The game that became Donkey Kong was first meant to star Popeye. Shigeru Miyamoto says he can't recall why it didn't.
In 1981, Donkey Kong reached arcades as Shigeru Miyamoto's first game as a designer. Until then he had been drawing graphics and packaging for games other people made. When he was finally entrusted with a whole game, Nintendo held the license for Popeye and was selling Popeye playing cards and a Popeye Game & Watch, so the first request was a game with Popeye in it.
He sketched several ideas around the hero, his rival and the spinach that turns the fight around. Gunpei Yokoi took them to the company president, and one was approved. Miyamoto says:
"While I can't recall exactly why it was, we were unable to use Popeye in that title. It really felt like the ladder had been pulled out from under us, so to speak."
The team drew up characters of its own. One year after Donkey Kong, Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda made Popeye together for the arcades. On July 15, 1983, it went on sale with the Famicom, next to Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.
— inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto
About this game
Popeye was released on July 15, 1983, as one of the three launch titles for Nintendo's Famicom, alongside Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. It began as a 1982 arcade game designed by Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto. As Popeye, the player collects the items Olive Oyl drops from the top of the screen while Brutus chases him across three screens.
The Story Behind
Nintendo released Popeye in arcades in 1982 under license from King Features Syndicate. Parker Brothers ported it to the Atari 2600, Intellivision, ColecoVision, Commodore 64 and other home systems, and in April 1983 it topped Play Meter's U.S. arcade chart for street locations. Nintendo made the Famicom version itself, and it reached the NES in North America in June 1986.
Tricks & Tales
Unlike Donkey Kong, Popeye has no jump button. Popeye can punch away the bottles thrown at him, but he can only fight back against Brutus after eating the single can of spinach on each screen. The three screens ask for 24 hearts, 16 musical notes and the 24 letters of HELP.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Popeye copies regularly.
Will a Japanese Famicom cartridge work on my North American NES?
Not directly. When Nintendo brought the Famicom to North America as the NES, they completely redesigned the cartridge — making it physically larger and changing the number of contacts from 60 to 72. A Japanese Popeye cartridge will not physically fit into an NES slot. Cartridge adapters are available that allow Famicom games to run on NES hardware, though the NES10 lockout chip may still block out-of-region games unless the console has been modified or the adapter includes a region bypass.
Does Popeye save progress, or does it use passwords?
Neither. Popeye is a single-session arcade-style game with no save feature and no password system. Progress resets each time the console is turned off.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge if it won't start?
Clean the gold edge connectors with a cotton swab dampened in 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol, wiping gently along the length of the pins. Let it dry fully before inserting. Never blow into the cartridge — the moisture in your breath corrodes the contacts over time. Most boot failures are due to oxidized pins, not broken internals.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Popeye
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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