- “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 the film Wreck-It Ralph. It is a classic, 8-bit style title starring the titular hero Fix-It Felix Jr., and his rival, Wreck-It Ralph.
The game takes place in the town of Niceland, where Ralph, Felix, and the Nicelanders live. It's 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. Though Felix acts as the leader of the world, the Nicelander Gene holds the title of mayor in the town.
Background
Fix-It Felix Jr. is one of the oldest games of Litwak's, as it had been there for thirty years by 2012, meaning it began operating back in 1982. 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
Add a photo to this galleryScreenshots
Miscellanous
Trivia
- As part of Disney's marketing of the film, a version of the game can be played on their website. This is in addition to 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 game also has many elements in common with 1980's Crazy Climber by Nichibutsu/Taito.
- 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.
- Despite the fact that any video game could potentially risk permanent death if they die outside their own game, this was not the case for either Q*Bert and/or the Q*Bert villains. However, this may be due to the fact that Fix-it Felix Jr. must have reprogrammed them so that they are now permanently part of this game.
- 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.
- The game cabinet is capable of producing perfect sound and voice clips, which were often impossible in 8-bit games from the 1980s.
- The 8-bit graphics used in the game appear very modern. However, in reality, they would not be very colorful as most arcade games from that time since during development there would be restrictions on how many color templates can be used in a game.
- Four of these games can be found in real life in a Tomorrowland gift shop at Disneyland.
- The game is made by Tobikomi.
- A life size version of the game is a segment of Celebrate the Magic at the Magic Kingdom.
