Buggy Popper (Japan) is an overhead vehicular combat racing game released for the NES in 1986. Also known in Western regions as Bump ‘n’ Jump, this fast-paced arcade port puts you behind the wheel of an agile buggy speeding down treacherous, hazard-filled highways. The core gameplay loop focuses on high-speed survival, requiring you to aggressively shunt rival vehicles into the scenery while maintaining enough momentum to clear massive gaps in the road.
How to play
Your objective is to reach the end of each season’s course without running out of fuel or crashing your vehicle. Use the Arrow Keys to steer, accelerate, and brake, and press the Z key (A button) to jump over missing sections of the road and water hazards.
Tips
- Pay close attention to the exclamation mark (!) warning that appears on the side of the screen; it indicates a large gap is approaching. You must be travelling at a high speed (over 100 mph) to clear these jumps successfully.
- Learn the behaviors of the different enemy cars. Heavy vehicles like dump trucks and tractors cannot be easily bumped aside, while others may try to sideswipe you or drop debris in your path.
- If you manage to reach the end of a level without destroying a single enemy vehicle, you will earn a massive 50,000-point pacifist bonus.
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