The 1983 Mappy arcade game
Namco developed and published Mappy for arcades. It came out in Japan in March 1983, and Bally Midway distributed it in North America from April 1983. The board is a modified version of Namco's Super Pac-Man hardware, adapted to scroll horizontally across the mansion. Hiroshi Ono did the art and Nobuyuki Ohnogi composed the music. The name is usually traced to mappo, a mildly rude Japanese slang word for a police officer.
It was a hit in Japan: the trade magazine Game Machine ranked it third among table arcade units in May 1983.
The Famicom (NES) version, 1984
Namco released a home version for Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan on 14 November 1984, under its Namcot label. It keeps the arcade game's core: trampolines, doors, flashing microwave doors, the Meowky cats and their boss Goro. You can play the Famicom version of Mappy online on our home page.
Was Mappy released on the NES in America? Not the original. The 1984 game stayed in Japan. The Mappy game that did reach the US NES was Mappy-Land, a sequel released in Japan on 27 November 1986 and in North America by Taxan in April 1989.
Mappy arcade vs. NES at a glance
| Arcade | Famicom / NES | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 1983 (Japan: March; North America: April) | 14 November 1984 (Japan only) |
| Hardware | Namco arcade board based on Super Pac-Man | Nintendo Family Computer |
| Controls | Left/right joystick and one button | D-pad and A button (controls) |
| Playable here | No | Yes, in your browser |
Ports and re-releases
- Game Boy: included in Namco Gallery Vol. 1.
- Game Boy Advance (2004): the Famicom version, re-released in the Famicom Mini series.
- Wii Virtual Console (2009): the arcade version.
- Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 (October 2021): the arcade version in the Arcade Archives line.
Sequels and spin-offs, including Mappy-Land
- Hopping Mappy (arcade, 1986).
- Mappy-Land (Famicom 1986, NES 1989), the sequel to the Famicom version, which Taxan released on the NES in North America.
- Mobile games including Teku-Teku Mappy and Mappy De Puzzle (2003) and Mappy World (2011).
These are separate games and aren't playable on this site.
Mappy characters
- Mappy: the police mouse you control.
- Meowkies (Mewkies in Japan): the pink cats that chase Mappy.
- Goro (Nyamco in Japan): the big boss cat.
How each of them behaves in play is covered in the cats section of our Mappy guide.
Sources
Dates and credits come from Wikipedia's articles on Mappy and Mappy-Land, checked in October 2026. Spotted an error? Let us know through the About page.