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DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
Sunshine was among the first twelve initial game software products programmed & intended
for the NEOGEO system's launch. Alpha Denshi co-developed the NEOGEO system and worked as an
in house second party programming team for the first year until they essentially broke away
and became the first official third party licensee for the NEOGEO. Some of the other very
early Alpha Denshi games include Magician Lord and Ninja Combat.
Sunshine was a very basic puzzle game. It was small in size and scope. Gameplay consisted
of catching and arranging pairs of falling blocks onto a platform. The player controlled the
platform (known as the sundish) with the joystick. The level progression is undetermined, but
one feature unique to Sunshine (which was removed from Block Paradise) was that the player is
only allowed to "drop" or "pass" 3 blocks and if a 4th block is dropped, it's game over! Icons
at the bottom of the screenshots show this feature as: "PASS" with "3,2,1, and ZERO".
In Sun Shine, the A button is used to fire shots at the falling blocks. Shooting a block
once increases the speed of its fall and shooting it twice rotates the block end over end.
The B button activates a special item called a SQUALL, causing a large yellow lightning bolt
strike which clears the entire playfield of all blocks of the same color. Points are scored
and levels are gradually raised by matching 3 blocks of the same color horizontally, vertically,
or diagonally. Matching 5 blocks in an X shaped pattern or configuration, results in an
immediate level raise as well as an on screen display of the words Sun Shine. If any block lands
too high on the sundish whereas it does not clear the top borderline, then the game is over.
Sun Shine was the first puzzle game developed for the NEOGEO system and was only 18 megs in
size. It did not perform well at its location test and was subsequently canceled. However, the
game was reassigned and underwent additional modifications and enhancements. The title was changed
to Block Paradise and that version of the game was greatly improved. However, despite this effort,
it too never saw release. As such, SNK's 22 meg game Joy Joy Kid / Puzzled would eventually earn
the distinction of becoming the first officially released puzzle game for the NEOGEO system.
INFORMATION TIMELINE:
-- July 1990 -- the unreleased title list document states that Sunshine was location tested
at "The Gorilla" arcade, located at the underground level of the Ikebukuro Sunshine Mall in the
Ikebukuro Ward in Tokyo, Japan.
-- September 1990 -- the original arcade flyer
was printed as promotional advertisement for distributors & operators in the arcade industry.
-- October 1990 -- Sunshine is exhibited at the 1990 AM Amusement Machine Show.
-- November 1990 -- Famitsu Magazine publishes an article with screenshots.
-- November 1990 -- Joy Joy Kid (Puzzled) is released as the first NEOGEO puzzle game.
-- November 1990 -- Sunshine is canceled. Block Paradise is built from it.
-- December 1990 -- Gamest Magazine publishes an article with a screenshot.
-- January 1991 -- Sunshine is exhibited at the 1991 Winter Consumer Electronics Show.
-- March 1991 -- Electronic Gaming Monthly publishes an article with screenshots.
CURRENT STATUS: REMAINS LOST
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