| Munch Mobile | |
| Developer: | SNK |
| Publisher: | SNK (Japan) Centuri (US) Texas Instruments (TI-99/4A) |
| Platforms: | Arcade, TI-99/4A |
| Released: | 1983: Arcade 1984: TI-99/4A |
| Genre: | Racing |
Munch Mobile is a top-down driving game released in arcades in 1983. Developed by SNK, it was licensed to Centuri for the US release. SNK published the game in Japan as Joyful Road.[1] The player controls an anthropomorphic car that uses extending arms to grab items from alongside the road. In 1984, Texas Instruments published a port for its TI-99/4A home computer.
The game is viewed from a top-down perspective and automatically scrolls forward. The goal is to reach a house at the end of the road and park in the attached garage; the otherwise unseen driver of the car reunites with the occupant of the house.[2]
The player drives a car with a large hand attached that is used to collect objects to the left and right of the road. The left 8-way stick steers the car, the right two-way stick controls the hands. Fruits, fish, and bags of money give points and gas containers give more fuel. Extra points are awarded for disposing of the inedible remains of food in trash cans. Trees and other obstacles injure the hand, making it temporarily unusable. Lives are lost for running out of fuel or colliding with the side of the road or other cars.