroom. And with good reason, as the camera has also zoomed out to show exactly how much Pepsi he drank while he was watching you play through the game. Every surface in his living room is completely covered in empty cans.

Product Placement: Of course, but unlike other video games with product placement this game takes it to a ridiculous extreme; while most of the levels have a generous amount of Pepsi logos in them, such as in the form of trucks & boxes, the last few levels take place in 'Pepsi City', where EVERYTHING has the Pepsi logo on it!

Rake Take: Except with shovels.

Roofhopping: Pepsiman hops across roofs in the second stage, though Gameplay and Story Segregation forces him to miss the final jump. Note the player must actually try to jump to complete the stage.

Serial Escalation: The situations that require Pepsiman grows from refilling a vending machine to helping people on a burning building to helping people who were left stranded in the desert to stopping a computer problem that threatens to cause mass-rioting.

Serious Business: Pepsi is considered very important in this world, down to having its own city. People drink the stuff enough to cause shortages of it, and then threaten to riot when they can't get it anymore.

Sigil Spam: Pepsi is everywhere. Pepsi for Everything. Exaggerated in the final level, which is literally Pepsi City.

Title Scream: Memorably, shouts of 'PEPSIMAN!' can be found in abundance throughout the soundtrack.

Under the Truck: Pepsiman can safely slide underneath a truck due to athleticism and the material of his amazing suit.

Video Game Dashing: The player can dash to run faster, plow through light obstacles and jump over the larger Bottomless Pits, with a 'whoosh' sound effect.

Video Game Sliding: Pepsiman can glide under obstacles, break through (some) walls and objects, and knock other NPCs out of the way with a powerful slide maneuver.

AVGN Pepsiman rant

AVGN gives alliteration when he describes how much he hates the Pepsiman game.

Example of: Added Alliterative Appeal

Index

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