Numan Athletics

Numan Athletics
Title screen snapshot (from the two-player version).
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Composer(s)	Nobuyoshi Sano
Platform(s)	Arcade, Virtual Console
Release	Arcade JP: September 1993 Virtual Console JP: April 28, 2009
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Up to 4 players (simultaneously for Turbo Dash, Numan Sniper and Nonstop Rock Chop, alternating for Interceptor, Missile Toss, Vs. Express, Tower Topper and Niagara Jumps)
Arcade system	Namco NA-2

Numan Athletics (ニューマンアスレチックス, Nyūman Asurechikkusu) is a sports arcade game, released by Namco in 1993; it runs upon the company's NA-2 hardware, and has eight unusual (and unbelievable) competitions. These competitions are to test the strength and might of four mutant athletes called "Numans" (Sharon Les Halles, Harry Boffin, Masaemon Nakamura, and Bongo Tembo) - and up to four people can play simultaneously (or, depending upon the event, alternately). The game later went on to spawn a sequel, Mach Breakers: Numan Athletics 2, in 1994; it featured seven brand-new (and selectable) Numans. The other games that ran on NA-2 hardware were Knuckle Heads (1992), Nettō! Gekitō! Quiz-tō!! (also 1993), and Ren'ai Jumyō + Nikutai Jumyō X-Day 2 (which was released after this one, in 1995) - and the latter is also a sequel to Yomei Kensaku Sābisu X-Day, which was released later in 1993.

Characters

The four playable characters in this game are as follows (in 2P cabinets, they are selectable and not assigned by start button presses):

Character Name	Nationality	Gender
Sharon L'Alles	French	Female
Harry Boffin	American	Male
Masaemon Nakamura	Japanese	Male
Bongo Tembo	Kenyan	Male

Events

Each of the eight events takes place in a different country, and the Numans' journey is charted by a Knuckle Heads-style compere (along with his two "bunny girls", who come up from the bottom of the screen when a Numan succeeds in some, but not all, of the events):

• Turbo Dash: Set in the United States (Harry's home country), this event is like the 100-Metre Dash from Konami's Hyper Olympic; the player must use the first and third buttons to make their Numan start running, and try to beat the other player's. If a player gets the best time (or distance) in any event, it shall be a "world record", after which the player is prompted to input their initials.
• Interceptor: Set in Russia, this event is like the Firing Ranges from Konami's Combat School; a player must use the first and third buttons to make his or her Numan walk left and right and the second one to fire at bullets launched by a distant boat. If a bullet hits the ground, it shall explode and blow the Numan into the water, thus automatically failing the event. If a bullet hits a Numan, it blows all their clothes off (which is more embarrassing for Sharon) - and they will again automatically fail the event.
• Missile Toss: Set in Kenya (Bongo's home country), the player must use the first and third buttons to make their Numan start running, then press and hold the second button once he or she reaches the red line (if he or she goes over it, it shall invalidate the attempt); this event can be extremely difficult for players who do not know exactly when to stop and which angle to throw a missile.
• Numan Sniper: Set in Antarctica, the players must use all three of their buttons to fire at monsters on the left side, in the centre of, and on the right side of the screen; this event is similar to Interceptor (only with up to every Numan simultaneously).
• Vs. Express: Set in Japan (Masaemon's home country), the player must press the second button when a red light in the top-right corner of the screen and a Shinkansen comes into view from the right side of it, then alternate pressing the first and third ones to build up his or her Numan's power meter, then push it back off the right side of the screen again. If the player cannot press the second button before the Shinkansen hits their Numan, the Shinkansen's impact will send them flying, therefore automatically failing the event.
• Tower Topper: Set in France (Sharon's home country), the player must use the second button, to make their Numan jump from one building to the other before a flame under them disappears; if it does, the Numan falls to the ground and automatically fails the event.
• Nonstop Rock Chop: Set in Australia, the players must use the first and third buttons to build up their Numans' power meters, then press the second one to make them punch into the rocks and destroy them. If a Numan's power meter is not completely filled when the second button is pressed, their hand shall get jammed in their current rock.
• Niagara Jumps: Set in Zambia, the player must use the first and third buttons to make his their Numan start running to the right, then press the second one to jump "onto" the Falls and press it twice more to cross them; the Numans also still have to cross the blue line on the other side of the Falls, and if a player times a jump wrongly, their Numan will splash into the Falls and drown. After this event, the Numans' results will be tabulated - and any of them who did not make it to the end will be described as "retired", while the one who came first will become the subject of the game's ending sequence: there are four ending sequences, one for each Numan.

External links

• Numan Athletics at the Killer List of Videogames
• Numan Athletics at the Arcade History database
• Sonny Jim's Numan Athletics Home Page
• System 16 - Namco NA-2 Hardware (Namco)