| Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen | |
|---|---|
 Famicom version box art | |
| Developer(s) | Compile[4] |
| Publisher(s) | Tokuma Shoten[5] |
| Platform(s) | Famicom MSX2 FM Towns |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle[5] |
Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen[a] is a puzzle video game developed by Compile for the MSX2, Famicom, and FM Towns. It was published by Tokuma Shoten in 1991.[6][7]
In the game, the player assembles water pipe segments for a pipeline from Moscow to Tokyo in order to strengthen Japan–Soviet Union relations.
With permission of the Soviet embassy,[8][9] the game and its promotional materials feature the name and likeness of Mikhail Gorbachev, who was President of the Soviet Union at the time of the game's development and release. The cover art of the game featuring Gorbachev was created by Takamasa Shimaura (島浦孝全).[10]
Two months after Tokuma Shoten released Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen in Japan, Sega published Ganbare Gorby! (がんばれゴルビー!) for the Game Gear handheld game console.[11] Both games were released in Japan several months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[12][13]
The Famicom version was re-released on iOS through the PicoPico service and Windows through Project Egg in 2021, although references to Gorbachev have been removed or censored, including a game name change to Pipeline Daisakusen.[b][14][15][16] The title screen was the only part of the game where Gorbachev was depicted and the game's graphic tiles that had his name and likeliness was overwritten with other tiles that were then used to enlarge the word "大作戦" (which is the "Daisakusen" in the name) and place it beside the "パイプライン" ("pipeline") that was there in the original.[16]
