Hello, Kitty is undoubtedly one of the most well-known characters to have originated in Japan, and she shares this distinction with Pikachu from Pokemon. But aside from that, there are certain aspects about her that many people don’t know about!
Hello Kitty meaning is the literal English translation of the Japanese term “Maneki Neko,” also known as the “Beckoning Cat,” which means “Hello.” a symbol of welcome commonly seen in the doorways of Japanese and Chinese retail stores.
Since she was first introduced in 1974 by Yuko Shimizu, Hello Kitty has held the title of Sanrio’s undisputed queen. The adorable design made its debut on the coin purse and rapidly became famous worldwide.
As one might expect from such a widely recognized figure, Hello Kitty has inspired various products, including video games. Regrettably, even though Hello Kitty is well-known worldwide, most Hello Kitty video games are only available in Japan.
Here I’ll show you how to play a few Hello Kitty video games only available in Japan.
Hello Kitty no Hanabatake
This platform game for children was launched on the Famicom and the Nintendo Entertainment System in December 1992. It was created by Shimada Kikaru and published by Character Soft, a video game publishing company in Sanrio.
This video game aims to help Hello Kitty complete each stage by watering the flowers while avoiding the many animals and insects that populate each level. Even if the player rotates Kitty’s head, the ribbon will always be on the left side of her ear.
This behavior is independent of the player’s orientation choices. She is skilled with a heavy mallet and can use it for self-defense. Kitty will shed a tear whenever confronted by an adversary, ultimately leading to her being enraged and losing a life.
The in-game currency is gathered as points and used to purchase items. A player will lose a life if they let the timer run out, so be careful not to let that happen.
Nonetheless, there are an infinite number of continues, and the only consequence for “game overs” is to have your score reset to zero.
There are 18 stages in the game, and once you pass the 18th stage, the game does not continue in the same manner.
Although the game’s final nine levels are far more challenging than the first nine, they are still beatable once the player has mastered the controls.
Sanrio World Smash Ball!
The Sanrio World Smash Ball! is a competitive multiplayer sports game similar to table tennis. It has four playable characters drawn from Sanrio’s extensive library of adorable mascots.
As the most well-known member of the Sanrio cast, Hello Kitty serves as the tournament’s official referee.
The arenas are subtly different, with various layouts of breakable blocks, impassable squares, walls, and other impediments that can be used to either player’s advantage.
Sanrio World Smash Ball! has only been available in Japan for the Super Family Computer. It’s one of the few games that isn’t a role-playing game to have a fan translation.
The rules are straightforward; you compete in thirty best-of-five matches in which you and your opponent kick a disc at each other’s goal in the hope of dislodging the bricks protecting it and sending the disc through the opening.
Discs can be sent in various directions, including laterally, depending on whether you kick with your left or right foot.
By pressing and holding a kick button, you can charge up a powerful shot that can ricochet off you and destroy even the most challenging domino bricks in a single volley.
Sanrio Shanghai
Sanrio Shanghai is a mahjong solitaire video game first released on August 31, 1994, for the Super Famicom in Japan. It was developed by SAS Sakata and published by Character Soft (under license from Activision).
Sanrio Shanghai, a spinoff from the Shanghai series, is a kid-friendly mahjong solitaire game with more uncomplicated difficulty and large, colorful tiles.
It features characters from the Sanrio universe, such as Kerokerokeroppi, Hello Kitty, Hangyodon, Osaru no Monkichi, and Sayuri-chan.
The gameplay is quite similar to that of the Shanghai series.
Players move a cursor across the screen and press two matching tiles on the board to remove them (given that neither of those tiles has tiles on both the left and right of them).
Plus, it features two forms of two-player multiplayer and the usual single-player gameplay, with extra mini-games played between certain rounds.
