Prop Cycle

About Prop Cycle

Prop Cycle (1996) is Namco's arcade flying game controlled by pedalling a bicycle-like cabinet, in which a pilot pops balloons to bring the floating islands of Solitar back to earth, inspired partly by Kiki's Delivery Service.

Prop Cycle in Depth

Prop Cycle is a 3D flying simulator in which the player pilots a human-powered aircraft, called a Lapperopter, by pedalling to spin its propeller and using handlebars to steer left and right and change altitude. The aim is to pop hot-air balloons. The player must first pass three test routes around their hometown, popping balloons that imitate the energy balls powering an ancient machine, to earn a single chance to fly to Solitar and destroy the real ones.

Two hundred years earlier, a war fought with a hyperspace magnetic weapon called the Tesla Bomb destroyed civilisation and carved the world into steep canyons. The survivors abandoned high technology for a simple life, using steam engines powered by fuel stones, and refined flight until people could fly with their own muscle power. When someone accidentally activates old technology hidden in a shrine, pieces of the town are torn from the ground and float into the sky as the islands of Solitar, rising ever higher with the townspeople trapped on them. Destroying the machine's energy balls brings the islands back down where they belong.

Making Prop Cycle

Toyama wanted Prop Cycle to be highly interactive, with a reason to exist only in arcades, and distinct from other games, letting players feel the thrill of flight and the wind rather than simply defeat enemies. Development of the flying alone took three to four months. Jokingly calling himself the project's "movie director", Toyama designed the setting, story and characters and drew the art for the villages and levels, though he later regretted making players reach the last stage to understand the story. He was inspired by Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service.

Game Machine reported it as Japan's second most popular arcade game of August 1996. Next Generation concluded that "in the final analysis, Prop Cycle's strengths win out over its weaknesses". Retro Gamer later called it one of the most unique arcade games ever made and more accessible than Namco's and Sega's other offerings, adding that there was "no question as to how it has stayed in so many locations after almost two decades".