He's Fighting On Trivia Quiz

Answer: 'Pac-Man' (1980)

You youngsters may not remember how this game ruled during the 1980s - machines on which you could play it were found in all kinds of public spaces, especially shopping malls. The yellow circle with a wedge cut out that one guided through a maze to capture power dots while avoiding a collision with the four enemies (later called ghosts, but resembling a four-legged octopus).

In the original Japanese game, called Puck-Man, they were given names that reflected their behavior: Chaser (red) was nicknamed Blinky in the American version of the game; Ambusher (pink) became Pinky; Fickle (cyan) was known as Inky; Feigning Ignorance (orange) changed his name to Clyde.

Answer: 'Donkey Kong' (1981)

'Donkey Kong' was one of the first, and possibly still the best known, platform games made for arcade machines. Jumpman (later to be known as Mario) had to cross a series of platforms, jumping over obstacles and across gaps while dodging the barrels thrown at him by Donkey Kong and picking up various objects he comes across.

At the end of each level, he is briefly united with Pauline, before Donkey Kong grabs her and carries her up to a higher level, and Jumpman must fight on yet again. Game legend has it that the characters were inspired by the comic strip characters of Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto, but I see echoes of 'King Kong' in there, with the giant ape carrying his love up the Empire State Building.

Answer: 'Mario Bros.' (1983)

This game has been released on a number of platforms, but it was the original arcade game that made Mario and his brother Luigi into gaming icons. Mario changed trades from the carpenter he had been in 'Donkey Kong' to a plumber, more suited to this game's setting. While Mario is the main character, players can also select his brother, allowing two-player mode.

There are four types of enemy to defeat: the Shellcreeper, the Sidestepper (which must be hit twice before it is flipped and can be stamped to death), the Fighter Fly (which, as its name suggests, jumps around, and can only be flipped when it is standing on the platform) and the Slipice (which freezes the platform, making it impossibly slippery, but which can be attacked by bumping it from the level below).

Answer: 'Donkey Kong Country' (1994)

The original Japanese release of this game, called 'Super Donkey Kong', saw the evolution of Donkey Kong from a mere barrel-throwing opponent to the central character, as he and his nephew Diddy Kong try to retrieve their stash of bananas, which were stolen by the crocodilian Kremlings at the direction of their leader, King K. Rool.

As he travels around the island using various modes of transport on different levels, he must defeat a number of opponents, before finally facing King R. Kool on board his ship, the Gangplank Galleon, in order to restore his treasured bananas to their rightful place.

Answer: 'Frogger' (1981)

I first encountered 'Frogger' by watching TV - the 'Seinfeld' character George Costanza came across the machine on which he had once posted what was still the highest score, and attempted to 'rescue' the machine to preserve his recorded score. We didn't see much of the game, but if you watch the episode and watch how George manipulates the machine across the traffic-filled road, you will get a good idea of how the first half of each level is played. Once the road has been crossed, the player needs to guide the frogs across a river to their waiting homes, riding on the floating logs, turtles and alligators (without being caught by their snapping jaws).

Although the first half looks more impressively difficult, with all the traffic, the second half actually offers more ways in which to have a frog lose its life - falling into the river, being eaten by an alligator (the ones hiding in an apparently safe home are the tricky ones), running into a snake, staying too long on the back of a turtle and drowning when it dives, and many more.

Answer: 'Ocarina of Time' (1998)

'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time', to give the game its full title, was originally released for the Nintendo 64 system as 'Zelda 64', and was the first 3D game in the series. Set in the kingdom of Hyrule, where Princess Zelda rules, the game follows Link's quest to gain the Triforce (a relic that bestows amazing powers on the one who bears it) and save Hyrule from domination by Ganondorf.

Originally defeated by Ganondorf after almost achieving his goal, Link is placed under a spell by the sages of the Sacred Realm, and awakened years later to return and defeat Ganondorf. Princess Zelda is Ganondorf's captive, The victorious player must defeat Ganondorf, who transforms himself into a fearsome wild beast, in order to rescue Zelda and save the kingdom.

Answer: 'The Simpsons: Hit & Run' (2003)

This game, originally released for Xbox and several other platforms, features a different member of the Simpsons family on each level. Players guide them as they drive (or sometimes run) around Springfield completing various tasks. Ultimately, it turns out that the various mysterious happenings in town are the result of Buzz Cola, which has been a recurring feature.

The aliens Kang and Kodos intended to drive the townspeople mad, and induce them to acts of mayhem, in order to boost the ratings of their intergalactic reality show, 'Foolish Earthlings'.

They are foiled when Homer and Frink trick them into uploading truckloads of nuclear waste onto their spaceship, and (as is so often the case with this family) the next day everything is back to normal. Fans of the television show get at least as much pleasure from the references to the show as from the actual gameplay.

Answer: 'Crash Bandicoot' (1997)

He doesn't look much like the bandicoots in my local zoo, and the star of the first game in a very successful series is a lot more active than most of his species, but your average bandicoot is more interested in catching insects than super villains! Crash is actually a mutated bandicoot, created by Doctor Neo Cortex as part of his plan to take over the world using his creations as a military force. Crash, however, retained his peaceful nature despite the doctor's attempts, and is determined to save his girlfriend Tawna from being mutated.

In the process, he must clean up the pollution created by Doctor Neo Cortex and his not-so-able henchman Doctor Nitrus Brio, defeat a series of pseudo-Australian opponents, and confront the two doctors in their castle.

Answer: 'Star Fox' (1993)

Nintendo released this game in Europe as 'Starwing', to avoid confusion with another game that had a name similar to 'Star Fox'. Fox McCloud, accompanied by his team of mercenaries, flies the experimental aircraft called an Arwing through the skies of Corneria (and other nearby regions), where he has been invited to defend the planet from the invading forces sent by the mad scientist Andross. Player choices determine where they move for the next fight, so not every player has the same experience.

This proved to be a popular shooter game, sufficiently so that it became the first in a series of games using the same major characters, some of whom also appear in other Nintendo games.

Answer: 'Sonic the Hedgehog' (1991)

Come on, Sonic looks no more like a hedgehog than Crash does like a bandicoot! Once you get past that, you can just get involved and enjoy helping him in his quest to release the animals that have been captured by Dr. Robotnik from the robots in which they are imprisoned, and recover the Chaos Emeralds.

This game was so successful Sega that it was developed into a whole range of media, one of the largest and most popular franchises in the video games industry.