Taito's colourful animal-themed "action game" Plump Pop is making the journey to modern consoles (Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S) later this week (Thursday, March 5th), as part of Arcade Archives and Arcade Archives 2.
Originally released in the arcades back in 1987, the game is similar in style to Atari's groundbreaking 1976 brick-breaker Breakout and Exidy's 1977 arcade classic Circus.
Players take control of a family of animals (either dogs, cats, or pigs, depending on your preference), with the goal being to bounce a small child into a bunch of floating objects and enemies above (using a trampoline or your head). As with Breakout and Circus, the idea is to keep the character airborne for as long as possible and avoid letting them reach the bottom of the screen, but there are also some additional twists.
Certain objects, for instance, will drop different types of fruit that you can collect for bonus points, while others will also spawn dumbbells that, should they fall on the player, will stop them in their tracks.
There are 10 rounds to play through in total, each comprised of four levels, with the third stage being a bonus level where you'll have to collect as many fruits as possible, and the fourth containing a large boss that you'll have to go up against. A two-player mode is also available.
The Arcade Archives version of the game (for PS4 & Switch) will cost $7.99 and include the typical bonuses: additional modes, CRT Filters, and online leaderboards. The Arcade Archives 2 version (PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S), meanwhile, will cost $9.99 and will add VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support and a bonus TIME ATTACK MODE.
Besides this release, the game has been reissued a few times in the past, being included as part of the Japan-exclusive PS2 title Taito Memories II Volume 2, the Western compilation Taito Legends, and Egret II Mini Paddle & Trackball Game Expansion Set for the Egret Mini II.