The best way to describe Flicky is that it is a mixture of quite a few other games.  A few parts Mappy, a few parts Bubble Bobble, a dash of Puzzle Bobble with a pinch of Kaboom to make it truly unique.  The end result is a very fun and addictive game that has quickly become a favorite of mine. 

The game has you playing what looks like a blue jay.  You are a bird who has to move around the level and collect all the baby birds and bring them to the door that gives you bonus points for them.  It is quite cute when a bunch of little peeps are running behind you.  But the cuteness ends soon as the cats come into the picture.  They are hungry and they want to eat you.  For some reason, they will not eat the baby birds, just you.  Maybe they have a conscience or maybe they don't want to be coughing up fuzzballs.  But your baby birds are safe from the menacing cats, something that you cannot say. 

Your bird has a few ways to protect himself or herself (they do not tell the sex of the bird) from these stubborn cats.  One is to jump over them.  This is good to save yourself but it is a quick way to break the chain of baby birds that is following you.  Then you have to go back and round up the little peeps.  The other way is to pick up and throw stuff at them.  It is a good way to get rid of a cat, but you will soon find there are way more kitties than stuff to throw at them.

One of the neat things about Flicky and something that makes it very addictive is that there different ways to gain extra points.  One is to deliver all the baby birds at once.  Your bonus goes up more for each peep you bring with the last one being worth 1,000 points if they are all brought at the same time.  The other way is you get bonus points on how quickly you finish a level.  This can range from no points for a slow time to 30,000 points for a fast one (the most I ever got for one level is 20,000).  This will send your score up in a hurry.

(Kaboom the Flicky way!)

Besides the basic levels, there is a bonus level that is very similar to Kaboom.  You move your little bird back and forth with a net and try to capture as many baby birds as possible.  I have yet to catch them all, so I do not know if there is some special bonus for catching them all.  It is quite hard to get them all, but is a fun little diversion and adds to the appeal of the game.

Once again, I find a gem on MAME.  Don't be like me and take so long to play this great little game.  If you like classic games, especially ones that are similar to Mappy and Bubble Bobble, then play Flicky.  It is one game that will move up to the head of your list.

This is just a review of the arcade machine.  If you are looking for the actual arcade machine, you may want to check out ebay.  Click below to see if you can find this game.