History VideoGame / Plok

-> ''“Plok is an irresistible, irrepressible, unstoppable, highly improbable and downright dangerous bundle of pure energy.\\

Plok is the King of the beautiful island called Akrillic, part of the archipelago Poly-Esta.”''

* DummiedOut: The Brendammi Bog, Badream Fens, and Breezy Beach levels, as well as a test level for vehicles.

* BerserkButton: Plok is quite protective of his grandpappy's flag.
* BonusBoss: All the bosses become this in Child's Play, since they only show up when getting a continue just before the point at which you'd normally fight the bosses. The Penkinos were very obviously designed to work like this, since the previous level practically gives the player one.

* FloatingLimbs: Plok has these.
* GiantSpider: Womack Spider.

* MercyInvincibility: Present in this game for Plok. [[FakeDifficulty AND his enemies]]!!!

* MookMaker: The aforementioned Budd.

** The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray. Arguably, you'd have an easier time taking on the final boss ''without'' it.]]

** There is a giant miniboss flower called the Budd, which spits out mini versions of itself called Budd Lites.
** Also, Rockyfella.
* RetrauxFlashback: The Grandpappy Plok dream sequence (see MonochromePast above).
* RocketPunch: What happens when you shoot your arms out. One of the powerups gives Plok an even better version of this.

** Mostly averted. If you die and [[OutOfContinues run out of continues]] (or "Plokontinues" as they're called), you have to start over from a point likely very distant from the area you were. Heck, there's only really 5 save points in the game. Since this game is so long and difficult, few people actually manage to finish it. Luckily, modern emulators allow you to save whenever you please. But still...

->Plok is an irresistible, irrepressible, unstoppable, highly improbable and downright dangerous bundle of pure energy.\\

Plok has a very short fuse; at the slightest irritation those limbs begin to fly.\\
Plok hates fleas.\\
Plok is a true hero, with a heart of gold and joints of the highest-quality velcro.\\
Plok is a man with a mission. He is dedicated to ridding the world of the dreaded Fleas.\\
Plok is a dreamer, a wanderer, a free spirit. He's suave and elegant. He's grade-A, first-class prime cut.\\
Plok REALLY does not like Fleas.\\
Plok is the King[[note]]retconned in the comic to Grand Duke - either way, the title is self-proclaimed[[/note]] of the beautiful island called Akrillic, part of the archipelago Poly-Esta.

''Plok'' was a Super Nintendo game developed by Software Creations in 1993. It's a {{platformer}} starring Plok, an [[DancingPants animated pile of clothes]], who wakes up one day to find out that the flag on his house (a family heirloom) has been stolen. After retrieving it from nearby Cotton Island, he returns to his island of Akrillic and finds out that it's been taken over by fleas! He travels through his colorful, surreal island, vanquishing fleas along the way and eventually entering the Flea Pit to battle the Flea Queen.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plok_box.png]]
%%

A digital rerelease of the game looks unlikely, as the Pickford Bros. are unsure who currently owns the rights, but they have dropped occasional hints over the years of possibly making a sequel. (Most people who've looked into it believe that the rights have reverted back to the Pickford Bros.) However, Plok himself did show up in another game - as a miniboss in the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx game ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaku_%28video_game%29 Zaku]]''.

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screenshot-ZSNES-u2.png]]

-> Plok is an irresistible, irrepressible, unstoppable, highly improbable and downright dangerous bundle of pure energy.\\

-->'''Rockyfella''': Woah! I forgot he could do that!
-->'''Editor's Note''': So had we!

* WrongGenreSavvy: Plok thinks he's still in a video game. He's actually in a comic strip.

->Plok is an irresistible, irrepressible, unstoppable, highly improbable and downright dangerous bundle of pure energy.\\

The game's most notable feature is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-18zfwvySw its]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGAvDAQIDGc prog rock-inspired]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY soundtrack]], which was composed by [[AwesomeMusic/TimAndGeoffFollin Tim Follin]] and pushed the SNES to its limits.

A rerelease on the Virtual Console looks unlikely, as the Pickford Bros. are unsure who currently owns the rights to the game, but they have dropped occasional hints over the years of possibly making a sequel. (Most people who've looked into it believe that the rights have reverted back to the Pickford Bros.) However, Plok himself did show up in another game - as a miniboss in the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx game ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaku_%28video_game%29 Zaku]]''.

* EasyModeMockery: Playing the "Child's Play" mode leaves you unable to enter the Fleapit. Or Legacy Island, or several of the game's other stages (largely boss fights). Although one of the particularly annoying skipped boss fights becomes unskipped if you continue from a certain stage after gameovering.

* NintendoHard: Many people actually never get to complete the game without the help of an emulator.

* PowerupLetdown:
** The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray. Arguably, you'd have an easier time taking on the final boss ''without'' it.]]
** The [[PoisonMushroom cowboy outfit]]: It makes Plok shoot a fake gun ([[BANGFlagGun with a "BANG" flag coming out]]). It doesn't do anything but give you back missing legs.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The [[GoddamnBats Shprouts]] come in several forms: the Shcuba Shprouts, the Shcuba Shield Shprouts, the Shky Shcuba Shield Shprouts...

* MeaningfulName: The boss [[IncrediblyLamePun Rockyfella]] is a monster made of rock.

* NintendoHard: Many people actually never get to complete the game without the help of an emulator. Who would've thought a [[SurpriseDifficulty cute-looking game would be hellishly hard]]?
* NonLethalBottomlessPits: Instead of a hole without end, Akrillic and it's surrounding islands is filled with water. Everywhere. Falling into water causes Plok or his grandpappy to miraculously jump up to a height to allow him to (potentially) reach a previous/future ledge (or back from whence he came), taking quite a bit of damage in the process.
** Doubles as an AntiFrustrationFeature.
*** Except when you get trapped under a ledge, rising rock pillar, etc. so that it basically spells instant death.
* NoobCave: The Cotton Island levels.

* SavePoint: Mostly averted. If you die and [[OutOfContinues run out of continues]] (or "Plokontinues" as they're called), you have to start over from a point likely very distant from the area you were. Heck, there's only really 5 save points in the game. Since this game is so long and difficult, few people actually manage to finish it. Luckily, modern emulators allow you to save whenever you please. But still...

* PowerupLetdown: The Secret Super-Vehicle hinted at in the manual and shown only in silhouette. [[spoiler: It's a football helmet, spring shoes and a can of Flea Spray. Arguably, you'd have an easier time taking on the final boss ''without'' it.]]
** Even worse is the [[PoisonMushroom cowboy outfit]]: It makes Plok shoot a fake gun ([[BANGFlagGun with a "BANG" flag coming out]]). It doesn't do anything but give you back missing legs.

** The [[WolfpackBoss Penkinos]] are [[FourIsDeath four]] flying, penguin-like things that drop damaging stars down on Plok. When low on health, they will drop those stars in rapid succession.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Again, the Fleapit, where each level puts Plok behind the wheel of a different vehicle that arguably ''cripples'' Plok (in exchange for letting him fly or jump wide gaps or whatever the stage calls for).

** The Penkinos also count.

There have been two attempts at fan sequels: a higher-res 2D game developed from 2006-2009, and a 3D game started in 2012, [[http://thekingofakrillic.tumblr.com/ which is still in development.]]

A rerelease on the Virtual Console looks unlikely, as the Pickford Bros. are unsure who currently owns the rights to the game, but they have dropped occasional hints over the years of possibly making a sequel. However, Plok himself did show up in another game - as a miniboss in the UsefulNotes/AtariLynx game ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaku_%28video_game%29 Zaku]]''.

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe Plok here]]

* MeaningfulName: The boss [[IncrediblyLamePun Rockyfella]] is a [[CaptainObvious monster made of rock]].

* WrongGenreSavvy: Plok thinks he's still in a video game. [[CaptainObvious He's actually in a comic strip.]]

[[DescribeTopicHere Describe Plok he]]

* BANGFlagGun: The cowboy suit has this as a weapon, and it [[PowerUpLetdown does pretty much nothing]].

* FloatingLimbs

* SavePoint: Averted. If you die and run out of continues (or "Plokontinues" as they're called), you have to start over. Since this game is so long and difficult, few people actually manage to finish it. Luckily, modern emulators allow you to save whenever you please. But still...

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: A sequel, announced 1997, but it went to DevelopmentHell.

* GetOut: [[spoiler:The "maximum sentence" Plok receives from the Zobians is effectively being told to get out of System X, which is what he and Rockyfella were trying to do in the first place]].

* RipVanWinkle: Remember when Plok took a well-deserved power nap at the end of the game? Well, he just woke up from it. ''Twenty years later''. (This is because nobody woke him up for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis or GameBoy ports or sequel that never came back in TheNineties).

* TakeThat: Plok and Rockyfella are more than happy to engage in some ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}'' bashing, right up to Plok being floored to learn that the game which "killed" platformers ''still'' managed to get three more sequels than he did.

** [[XboxONE "XBone"]] was also introduced as a character, pretty much solely for the Kinect voice and image recognition gags.

* [[WrongGenreSavvy Wrong Medium Savvy]]: Plok thinks he's still in a video game. [[CaptainObvious He's actually in a comic strip.]]

* BritishAccents: Plok speaks with one, as evidenced by his frequent use of British slang (more obviously than in the video game).

* RaymanianLimbs: Sorta...except Plok came out two years before Rayman.

Plok is the Grand Duke of the beautiful island called Akrillic, part of the archipelago Poly-Esta.