Lady Bug
1981 · Maze · Arcade
Overview
Lady Bug (1981) is Universal's maze game in the style of Pac-Man, with twenty turnstile gates that the player swings to reshape the maze and shut out pursuing insects.
Deep Dive
Like Pac-Man, Lady Bug has the player clear a maze — of flowers, hearts and letters — while avoiding enemies, here insects. The twist is the twenty green turnstile gates, which swing as the player passes through them and change the layout of the maze. A timer runs around the maze border, releasing up to four insects, and from level 9 every level brings four different kinds of enemy.
Developer Story
Kazutoshi Ueda designed the game, and Universal released it in Japan in October 1981 and worldwide in December. Coleco's version added a "Vegetable Harvest" bonus level for completing the word SPECIAL, and an Intellivision version followed in 1983.
Did You Know?
- Its ColecoVision version, a launch title for the console in 1982, was far more successful than the arcade original.
- The ColecoVision version won its category at the 5th Arkie Awards.
Sources & further reading
- Lady Bug (video game) — Wikipedia
