Anticipation (NES)

Anticipation

Platform:	NES
Year:	1988
Developer:	Rare Co., Ltd.

Anticipation is a video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. The game plays exactly like a board game, but is not based on a particular board game. Instead, it plays sort of like a cross between Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.

The game allows you to set up a few basic settings at the menu; how many human players, how many computer players, and the difficulty of the AI and puzzles. On the board are four different colored puzzles; Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Green. The goal is to complete a puzzle of each color to advance to the next board. However, this is when an interesting game mechanic comes into play; during the puzzles, the game will slowly draw a picture while a dice in the corner counts from six to one. Whatever the dice number is at when the player solves a puzzle successfully is how many spaces they will move on the board. The player can also land on the Feature Square on later boards, which will fly their piece all around the board until the player presses the A button. The player must also avoid the Drop-Out Squares, which are pits that will send the player back to the previous board. When the player attempts to solve the puzzle, they are given two chances to input the right word; if they get a word wrong, the game will give you a warning. The second time, the player is penalized from solving the puzzle, and it is up to the rest of the players to answer it. On easier difficulties, underscores are provided for each letter to help the player figure out what is being drawn on the screen. However, on harder difficulties, these underscores are removed, making for a harder game, especially with the AI skill level.

The game received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Some criticized the game's difficulty, audio, graphics, and replay value while others praised these qualities of the game.

Screenshots

The first part of the title screen.

Setting up the game.

Playing a blue puzzle.

The pink shoes are moving.

Easy!

Oops!

Music

Anticipation is an earlier title for the NES, but that didn't stop Rare composer David Wise from making some catchy tunes for it. Most parts of the game have their own theme, and there are seventeen songs in the game, a few of them being short jingles. The only problem is that most of the music doesn't loop. During the drawing segments, if nobody can figure out the puzzle and lets the timer run out, there is stark, awkward silence after the song finishes. It is also interesting to note that the New Board jingle was used in a later Rare NES title, Marble Madness (NES). The song Menu is probably the most impressive song, as Wise uses the two square channels and triangle channel for both bass and high harmonizing parts. This, with the jazzy, bouncy element to the song makes it even more catchy. The overall theme of the music is jazz, with a bit of a humorous edge to it, fitting the action in the game.

According to Wise, he had to write the music in hexadecimal notation, and that Chris Stamper and Mark Betteridge worked on the Rare sound driver.

The music has been recorded both in NTSC and PAL formats because the game was released in both regions. Because the game was developed in England, a country that uses the PAL format, it is likely that the PAL version plays the music the way Wise intended. The PAL and NTSC versions share about the same tempo, but the PAL version still plays a half-step lower. It should also be noted that the two title screens in the game are swapped between versions, so the PAL music plays in a slightly different order than the NTSC version.

Recording

- NTSC
- PAL

#	Title	Composer	Length	Download
101	Title Screen Part 1	David Wise	0:38	Download
102	Title Screen Part 2	David Wise	0:13	Download
103	Menu	David Wise	1:08	Download
104	New Board	David Wise	0:03	Download
105	Yellow Puzzle	David Wise	0:22	Download
106	Pink Puzzle	David Wise	0:20	Download
107	Blue Puzzle	David Wise	0:21	Download
108	Green Puzzle	David Wise	0:21	Download
109	Solving	David Wise	0:27	Download
110	Wrong Answer	David Wise	0:03	Download
111	No-One Can Answer	David Wise	0:03	Download
112	Correct Answer	David Wise	0:15	Download
113	Correct Answer ~ Ending	David Wise	0:03	Download
114	Moving	David Wise	0:20	Download
115	Feature Square	David Wise	0:23	Download
116	Fall	David Wise	0:06	Download
117	Winner	David Wise	0:10	Download

#	Title	Composer	Length	Download
201	Title Screen Part 1	David Wise	0:39	Download
202	Title Screen Part 2	David Wise	0:13	Download
203	Menu	David Wise	1:09	Download
204	New Board	David Wise	0:03	Download
205	Yellow Puzzle	David Wise	0:22	Download
206	Pink Puzzle	David Wise	0:20	Download
207	Blue Puzzle	David Wise	0:22	Download
208	Green Puzzle	David Wise	0:21	Download
209	Solving	David Wise	0:27	Download
210	Wrong Answer	David Wise	0:03	Download
211	No-One Can Answer	David Wise	0:03	Download
212	Correct Answer	David Wise	0:15	Download
213	Correct Answer ~ Ending	David Wise	0:03	Download
214	Moving	David Wise	0:20	Download
215	Feature Square	David Wise	0:23	Download
216	Fall	David Wise	0:06	Download
217	Winner	David Wise	0:10	Download

Credits

Ripper: MrNorbert1994
Recorder: Doommaster1994
Game Credits
- Uncredited Music: David Wise
- Uncredited Sound Driver: Chris Stamper
- Uncredited Sound Driver: Mark Betteridge

(Source: Verification from composer; game lacks credits.)

Like most Rare games, there are no credits in the game, most likely as to prevent their staff's talents being courted away by other companies. We have received personal verification from Wise that he composed the game's music.