Computer Bugs and Other Invertebrates Quiz

Answer: Shoot it

"Centipede" is perhaps most similar to "Space Invaders" which was released two years before (1978). The result was a rather basic, yet characteristically addictive, arcade game, where you must use a laser canon to shoot and destroy the centipede (well, a series of dots) which wound its way down the screen. Meanwhile, other invertebrates, such as spiders, will make things more difficult by jumping down and trying to end your game.

"Millipede" was the follow-up game to "Centipede" and was released two years later (1982). The gameplay was still fairly basic, but certain figures began to become more distinct - the millipede actually looked like a millipede!

Answer: "Pokémon Yellow"

Metapod is a cocoon Pokémon, and is the mid point in the evolution of Caterpie (the caterpillar Pokémon) to Butterfree (the Butterfly Pokémon). Oh my, "Pokémon" spoils me for choice when it comes to invertebrates!

As one of the original 150 Pokémon (actually number 11), Metapod appeared in the earliest "Pokémon" games. Its tendency to have only one move - harden - aggravated many players, who would have to put a new Pokémon into play and just pray that their Metapod would evolve into a Butterfree ASAP!

Answer: "The Legend of Zelda"

The giant insect in question is Twilit Bloat. As well as being enormous, Twilit Bloat can fly, swim, and is able to deliver a pretty nasty sting! It is described as the largest of a group known as the Shadow Insects, a number of beings which must be defeated so that the game's main character, Link, can be transformed back into a human, having been turned into a wolf at the outset of "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess".

Answer: Create music

"Electroplankton" was released in Japan in 2005 and in America and Europe in 2006. It makes full use of the DS touch screen, and is totally different from most other video games. Indeed, many claim that it is hard to even describe "Electroplankton" as a game, as the ten modes allow you to go about creating melodic sounds at your leisure.

Answer: Blooper

These pesky creatures first appeared in "Super Mario Bros", but can be found in several games in the series. Their role in "Mario Kart" is unusual in that they can be either friend or foe, as you can use Blooper to blind some of your opponents if you manage to find one by driving through a box marked "?".

Answer: A space suit

To be more exact, it was the "Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit", which Jim came across by chance. Jim was then able to jump, fire a gun, and battle evil beings. The evil beings of this series were known for their unusual names, such as Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, Evil the Cat, and Bob the Killer Goldfish.

Answer: "The Yellow Avenger"

As mentioned in the question, several invertebrates can be found in the "SpongeBob SquarePants" series, such as Patrick (a sea star), Squidward (actually an octopus) and Gary (a sea snail). Those inhabitants of Bikini Bottom that have a backbone include the Texan squirrel, Sandy, as well as the fish who occasionally visit the Krusty Krab for a Krabby Patty.

"The Yellow Avenger" sees SpongeBob use the powers of Mermaid Man to battle against villains which are trying to take over Bikini Bottom. Several of these villains are invertebrates themselves, such as Sinister Slug and Jumbo Shrimp.

Answer: "Megaman X"

All three characters listed above featured in the "Megaman X" series, which was released after the sixth installment of the original "Megaman" series. "Megaman X" differed from the original six games in that its bosses (e.g. Gravity Beetle, Squid Adler, and those listed in the question) were more creatively named than simply by adding "-man" to a word.

The original series was first seen in 1987, though its fairly basic graphics remained over the next few years, even maintaining its retro look in the 2010 release, "Megaman 10".

Answer: "Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories"

"Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories" is based on the popular dueling card game, "Yu-Gi-Oh!", but unlike most other games of its type, "Forbidden Memories" does not follow the rules of the card game very closely. For example, tributes are not required to summon monsters which are 5-star or higher. Powerful monsters can therefore be played immediately when they are drawn. Also, each monster in this game is assigned an astrological sign (Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars etc), and each sign has a weakness (e.g. Moon is weak against Sun).

Petit Moth is a very weak monster in the card game of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", but when equipped with Cocoon of Evolution, it can grow into either Larvae Moth (after 2 turns), Great Moth (4 turns), or Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth (6 turns).

Answer: "Rayman"

The classic "Rayman" game was first seen in 1995, and was followed by several sequels on various consoles. This colourful and cheery game sees Rayman battle against a host of animated characters, before facing the evil Mr. Dark.

Bosses which Rayman meets along the way include Bzzit and Moskito (both very similar to one another). Bzzit will try to end the game for you, but if you manage to defeat it, it will become an ally and will allow you to ride it as it flies through the air in Anguish Lagoon - a very useful friend to have when you can only jump so far.