Gator Panic

Gator Panic, also known as Wacky Gator in North America and as Wani Wani Panic (ワニワニパニック, Wani Wani Panic^?) in Japan, is an elemecha redemption game created by Namco in February 1988 in Japan and 1990 in North America

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to that of Whack-A-Mole, but features alligators coming through the wall of the cabinet. The player must hit the incoming alligators with a foam mallet. The game becomes aggressively harder as the player hits more and more gators. If the player misses an alligator, a light will flash on a molded turtle on the cabinet. The player can lose points if the gators take too many hits on the turtle. The game ends when the time limit runs out, and tickets can emerge based on how many hits on the alligators.

Ports and Related Releases

Gator Panic had a small electronic toy and a handheld minigame version released by Bandai in the 1990s in Japan. Gator Panic was remade into digital form and released on iOS, Nintendo DS (as an extra stage in Point Blank DS), and Wii (as part of Namco Museum Remix and Namco Museum Megamix). All re-releases were under the name Gator Panic.

• Cracky Crab (Kani Kani Panic) - A similar game released in 1991.
• Same Same Panic - 1994 game with sharks instead of alligators.
• Dino Bonk - 1995 game with dinosaurs replacing the alligators.
• Wani Wani Panic 2 - Released in February 1996 (Even if the game says 1995) It features a Matrix screen replacing the digital screen. It features Top 5 scores and Rankings from E to A and also includes a Bonus Stage if the player manages to score well. The theme is Street/Hip-hop.
• Wani Wani Panic (2000 version) - Released in July 2000. A remastered version of the 1988 It was also known as Wacky Gator Too outside Japan.
• Wani Wani Panic RT - Released in 2003.
• Wani Wani Panic 3 - Released exclusively in Japan in April 23, 2007 manufactered by Hope under Namco's license. This version includes a red giant alligator where players can pound it multiple times to earn additional points. The player can advance to the 2nd and 3rd round depending how well the player did. It can be linked up to 8 units.
• Funky Gators - Released in 2012 in America along with Taiwanese manufacturer, Saint Fun. A remake of Japan's Wani Wani Panic 2. Unlike the Japanese version, It features more lighting, cartoonish sounds and the gators are now pink instead of green and the speed of the gators is slow. There are no misses/bites included in this version but a ticket option was added.
• Whack'em Funky Gators - Released in 2015. Unlike other versions, it is a virtual version / non-mechanical remake of the original game
• Wani Wani Panic R - Released in June 16, 2020. Another remake of the first version. This time, it features a 32-inch LCD screen as the scoreboard.

Video

External links

• Wani Wani Panic at Namco Bandai Games
• Gator Panic on iTunes