Circus Charlie is a 1984 side-scrolling action game developed and published by Konami, originally released in arcades before being ported to the Famicom and NES. You play as Charlie, a circus performer working through six distinct acts — each a different discipline: riding a lion through flaming hoops, tightrope-walking, bouncing on rolling balls, hurdling over horses, crossing a high wire, and swinging on a trapeze.
How to play
Each act scrolls from left to right. Your goal is to reach the end while jumping over or avoiding the hazards specific to that act. Collecting coins along the way earns bonus points. After all six acts, the game loops with increased speed — the patterns stay the same, only harder and faster.
Controls
| ←→ | Move Charlie left / right |
| X (A button) | Jump |
| Z (B button) | Secondary action |
| Enter | Start / pause |
| Shift | Select |
Tips
- In the lion act, aim for the centre of each fire hoop — clipping the edge costs a life even if you clear the hoop.
- Coins are scattered through every act. Memorise routes that collect them without breaking your jump timing — they add up fast across multiple loops.
- Hazard patterns never change between loops, only the speed. Use your first loop to learn the timing; that knowledge carries directly into every subsequent one.
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