ChuChu Rocket ROM

Also be sure to check out Kurukuru Kururin.

ChuChu Rocket! is an action puzzle game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. Released for the Dreamcast in 1999, it was the first game for the system to support online console gaming. Players must place arrows on a board to lead mice into escape rockets while avoiding cats. The game features single-player modes in which a player must save all the mice on a board, and a multiplayer mode in which players battle to collect the most mice.

Directed and produced by Yuji Naka, ChuChu Rocket! was developed in part to test the online functionality of the Dreamcast and Sega’s servers, and test the Dreamcast’s processing power by displaying many characters at once. The knowledge gained from the network portion of the project helped Sonic Team in their development of Phantasy Star Online (2000). ChuChu Rocket! topped the Japanese sales charts its first week on sale in November 1999.

When it arrived in the United States, Sega held an online tournament where players could battle against Sega and Sonic Team employees. In PAL regions, it was given free to subscribers of Sega’s online gaming service Dreamarena. ChuChu Rocket! is an action puzzle game. The basic rules of the game require the player to guide mice, dubbed “ChuChus”, into a rocket while evading them from dangerous cats, dubbed “KapuKapus”. A brief premise is provided in the instruction manual, explaining that ChuChus are living on a space port that is invaded by KapuKapus one day.

In their frantic state, the ChuChus begin running around in chaos, and so the player must guide them to their rockets to save them. Both ChuChus and KapuKapus run in a straight line, and turn right when they hit walls. A player can place up, down, left, and right arrows on the field of play, redirecting characters that step on them. Up to three arrows can be placed by a player at any time; placing a fourth arrow will make the player’s oldest arrow vanish, and all arrows fade away over time. If a KapuKapu hits an arrow twice, the arrow disappears.