“Fix-It Felix Jr. was one of the most popular 2D platform games ever made. Launching in 1982, it became a pop culture sensation thanks to its colorful 8-bit graphics, simple controls, and addictive gameplay.”
―Official description
Fix-It Felix Jr. is one of the games of Litwak's Arcade in Disney's 2012 animated feature film, Wreck-It Ralphand its 2018sequel. It is an 8-bit platformer starring the titular hero, Fix-It Felix Jr., who must save an apartment building from being destroyed by his rampaging rival, Wreck-It Ralph. The game takes place in Niceland, a quaint town inhabited by numerous, pint-sized NPCs called the Nicelanders.
Background
Developed by the fictional Japanese company, Tobikomi, Fix-It Felix Jr. is one of the oldest games in Litwak's, as the cabinet began operating back in 1982 (thirty years prior to 2012). Niceland is mainly a single tall apartment building with a forest surrounding it and a dump nearby. It also has scenic lakes, a starry sky with multi-colored stars, and is eternally set at nighttime. The game's screen acts as the characters' window into the human world. The head Nicelander, Gene, is mayor of the town.
Due to Ralph's desire to become a hero, the machine was temporarily marked as "Out-Of-Order" and would be unplugged if they couldn't get him back. By the end of the movie, not only does Ralph return, he invites the characters from Q*bert and other homeless video game characters to join them as part of the game's "bonus level"; this notably piked the game's popularity amongst the arcade visitors.
Gameplay
The game's plot goes as followed: Ralph's forest home is destroyed by construction of a new apartment building. Angered, Ralph shouts out, "I'm gonna wreck it!" and begins to demolish the building by destroying the windows. As Fix-It Felix, you come in to save the day. You must fix the broken parts with your hammer while Ralph throws down bricks at you. You can also eat pies to become temporarily invincible.
At the end of the game, the Nicelanders throw Ralph off the top of the building, having him unceremoniously fall into a pile of mud, while the tenants of the building present Felix with a medal, thus ending the level.
Places of interest
The Apartment: A large apartment building where Felix and the Nicelanders reside.
The Penthouse: The luxurious residence of Gene. It is known for hosting special events, such as the game's 30th anniversary party. One of its most notable features is Gene's bar.
Felix and Calhoun's Apartment: The home of Felix and Sergeant Calhoun. The apartment is modeled specifically to fit the couple's unique styles with its mix of homey and military aesthetics.
The Dump: Ralph's home. It is where Ralph's bricks are stored at the end of every gameplay session. The dump was renamed East Niceland after Ralph and Felix converted the area into a residency to house Ralph and the homeless video game characters that were invited to live in the game.
The Forest: The forest that surrounds the whole game. It features a large lake.
The Trolley: The transportation system that connects Niceland to Game Central Station.
Gallery
Concept art
The Dump
A painting of Niceland by Helen Chen.
Ralph and the Nicelanders after a successful game. Art by Helen Chen.
A painting of Ralph losing his temper in the penthouse. Art by Helen Chen.
A painting of Gene and Ralph in the penthouse. Art by Helen Chen.
Niceland by Andy Harkness.
Niceland concept by Daniel Arriaga.
An early concept of Ralph wrecking Niceland by Daniel Arriaga.
As part of Disney's marketing, a version of the game was playable on their website during the release of Wreck-It Ralph, along with playable versions of Sugar Rush Speedway and Hero's Duty.
The game is a parody of the classic Nintendo arcade game Donkey Kong, although the Jr. portion of the game's title could be a reference to the game Donkey Kong Jr., in which DK is the captive and Mario is the villain (and DKJr being the only Mario game to feature a villainous Mario).
The ducks seen as obstacles in the later levels resemble the ones from Duck Hunt.
Like Pac-Man, completing a certain number of levels of this game will cause it to crash and show a "kill screen" just like in this game and at the end of this film.
According to the DVD and Blu-Ray disc's main menu, the game's high score is 110, 212, a possible reference to November 2, 2012, the film's release date. However, in the film itself, the score is 120, 501 (December 5, 1901, Walt Disney's birth date) instead.
Although Fix-it Felix Jr. is supposed to be first released in 1982 (one year after Donkey Kong's release), the DVD and Blu-ray's main menu for some reason claimed the game was first made in 1981.
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