Manhole (Game & Watch)
Manhole is a Game & Watch game that was originally released as part of the Gold series on January 29, 1981, and was reissued as part of the New Wide Screen series on August 24, 1983; the latter type had been ported as a minigame in Game & Watch Gallery and Game & Watch Gallery 4. Manhole is one of Game & Watch Gallery's Gallery Corner games.
The WarioWare series has referenced Manhole a few times. In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, there is a microgame similar to Manhole called Bridge Work, which appears in Orbulon's stage. In WarioWare Gold, a microgame based on Manhole called Game & Watch: Manhole appears as one of 5-Volt's microgames, and there is also a full length minigame with the same name.
Gameplay
Classic version
The main character has to stop pedestrians from falling into holes that lead to the sewers below. To do this, he uses a manhole cover, which fills in the holes long enough for the people to pass. The player earns a point for every pedestrian who travels across a manhole cover. As the game progresses, the pedestrians move faster. More of them appear in Game B. If a pedestrian falls into the water, the player gets a miss. If the player reaches 300 points without any misses, the points are worth double until the player does get a miss. If the player has any misses at said score, every miss is cleared instead. When the player gets three misses, they receive a Game Over.
Modern version
Manhole was remade with an updated "Modern" version for Game & Watch Gallery. Toad, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario are the pedestrians in this version, walking at different speeds, while Yoshi is the character the player controls. In this version, four manhole covers can stay up at once, unlike in the original. The manhole covers can drop from characters stepping on them, causing the next pedestrian to fall if Yoshi does not act quickly. Yoshi can also hold a manhole cover in place to keep it from falling. He holds up the upper manhole covers with his head and the lower ones with his tongue. At 200, 500, and 700 points, a Chubby comes out of the ground and throws a heart for Yoshi to catch to remove a miss. This version also features music, with the tempo changing depending on the speed of the game.
Controls
Game & Watch Gallery
: Move
: Diagonal
Game & Watch Gallery 4
: Move
and 
: Diagonal
Gallery
Classic version
Manhole as it appears in Game & Watch Gallery 4
Modern version
Manhole cover
External links
- Info page for the original Manhole on In the Attic, a website dedicated to classic videogames (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine)
- In the Attic info page for a second version of Manhole, released on the Wide Screen Game & Watch system in 1983 (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine)
| Game & Watch Gallery series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Games | Game & Watch Gallery (1997, GB) • Game & Watch Gallery 2 (1997, GB) • Game & Watch Gallery 3 (1999, GBC) • Game & Watch Gallery 4 (2002, GBA) | |
| Super Mario minigames | Donkey Kong2,4 • Donkey Kong Jr.3,4 • Donkey Kong II3 • Donkey Kong 34 • Mario Bros.3,4 • Mario's Bombs Away4 • Mario's Cement Factory4 | |
| Minigames remade with Super Mario content |
Ball2 • Boxing4 • Chef2,4 • Egg3 • Fire1,4 • Fire Attack4 • Greenhouse3 • Helmet2 • Manhole1 • Octopus1,4 • Oil Panic1 • Parachute2 • Rain Shower4 • Turtle Bridge3 • Vermin2 | |
| Gallery Corner | Message Board • Museum • Music Room | |
| Further info | Gallery (2 · 4) • Pre-release and unused content (4) • Staff (2 · 3 · 4) | |
| Related game | Game & Watch Collection | |
