Popeye (1983). Play online

Summary

Popeye, the wacky arcade title that leapt onto Nintendo’s first home console, is a perfect slice of early 80 s gaming. I love that you only need a four‑way joystick and a single punch button—no jump button at all—and that Olive Oyl constantly tosses hearts while the ever‑persistent Brutus chases you. A can of spinach makes Popeye briefly invincible and, bonus‑wise, doubles point values, adding a tasty risk‑reward layer.

Developed under Genyo Takeda with Shigeru Miyamoto supervising, this licensed King Features cartoon was actually a stepping‑stone toward Nintendo’s later platform hits. A hidden punching‑bag spot lets you stun Brutus, a quirky mechanic that feels ahead of its time. After its arcade debut, Popeye flooded the market on Atari, Commodore 64, ColecoVision and other 8‑bit systems, turning a simple comic‑strip rescue into an international cabinet staple.

Storyline

In the NES platformer Popeye, the sailor must chase down items that Olive Oyl tosses from the top of the screen. The drops include hearts, musical notes and the individual letters that spell “HELP”. While he gathers them, the Sea Hag Brutus roams the level trying to catch Popeye. When a can of spinach appears, Popeye can eat it to become temporarily invincible and knock Brutus out.
The game also features cameo appearances by Swee’Pea and Wimpy, who add extra visual flavor but do not affect the core objective. The goal is to collect all the items before Brutus reaches the sailor. Spinach‑powered bursts are the only way to survive Brutus’s attacks.