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The Addams Family (Super NES & Mega Drive)

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The Addams Family

Developer(s) – Ocean Software

Publisher(s) – Ocean Software & Flying Edge

Designer(s) – Warren Lancashire

PEGI – N/A (Suitable for all ages)

Initially released in 1992 by Software for fourth-generation hardware, The Addams Family game, based on the 1991 movie starring Raul Julia, Angelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd, received mixed reviews when it came out, (much like the film), is described as a boring Mario clone, or Mega Magazine even advising players to either “watch a tree, or grow something instead”. Versions for older consoles, such as the NES, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and even handheld consoles were also developed, but each of these versions is like its own game in and of itself. 

With the original port, however, it’s interesting to me how the perception of an old game can potentially change over time. If I’d been reviewing back in the time of the Super NES, I may very well have had similar concerns to the likes of Mega Magazine, but even still, my overall opinion would have been very different, since not only do I enjoy this game a lot today, but I also played the hell out of it back when it was released. I enjoyed it thoroughly back then, and I still enjoy playing it now. 

Graphics – 8/10

The visuals differ slightly between both the Super NES and the Mega Drive versions. But both versions capture well the feel of not only the 1991 film but the franchise in general. It’s one of those games based on a license that tries to celebrate the license as well. And I always enjoy a licensed game for that reason. The game takes place in and around the Addams residence plagued by night creatures that Gomez Addams must contend with. Each area of the house is uniquely designed, giving it a strong vibe of classic Castlevania games. In particular, the portraits on the walls of the portrait gallery are excellently detailed in terms of technical performance. Characters bear striking resemblances to the real-life actors; not only Raul Julia as Gomez, Angelica Huston as Morticia, and Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester but also Christina Ricci as Wednesday and Jimmy Workman as Pugsley. 

Gameplay – 8.5/10

The Addams Family is not quite a traditional 2D side scroller. The player has the option to come and go as they please, giving it far more of a Metroidvania feel. The objective is to navigate the Addams residence and rescue each of the other family members; Wednesday, Pugsley, Grandma Addams, Uncle Fester, and finally Morticia. Throughout the game, there are several secret areas to uncover along the way, as well as different power-ups to use in order to reach otherwise impassable areas or to give the player an edge in combat. There’s also a series of pretty challenging boss fights to contend with at the end of each area. And challenging is the right word for this game, as there are also many different platforming sequences that will test even the most hardened of platformer fans. 

Controls – 10/10

The game’s controls are also as fluent as any good platformer was at the time. Featuring other items to use throughout, it’s actually given more variety in terms of gameplay than the average side scroller. And therefore, more functionality in terms of controls than in other games of the same ilk. There’s so much in this game to differentiate it from others in terms of controls alone. It made me wonder how even reviewers at the time couldn’t recognize that back then. 

Lifespan – 8.5/10

The lifespan is even longer than the average platformer, clocking in at around an hour and a half to two hours, depending on whether or not the player decides to complete it to 100%. Of course, there would be other games in other genres that would blow this amount of time out of the water, and would only continue to do so going into the fifth generation of gaming, but there’s a lot to be said for a game like this that dared to defy convention, even if it went pretty much unnoticed at the time. 

 

Storyline – 7/10

The plot of the story follows the second half of the film quite closely. Tully Alford, the Addams Family lawyer, has taken over the Addams estate and captured the remaining Addams family members. And Gomez resolves to rescue them. The plot element of the film concerning Uncle Fester is present, as he has amnesia and is cured once released. The plot is presented nowhere near as well as what it is in the original film. But it does a good enough job setting up the premise of gameplay.

Originality – 8/10

It’s very easy to overlook how quietly innovative this game was back in its time. It perpetuated a lot of the same ideas that the likes of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night did birthing the entire Metroidvania genre a full two years before the release of Super Metroid. It was quite easy for me to take it for granted back then since I was unfamiliar with the concepts of gaming history and even the differentiation of gaming genres at the time. But as I’ve grown older and learned far more than I knew about games since, It’s made me appreciate truly how innovative this title was. 

Happii

Overall The Addams Family remains every bit of a joy to play today as it was when it was released. I recommend this to anyone looking for a challenge or looking for an original game that fell through the cracks. 

Score

49/60

8/10 (Very Good)

Super Metroid (Super NES)

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Developer(s) – Nintendo R&D1 & Intelligent Systems

Publisher(s) – Nintendo

Director(s) – Yoshio Sakamoto

Producer(s) – Makoto Kano

PEGI – 7

Released in 1994 coming up to the twilight years of the Super NES, and finding critical acclaim worldwide and commercial acclaim mainly in North America, Super Metroid is considered to be one of the most influential games of all time. Along with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it helped to pioneer the so-called Metroidvania genre of games. The 2D side-scrolling open-world experience focused on combat, epic story, and exploration. I decided that as I’ve now reviewed a great number of games in the genre, I’d examine the game where the groundwork was laid. And find out whether or not the experience still holds up to this day, and for me, it did not disappoint. 

Graphics – 10/10

One of the standout features of the game is undoubtedly its beautifully crafter 16-BIT visuals with the game taking place across a number of locations that have since become iconic and synonymous with the Super NES era. Including Brinstar, Norfair, and Maridia. This game’s visuals have gone on to inspire a number of retroactive indie titles over the last decade such as Blasphemous and Axiom Verge, and not just Metroidvania titles. For the time, these graphics were revolutionary. And the accompanying soundtrack, composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, perfectly compliments the wonderfully horrific atmosphere this game perpetuates throughout, which in and of itself, was very much out of character for a Nintendo game at the time, as most Super NES titles, for the most part, focused on happy-sounding music and brightly colored environments.

Gameplay – 8/10

Super Metroid followed the basic model of the original Metroid but with drastic improvements. Players could now combine different types of weapons to create more powerful ones. And the boss fights littered throughout are far better. There’s even more cause for exploration than in the original game or Metroid 2: Return of Samus. And it also comes with the synonymous Metroidvania map system. Something which was sorely lacking from the previous two games. And something that every other Metroidvania title would adopt in increasingly innovative forms from then on. Few side scrollers at the time encouraged exploration to the extent that this game did. And it was a welcome breath of fresh air for those who got the chance to play it back in the day. 

Controls – 8/10

The game’s control scheme, however, isn’t perfect. Whilst most Super NES games used the Y and B buttons for attack for primary movement and combat controls, this game uses the X and A buttons for that purpose. And among Super NES fans, this will have caused some confusion for players back when it was released. And can still potentially cause confusion for modern-day players looking to play it for the first time. As indeed I found, since I wasn’t introduced to this game back when it was released. Kind of like Metroid Prime, it can take a bit of time for players to get used to initially. What the developers did add in terms of controls, however, was the facility to shoot diagonally. Which again, was sorely lacking from the original games, and furthermore included in the re-release of the first. Metroid: Zero Mission for the Game Boy Advance.

Lifespan – 7/10

A thorough playthrough of the game can take an average of around 4 hours. Which is about an exceptionally long amount of time for a game to have lasted back in the days of the Super NES. Although the game can be completed within half an hour (indeed, as this title has become particularly popular among speedrunners), it’s not a game that’s designed to be rushed through. And whilst it may sound like a paltry amount of time for a game to last compared to what gamers are used to these days, it was relatively unheard of at the time. And most fans of the game have ended up playing it multiple times throughout the years anyway. 

Storyline – 7/10

Taking place in the latter stages of the Metroid timeline, the alien lifeform (the Metroid) that bounty hunter Samus Aran had recovered from planet SR388 at the end of Metroid 2: Return of Samus had been delivered to a research facility by her for further study. But shortly thereafter, the space station is attacked by the leader of the Space Pirates, Ridley. Who then captures the Metroid specimen. And takes it to the nearby planet Zebes, and Samus is in pursuit of him.

The game is also a lot more cinematic than games of the previous generation. The game’s opening cutscene, in particular, has become an iconic moment in Super NES history. It’s also among one of the earliest examples of how gameplay sequences can be used to build up tension within the confines of the story. As there are sequences whereby Samus must escape from certain places within a designated time limit before it explodes. 

Originality – 10/10

There is no understating how unique and influential this game was back in the day. Any game from which an entire genre is created stands out as being among the most influential of all time. Doom gave birth to the first-person shooting genre, Rogue paved the way for the Roguelike genre. And Super Metroid was the primary pioneer of the Metroidvania genre. Even Castlevania: Symphony of the Night adopted several gameplay elements that this game had first. 

Happii

In summation, as well as being one of the most influential video games of all time, Super Metroid also stands out as one of the best titles on the Super NES. And is an experience that still holds up and one that I would highly recommend. Regardless of the issues, I may have had with the controls, the immersive gameplay, wonderfully rendered graphics, and engrossing story more than make up for it. 

Score

50/60

8/10 (Very Good)

Toy Story (PC, Super Nintendo, Game Boy & Mega Drive)

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Toy Story

Developer(s) – Traveller’s Tales, Psygnosis & Tiertex Design Studios

Publisher(s) – Disney Interactive, Sega, Nintendo Australia, Capcom & Black Pearl Software

Producer(s) – Craig Annis & Steve Riding

Designer(s) – John burton & Andy Ingram

ELSPA – All Ages

Released to coincide with the hit Disney film of the same name, Toy Story was developed for several different systems and was released to critical and commercial success despite having been at the back end of the fourth generation with the transition into the fifth generation looming around the corner. To me, this game is another one of the more impressive licensed titles released before they were further popularized during the seventh generation and still holds up as one of the most varied 2D side scrollers of the era. 

Graphics – 8/10

The graphical style is extremely similar to that of Donkey Kong Country. Implementing 2.5 graphical sprites provided to Traveller’s Tales by Disney themselves (albeit Traveller’s Tales has their own sprites on standby in the event of time constraints). Portraying all the central characters in the film, as well as several minor ones. And features a massively varied range of level designs; some of which add to locations found in the original movie. The game’s soundtrack also features a collection of pretty catchy soundtracks that sound like they would’ve fit flawlessly if they were again included in the film as well. As far as fourth-generation games go, this is one of the best-looking titles of that era in my opinion. The visuals are both colorfully vibrant and wonderfully dark wherever needed. And the character sprites are wonderfully animated in addition. 

Gameplay – 8/10

For what is primarily a 2D side scroller, the gameplay in Toy Story is surprisingly varied for a game from this era. Not only does it feature side-scrolling sequences. But it also features light puzzle elements and car driving sequences. And even a first-person sequence very similar to Doom. But to experience all of these different styles of play, I would recommend playing the Mega Drive/Genesis version.

As this version was dubbed the lead version by Disney, it is the only port to feature all 18 levels created for it. The Super NES version is missing the first RC sequence towards the end and the PC version only has 10 of the original 18 levels. The game also features situations that are unique to the franchise and that don’t appear in the actual film. Such as Woody navigates his way through the interior of the claw machine. Whereas in the film, he and Buzz simply slip in among the toy aliens instantly. The designers of this game made something very unique to the original film. And it really shows in every respect. 

Controls – 10/10

Regardless of having cramped in a huge amount of different play styles, I was amazed to find that there were no problems with the controls after replaying Toy Story. I had to go over it again, as although I’d spent a great deal of time playing this when I was a kid, I realized that I’d forgotten just how good a game this was going into it again with a much more subjective viewpoint. The only minor issue I have with the controls is that during the first-person sequence inside the claw machine, turning can be a bit wooden. But that’s just semantics. As it’s only for one level. It may have posed more of a problem if there were more sequences like it. But besides this, there are no other issues with the controls at all. 

Lifespan – 6/10

To complete the game will take about the average lifespan for a game of this kind, which is around an hour. I found myself not being able to give the game too much flack in this respect because it was after all perpetuating the source material of an 80-minute film; in fact, if the player explores enough, they can potentially make the game last slightly longer than the film.

My initial thought was that if the game could incorporate so many different play styles the developers may have been able to make it last a lot longer than it does. But there are too many different factors to consider for me to criticize it too much in this respect. Such as the time frame they would have needed to work to in order to get it out at the same period as the film. Regardless, for a game of its generation, it lasts a fair amount of time. 

Storyline – 7/10

The game is simply a retelling of the events of the film. Two anthropomorphic action figures, the cowboy Woody and space ranger Buzz Lightyear, become separated from their owner Andy and must find a way back before the family is due to move house. The game does well enough to portray these events in its own way without much of the classic dialogue of the film and the soundtrack does particularly well to add to the game’s atmosphere further aiding in the portrayal of the story. Especially in unique sequences not present in the original film.

Originality – 7/10

Especially as 2D side-scrolling was the most prevalent genre within the industry at the game, this game does extremely well to stand out among a vast majority of others with the sheer amount of different play styles it incorporates throughout. It was rare for a game of this genre within the fourth generation to offer so much variety in gameplay. Especially for a licensed game. This back then was much more of a niche interest among gamers than what it is now, which is particularly impressive indeed. 

Happii

Overall, Toy Story, to me, frankly remains one of the better 2D side scrollers of the fourth generation of gaming; certainly among the best of early Disney games. It offers players an unprecedented amount of variety for the time that it lasts and portrays the film in a very satisfying way, not only using the license but celebrating it in an appropriate manner. 

Score

46/60

7.5/10 (Good)

Q&A With Elden Pixels

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With Metroidvania titles being one of the most prominent genres developed for among the ever-growing indie development community, one series of games I’ve been following closely over the last three years is the Alwa series. Created by Swedish indie outfit Elden Pixels under principal designer and former developer at Zoink Games, Mikael Forslind, the series began with the release of Alwa’s Awakening in 2017, and most recently in 2020, Alwa’s Legacy. Both titles were initially launched on Steam with Awakening seeing releases on multiple platforms with Legacy set for a release on the Nintendo Switch. In three short years, the series has gained popularity among fans of the Metroidvania genre and among gamers in general, and with the sequel possibly set to make it on multiple platforms in addition, the series’ popularity is set to only increase further. Wanting to find out more about the conception of Alwa, as well as the future of this exciting new series of games, I posed a few questions to Mikael of Elden Pixels to find out more. Here’s what he had to say about Alwa and the future of Elden Pixels:

 

Elden Pixels 1

How has it been to experience such an influx of interest surrounding the Alwa series and the fanbase it has already garnished?

Amazing! Every time someone reaches out to us talking about how they enjoyed our games it feels great. We were proud over how well Alwa’s Awakening was received but we felt we could add more to the formula so the design for Alwa’s Legacy came to us quite easily and we were able to improve on everything that the first game offered and this, of course, led to more and more people discovering both games.

 

What were the influences behind the world of the Alwa series?

It was a mix between the fast gameplay of Battle Kid and the more puzzle-platforming style of Trine that was the main inspiration for the first game. After a long night of playing these two games, I blurted out to my friends – “Let’s make a game. How hard can it be?” And here we are a couple of years later.

 

What has been the most exciting aspect of developing Alwa’s Legacy?

To me, the best part of making games is actually looking back at a released game and thinking – “Damn, we made it. It’s out there.” I’m not one of those developers that spend years and years on one game. I think a maximum of two years is perfect for a game and I’m proud that both our games took about that time to finish. But seeing a game come together is always nice, and the way we built Alwa’s Legacy was that very early in the process we had all rooms in place but they were basically empty and stayed empty for the longest of time. But once all design was locked down, all art was done and all sprites were done we basically filled the entire world with content in a 3-4 month period. All of a sudden it went from looking empty to being shippable. That’s a great feeling.

 

Elden Pixels 2

What has been the most challenging aspect of developing Alwa’s Legacy?

Wow, where do I start? I actually wanted to delve into this subject for a long blog post sometime in the future but I’ll try to keep it short here but basically these things were the major headaches during our development – Cancer scare, anxiety, personal finances, IVF treatment, potential pr disaster using Kickstarter, political heatwave during launch and the constant scare of bankruptcy. I’m just happy we were able to overcome all obstacles with our sanity and health intact and we’re all still good friends. And we managed to release a game that everyone seems to really like! That’s a major accomplishment.

 

What’s next for Elden Pixels?

We’re not really sure. We’ve made enough money to breathe for a month or two but nowhere near enough money to fund the next game so right now we’re just exploring what and if we can start a new project. But we’d love to take a stab at porting our first game to NES 8-bit so we’re going to put out a job ad for that very shortly. We might have found some cash to fund this project so we’re very excited, especially since it was already made with the 8-bit restrictions in mind.

 

How important has fan feedback been throughout the development of Alwa’s Legacy?

Since Alwa’s Legacy is a standalone sequel to our first game Alwa’s Awakening we kind of knew what we were doing during the development. So we took more notes from what we didn’t like with the first game to build our second game. But community involvement is very important and we had a lot of feedback from our Kickstarter backers and we did a huge semi-open beta where we built this custom tool so any player could directly report feedback into our project management tool. I love building games with the community involved and it’s definitely something that I want to consider doing in the future.

 

Elden Pixels 3

Have any of the guys at Image & Form or Zoink had any input into the game, or any advice to offer you?

Yeah, I worked at those companies for about four years so I made a lot of friends and they’re all beautiful people. A few of them do consulting work so we actually ended up working with Pelle Cahndlerby with the script, Joel Bille did the sound effects and Julius Guldbog did our trailer, all of them are from those companies.

Every now and then I also get a chance to grab some lunch with Brjann Sigurgeirsson, who’s the head honcho at Thunderful, the owner of Image & Form and Zoink Games and I cherish those lunches because I get so much valuable information and tips from him. He’s such a nice guy. I also get free lunch!

 

If you had the chance to develop for any mainstream development company or work on any gaming series, which one would it be?

I don’t know how much it would be considered mainstream but our first game Alwa’s Awakening was heavily inspired by an NES game called Battle Kid and I would LOVE to develop a game in that series. I think in the hands of Elden Pixels and the original creator we’d be able to make a really cool and fun game. I can easily think of a bunch of cool and creative ideas for a potential sequel.

 

The progression of the series is obviously reminiscent of the transitions between past generations of gaming; i.e. 8-BIT to 16-BIT. Do you see the Alwa series making the transition from 2D to 3D in the future?

If someone asked me to design a 3D game I wouldn’t know how to even approach it. I’d probably have as much as luck as I would if I decided to take up opera singing. So I don’t see that happening in the near future. But who knows, if we find a talented 3D designer somewhere in the future it might happen. Right now we’re more exploring ideas that aren’t based in the Alwa universe.

 

What platforms are you looking to bring the game to?

Right now the game is out on Steam and GOG and we’re releasing it on Switch soon. We want to take it to Microsoft and Sony as well and ask them for a release on their platforms but we haven’t yet. We’re such a small team so we got to think carefully about each decision making sure we don’t take on too much work and releasing on a new platform is a lot of work.

 

Do you have any advice to give to any aspiring developers who may be reading this?

Don’t go into indie development thinking you’ll make money. If you want to make money, get a job in the IT business or something. For me making indie games is like playing in a small rock band. You don’t get to play at the big arenas right away, you probably never will. And it can take years before anyone even notices you. Don’t expect to make that one indie game and make it Shovel Knight style. Sure, it can happen but most likely not. But if you’re dedicated, make cool stuff that people want to enjoy and stay at it, maybe in a few years, you’ll be able to make a living from it. I’m confident that Elden Pixels will eventually be something I can live off full-time, but we probably need a game or two more out before we can do that. But we’ll get there.

 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes, if you take 3 deciliters of water, add 2 deciliters of sugar, 1 deciliter of vinegar essence, 15 small peppercorns, and 2 bay leaves. Boil for a few minutes and then let cool off you’ll have an awesome brine for pickled herring. A Swedish classic!

 

I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Mikael for sharing everything he had about the Alwa series and about Elden Pixels and to wish them the best of luck with what the next title they develop may be. Both Alwa’s Awakening and Alwa’s Legacy are available on Steam and I would highly recommend anyone reading who hasn’t played either title that they check them out; I’ve played and reviewed both games and they’re definitely worth playing through at least once. Thanks for reading this Q&A and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did putting it together.

Game on,

Scouse Gamer 88

Alwa’s Legacy (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One & Switch)

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D Alwas Legacy

Developer – Elden Pixels

Director – Mikael Forslind

PEGI – 7

Following on from the Success of Elden Pixels’ breakout indie game Alwa’s Awakening, Alwa’s Legacy continues the series, introducing a number of new gameplay mechanics and challenges, as well making use of graphics more reminiscent of the 16-BIT era, which was hinted at with the end of the original game. Having been impressed with the first game when I played through it, I was fully expecting yet another immersing gaming experience with the sequel, and to say the least, I was not disappointed. 

Graphics – 9/10

The game makes use of a 16-BIT art style similar to that of Super NES classics such as Super Castlevania IV and Secret of Mana. There is a wide range of beautifully vibrant and eerily dark locations throughout the newly designed world of Alwa. Which looks far better than what even the small glimpse at the end of the first game seemed to touch upon. The environments are each wonderfully designed and despite there being a few locations being recycled from the original game, the areas that have been recycled have been drastically improved upon compared to Awakening. The game’s soundtrack, again composed by Robert Kreese, is also stellar. Some of the tracks used for many of the dungeons specifically gave the game more of a Castlevania feel to it than the last game; atmospheric, foreboding and catchy as all hell.

Gameplay – 9/10

Keeping to the same principle formula of the first game, Alwa’s Legacy is a traditional Metroidvania game with light RPG elements, with players being able to learn new abilities and unlock new areas with each new ability acquired. But it also has the very strong feeling of a dungeon crawler to it like a traditional Legend of Zelda game, with players having to traverse a stronghold by solving puzzles and going up against a boss. 

Overall, there have been significant improvements made to gameplay as well as visuals. With the player having a lot more to play for and to discover than in the previous game. The boss fights, in particular, are also a lot more creative than in Awakening in both appearances and in the required strategy to beat them. The additional abilities make it so that players can strategize in their own ways in accordance with what boss they’re up against, giving the game a pleasant amount of variety

Controls – 10/10

Even taking into account the introduction of new mechanics such as the shield boots and the ability to temporarily slow down time, Legacy plays out pretty much identically to Awakening and as such, the control scheme presents no issues. Also, new controls have been introduced. Most notably the anti-gravity sequences whereby players have to walk on ceilings to solve puzzles. Much like Mega Man 5’s Gravity Man stage. Although the visuals were taken from 16-BIT classics, there are a lot of nods to the 8-BIT era. Which served as the inspiration for the original game in the series. 

Lifespan – 7/10

Another aspect in which this game is an improvement on the original. Albeit to a lesser extent than the graphics and gameplay, is in its longevity. On average, the game can take around 8 to 10 hours to complete to 100%. It’s still short for a Metroidvania. But it certainly answers for the short amount of time it takes to complete Alwa’s Awakening and it’s a step in the direction of possibly making the third game in the series last even longer; if Elden decides to make a third game.

Storyline – 7/10

Essentially, the story of Alwa’s Legacy is pretty much a carbon copy of that of Awakening. Zoe awakes in the land of Alwa. And by traversing the land and honing her abilities as a powerful sorcerer, must save the land from the villain Vicar. Vicar plots to invade Alwa. There are a couple of differences and certain plot threads which help to advance the story in a different way. So I can’t bash it too much for being unoriginal. It’s an epic odyssey with plenty of twists and turns along the way and plenty of quirky characters to meet. It would be hypocritical of me as a fan of a lot of games that tell virtually the same story with each installment, such as Mario and Zelda, to criticize the Alwa games for doing the same thing. 

Originality – 7/10

Taking into account the many similarities that this game has with not only its predecessor but many other Metroidvania games that served as the basis for it. It still has its own unique brand of gameplay and visual design. And story structure that makes it stand out among many Metroidvania titles. Despite the greatly increased output of games in the genre in recent years. Such as Ori & the Blind Forest, Dust: An Elysian Tail, and Guacamelee. Legacy greatly expands on Awakening and delivers a challenging and satisfying experience that should not be overlooked.

Happii

In summation, Alwa’s Legacy is certainly a must-have for Metroidvania fans. If you’re a fan of 2D exploration, dungeon crawling, 16-BIT graphics, and epic 8-BIT music, I can’t recommend this title enough. 

Score

49/60

8/10 (Very Good)

Review as seen in the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMdj8Y500M

Tetris 2 (Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System & Super Nintendo)

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Tetris 2

Developer(s) – Nintendo R&D1, TOSE & Nintendo

Publisher(s) – Nintendo

PEGI – 3

First published and brought to consoles in 1993 by Nintendo following the immense success of the 1989 classic designed by Dr. Alexei Pajitnov, Tetris 2 was met with an equal amount of acclaim by critics, with Electronic Gaming Monthly going on record to say that any fans of the first game will surely be satisfied with the sequel as well. Personally, I have a much more dim view of the second game than many others. Which may seem like semantics when first thought about. Since it’s easy to assume that the second would simply play out more or less identically to the first. But it doesn’t, and there are some key reasons why I think much less of this than the original game.

Graphics – 6/10

Whilst judging the game on its visuals, it highly depends on which port is being played. The Game Boy version consists of very little in terms of presentation. And has a much less catchy soundtrack than its predecessor. Though games like this are not primarily played for their graphics, the original game did have a few different pieces of scenery. Reminiscent of the country that it came from. But there’s nothing like that in the second. The NES version of course has color to it. Since the Game Boy is a monochromatic system. But there is, unfortunately, the same lack of additional conceptual design.

Gameplay – 6/10

Nintendo decided to not only port the game to their consoles but re-invent it as well. In my opinion. Resulting in a very underwhelming final product. The objective of the second game is to eliminate blocks pre-emptively fixed on the game board. By matching them up with blocks of the same color or pattern using the falling tetromino shapes. I found it simply to be dull and unsatisfying compared to the first game, which was designed by a man who understood the very concept of addiction. Having studied it for a long time.

Controls – 6/10

Because the tetromino shapes are structured much differently to those of the first game, yet with the game itself functioning on largely the same control scheme, to me, it doesn’t work anywhere near as well as in the first game. It simply highlights how overly hard the developers tried to fix something that wasn’t broken and complicated something that did not need to be complicated at all.

Originality – 6/10

Although I can commend Nintendo to a certain extent for trying something new with an overwhelmingly popular gameplay formula, something which by default would have been extremely difficult to even begin to undertake, let alone top, it turned out to be the wrong decision. And it made for a game that fell well short of the quality of its predecessor in my opinion. The idea was passable when it was implemented in Dr. Mario since it was much more simplistic having the player use two colors at a time. But if Gunpei Yokoi was involved in any way, shape, or form with the second Tetris game, it wouldn’t stand out as being among his best works the way I see it.

Niiutral

To summarize, Tetris 2 is just about playable, but nowhere near as fun or as addictive as what the concept had been before that. Or what it would be following it. The formula would be vastly improved with the release of Tetris Plus. But the direct sequel to the biggest one-hit wonder in gaming history certainly failed to live up to the set standards in my opinion.

Score

24/40

6/10 (Average)

Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo)

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Super Castlevania IV

Developer(s) – Konami

Publisher(s) – Konami

Director – Masahiro Ueno

Producer – Kazumi Kitaue

PEGI – 7

Release relatively early on in the Super Nintendo’s shelf Life, Super Castlevania IV was a game directed by Masahiro Ueno. Who was credited under the name Jun Furano. Since Konami at the time prohibited the use of real names), Who’s favorite game in the series at that point was the first and wanted to create a similar experience. Minus the frustrations that came with the first. To me, this game is the perfect jumping-on point for people who want to indulge in the series. And is vastly superior to the original game in quite a few different ways.

Graphics – 10/10

The most obvious improvement is in the game’s visuals. Which are not only many times more realistic-looking than the NES classic but also present a darker and even grittier atmosphere than the former. The opening sequence, in particular, has been cited as one of the scariest moments in video gaming among many other critics. Another massive talking point is the soundtrack. Ueno also wanted the environments of this game to be a lot more interactive and believable. And has stated how proud he is regarding how well the music and sound effects were implemented. And to me, this is rightfully so.

Gameplay – 9/10

Aside from the extensive improvements made to the game’s visuals and sound quality, dramatic enhancement was also made to the gameplay. The difficulty has been greatly toned down. Which I believe is a pivotal factor in determining why this is the best possible starting point for prospective fans of the saga. The original game was much more difficult. Therefore much less accessible to as wide a variety of players as there could have possibly been otherwise. Not only that but there are also longer levels. And by proxy, it makes for a longer game overall.

Controls – 10/10

Another extremely positive change is that the control scheme has also been improved to a great extent. The player can now attack in 8 different directions instead of just one. Allowing for more of an edge in combat as well as the elimination of enemies delivering sucker punches that can’t possibly be avoided otherwise. Another feature introduced to the series was the facility to swing from hook to hook using the whip to get around certain obstacles in the game.

Lifespan – 7/10

Super Castlevania IV will take around an hour and a half to finish. This may not seem like very much today (or a lifespan even passable in most modern games). But at the time, it was longer than the average side scroller. Quite literally, three times longer than the original game. The levels are longer and much more drawn out. Featuring a bigger map and more enemies added to slow players down. I would be shown what a truly great lifespan was in the following generation. But at the time, a game like Super Castlevania IV was fairly impressive.

Storyline – 3/10

The biggest problem with this game, however, is the fact that the story is exactly the same as that of the original game, and no real innovation or improvement has been made in this aspect. It is simply a re-telling of Simon Belmont’s quest to destroy the newly resurrected Dracula. And rid the world of his castle. The fact that it’s the same story being told again isn’t the only problem either. It’s also still extremely typical of the kind of story that was being attached to most video games at the time, and throughout the previous generation as well.

Originality – 6/10

2D side scrollers were the industry standard at the time, so consequently, there’s not a great deal present to make this game stand out to any great extent. It loses a lot of its uniqueness in the fact that it isn’t as challenging as the first game, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What is bad, however, is that the general setting and basic premise have been presented before, and despite improvements, there wasn’t much innovation made Outside of this.

Happii

Overall, despite the few things wrong with it, Super Castlevania IV is easily the best game out of the original four, and I would recommend it to any gamer who has yet to experience any other facet of the series before they try any game in the original trilogy. It would get better from hereon with the release of Symphony of the Night, but this game is most definitely the best possible place to begin.

Score

45/60

7.5/10 (Good)

Street Racer (Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive, Game Boy, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Amiga, Amiga 32CD & PC)

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Street Racer

Developer – Vivid Image

Publisher – Ubisoft

Rating – N/A

After the release of Super Mario Kart, kart-racing games were being developed left, right, and center. One of many company standards and innovations that Nintendo pioneered at the time. Street Racer, to me, was undoubtedly the closest competitor to Super Mario Kart. There was more depth in gameplay than the likes of Apogee Software’s Wacky Wheels and Sonic Drift for the Game Gear, for example. One thing that I must point out, however, is that it heavily depends on which system the game is being played on. As many of them differ greatly. Personally, I would recommend either the Super Nintendo or Sega Mega Drive port over any of the others. The PlayStation and Sega Saturn ports, for example, were heavily dubbed down in terms of gameplay and nowhere near as enjoyable as a result.

Graphics – 7.5/10

From a technical standpoint at least, the visuals actually exceed the quality of Super Mario Kart. As mode 7 rendering was used to design the game. And thus it was made a lot more graphically smoother and much more polished than the former. However, whilst the settings are fairly diverse, they’re not as diverse as Super Mario Kart, and I personally believe that artistic merit in visuals should come before graphical capability.

The Super Nintendo port also has much more diverse settings than that of the PlayStation. And because the graphics were rendered differently for the PlayStation port, details can also take longer to load up than in the Super Nintendo version. So, not only is the Super Nintendo superior from a conceptual perspective. But it’s superior from a technical perspective too. Which to me, would have seemed particularly embarrassing at the time, given that the PlayStation was supposed to be the superior console.

Gameplay – 6.5/10

In terms of gameplay, I think that this is a decent Super Mario Kart clone; but nowadays, that would be pretty much all I would have to say about it, really. There are a few imaginative gameplay modes attributed to it. Such as the soccer mode for example. But the problem is it’s just not quite as varied as even the original Super Mario Kart. Let alone other games of the kind that have been released since. Such as Diddy Kong Racing, for example. So by that logic, it hasn’t held up as well as I initially suspected that it might have done before I started playing it again for the purposes of this review. But as I pointed out earlier, it is much more enjoyable to play the game on the earlier consoles. Alternative gameplay modes were removed from the PlayStation version in particular.

Controls – 10/10

For all ports, there are no problems with the controls. Not even for the systems, it was later ported to. As the formula had been long since mastered by developers. Something interesting about the PlayStation version was that the game could be switched to a different gameplay mode. Which would make the gameplay stand out a bit more like the Micro Machines games. As opposed to a conventional kart-racing game.

Lifespan – N/A (10/10)

Though it will take an hour or two to complete each championship mode tournament (if that), very much like Mario Kart and other games of the genre, Street Racer then becomes a game that can simply be picked up and played at any time without the worry of needing to make conventional progress. After the championship mode is completed, the game’s lifespan is simply dependent on the player’s own personal interest.

Storyline- N/A (10/10)

As a racing game, there wasn’t any call for any kind of elaborate storyline, and there’s no need for Street Racer to lose marks for not having something that it didn’t require. I think if the developers did try and make a story of it, however, I don’t suspect they would have gotten very far. It’d be particularly hard to make a story out of the characters that are included in the game, I find.

Originality – 3/10

Though this game does have a certain level of uniqueness about it such as the moderate level of diversity in track design, it is essentially a rip-off of Super Mario Kart. And there wasn’t enough for me to make it stand out to the extent whereby it would hold up today. I believe this opinion of mine is made even more apparent whilst playing the PlayStation version, as many of the best track designs and additional game modes had been taken away. Like the life had been sucked out of it, in a sense.

Happii

Overall, I believe Street Racer makes for a good few hours of entertainment, but I would advise people wanting to try it out to get their hands on the Super Nintendo or Sega Mega Drive version of the game to truly see the game for what it is. A moderately imaginative and fairly enjoyable Mario Kart clone.

Score

44/10

7/10 (Fair)

Star Fox (Super Nintendo)

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Star Fox

Developer(s) – Nintendo EAD & Argonaut Software

Publisher(s) – Nintendo

Director – Katsuya Eguchi

Producer – Shigeru Miyamoto

PEGI – 3

Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura, Star Fox, or Starwing as it was known in Europe due to copyright issues, Star Fox launched yet another successful Nintendo franchise. The game received commercial and critical acclaim upon release. Including an award for best shooter of 1993 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. As a kid, I thought much less of this game. But after revisiting it a few times over the last few years, my opinion of it has improved vastly. And I consider it a must-have for anyone who may own a Super Nintendo.

Graphics – 8/10

The first Super Nintendo cartridge to make use of the revolutionary Super FX chip, Star Fox was the first 3D video game I ever laid eyes on. And as a kid, it at least captivated me in this respect. As I alluded to earlier, I would also go on to learn about the various references to Japanese folklore that are present within this game. The four main characters are based on four well-known Japanese stories. Which I wrote about in greater depth in a previous article.

Gameplay – 9/10

The objective of the game is simply to get from A to B like many others. But it plays out much differently from the archetypical 2D platforming games that took precedence at that time. It was a rail-shooting game. This required players to fly through a multitude of different dangers and obstacles. Shooting down as many enemies as possible to accumulate as high a score as they possibly could. Though it took me too much time to realize what a positive change from the norm it was for the longest time, I would eventually come back to it frequently after religiously playing its sequel; Lylat Wars.

Controls – 9/10

Though there isn’t anything wrong with the game’s control scheme in the conventional sense, what weighs it down significantly is the extremely slow frame rate. Since the Super FX chip was inside the cartridge, the console still had difficulty running it. Giving it about the same frame rate as Bubsy 3D. Though the controls of that game were far more annoying, and harder to get to grips with. It all depended largely on how much was on the screen. And how much graphical information the console had to process at any one time, which was usually a lot.

Lifespan – 7/10

Though one playthrough can take up to an hour tops, multiple playthroughs can present multiple challenges. Since the game is actually non-linear to a certain extent. Players have the option of changing course depending on their preference of difficulty, giving the game a fair bit of replayability. And making it last slightly longer than what the average was at that time.

Storyline – 7/10

The story of the game follows the members of the Star Fox team, Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and Falco on their mission to free the Lylat System from the Venomian army. And their leader Andross. Though the basic structure of the story was extremely typical of most other video game stories at the time, it was, of course, kept fresh by the conceptual design of the scenery, and style. And design of the characters themselves, as well as their dialogue-driven displays of personality throughout. These principles would be carried on and further developed in further games. But it was in this era where it will have stood out most, I think; especially as the idea was extremely new at the time.

Originality – 8/10

Most of everything about this game is original, from the conceptual design to the gameplay to the graphical rendering techniques to the basic story structure. It was a shining example of Nintendo wanting to extensively innovate as they did throughout the third and fourth generations of gaming, which would go on to inspire the creation of many different games in the future, leaving behind a long legacy that would be renewed by the likes of Star Fox Zero and Star Fox Guard.

Happii

In summation, Star Fox is undoubtedly one of the greatest games on the Super Nintendo, and I would highly recommend it. Though I believe the sequel would improve on this to a massive extent, it served as more than a mere template for greater things to come.

Score

48/60

8/10 (Very Good)

Plok (Super Nintendo)

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Plok

Developer(s) – Software Creations

Publisher(s) – Activision, Tradewest & Nintendo

Designer(s) – Ste & John Pickford, Lyndon Brooks & John Buckley

Producer(s) – John & Ste Pickford

PEGI – 3

Reborn out of an abandoned arcade game entitled Fleapit, Plok was a traditional 2D platformer typical of the type of game that Nintendo would most frequently publish at the time. It’s a pretty enjoyable game, and wonderfully weird in conceptual design, as many of Nintendo’s own efforts were. Interestingly, Mario and Donkey Kong’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto expressed a strong interest in working on the game himself. But in the end, Nintendo simply chose to publish the game in Europe. Designer Ste Pickford suspected the reason behind Nintendo’s ultimate reluctance was that they thought the game was too similar to the upcoming Yoshi’s Island for Nintendo to want to work on both. Although I think Nintendo unanimously made the right choice, that’s not to discredit Plok. For me, it still stands out as one of the better 2D side scrollers on the Super Nintendo.

Graphics – 7/10

As colorful and outlandish as most other efforts from Nintendo at the time, Plok features a fair bit of visual diversity in its level design. As well as some particularly strange enemies, such as walking vegetables and disembodied heads disguised as road signs. Even the main character himself is extremely strange in design. He is a red creature in a yellow t-shirt capable of firing his own limbs at enemies to fight. Although at first glance the game may seem pretty weak from a conceptual standpoint, I think players do have to wonder what was going through the developer’s heads whilst making this game.

Gameplay – 7/10

For a game that was quite archetypical for the mid-nineties, it’s surprising to discover just how much variety there is in the gameplay. Aside from simply having to get from point A to point B in lieu of the genre’s tradition, there are also bonus sequences that require players to race through courses on various vehicles. Most likely a reason why Nintendo may have felt it to be too similar to Yoshi’s Island. There’s also a small element of Donkey Kong Country. Whereby the player can collect the four letters from Plok’s name to receive extra lives. And even a reference to Metroid in the way Plok jumps.

Controls – 10/10

As 2D side scrollers were the set standard at the time, the developers could have had even greater problems than they ended up doing on a commercial level with this game if the control scheme hadn’t been handled correctly. Fortunately, however, there are no issues with the controls. And it plays out just as well as any other game in the genre, with no unnecessary complications.

Lifespan – 6/10

Plok can take just under 2 hours to complete. This was about the average lifespan of a video game at the time. It actually surprised me somewhat that this game lasted as short a time as did, since the similarities between it and Yoshi’s Island in terms of variety in gameplay are very noticeable, and Yoshi’s Island could be made to last about an hour longer than that; even longer if the player would try to complete the game to 100%.

Storyline – 6/10

The story simply follows the main character Plok, who after having one of his many flags stolen, sets out to retrieve it. Only after doing so, he arrives back home to find that he had been distracted. Merely by somebody else to steal the rest of his flags. And Plok resolves to find them all again. Most games of that era, and the era before, were relatively light on story, and this is no exception. However, the developers did change things up as the game progressed, and there are a few interesting references. For example, one of the dud flags discovered at the end of one level is in the form of a pair of red dungarees; an obvious reference to Super Mario Bros.

Originality – 6/10

Taking into account both its gameplay variety and conceptual design, Plok stands out about as much as any other game of its kind could have done at the time, which wasn’t an easy thing to do, so at least some credit is owed to its developers for that. It would have taken some serious talent to make a game in the genre stand out as much as possible, and this title certainly does that.

Happii

Overall, Plok is a pretty fun side scroller, and it comes recommended by me. It isn’t one of the greatest games of all time, but it’s certainly one of the most standout games of its respective era; it’s just a shame that Shigeru Miyamoto ultimately decided against dedicating the first-hand effort to it. We can only speculate how much better a game it would have turned out to be.

Score

42/60

7/10 (Fair)