u/White_FIame

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling had an awesome premise, with the Kingdom of Alurea being destroyed by an evil Clown which left behind 2 infant Princes. Once they grew up, they swore revenge upon the evil that killed their parents. The quest was to gather the Dragon’s Blue Eyes and save their home! 
• The presentation was very cool as well, although quite fast for a thorough read. 
• While the characters didn’t have proper introductions, the 2 Princes wore Blue and Red for an easy distinction. There were some more like a Princess, a huge variety of bosses and some helpers along the way. 
• Pacing was very fast, with the whole game being no more than 30m. Quite awesome for a quick play-through!

 

GAMEPLAY (10/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were very fluid and easy to execute. You could jump, duck, hang to walls, fly or even swim underwater. The whole gameplay felt so good on each location too, I was pleasantly impressed. 
• While combat was mainly reduced to the sword swings, you could charge your magic attack for some ranged slices, use specials which obliterated the whole screen with style, and collect a variety of swords and health items which helped along the way. 
• Platforming though, pretty simple and a lot of fun. You progressed through each level with great vibes while obliterating everything in your way. 
• Traversal too, which had small levels with great variety. 
• Speaking of variety. The enemy encounters and overall boss fights were more than plenty, in fact, even if some were reused, their overall attack patterns and visual variety was outstanding! 
• Difficulty was good, although I did use at least 10 coins here, maybe more.

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design was mostly reduced to its mono output, but the overall sound effects felt so good. Upon picking up coins, you got that sweet beep, as well as hitting enemies or even during jumps. 
• The music was fantastic, with so many soundtracks it was simply too much, in a good way. The metallic design perfectly fit with the whole game! 
• While the dialogues were too fast to read through, I did appreciate what little of them I could skim.

  

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was outstanding for 1990. The overall visual effects, enemy animations, destructible environments and parallax scrolling was impressive. 
• Character models and boss battles were great too, with a lot of mayhem on the screen. 
• The art style was something special. Even though the levels were reduced to 3/4m at a time, their overall quality was fantastic!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design was divided into 9 tiny sections, and each one surprised you with new additions. Starting with the Forest, then ascending to the Clouds, just to descend into the Underwater world. Soon after leaping forward towards the Castle Grounds, Underwater sections, external Walls, Dungeon, Throne and the final battle with the evil Clown himself. 
• The atmosphere with the beautiful landscapes, music composition and overall world destruction was purely magical.

 

TL;DR -> What more can I say, an outstanding little journey. It delivered on everything, including its charming story. While I wished for a longer stay, I did enjoy what little I got. A (9.4) game, masterpiece in my book. Would absolutely replay the game in CO-OP, because while the Princes fought the evil Clown, we shall see which one will get the Crown! 

Done all the challenges up until now, and with only 2 remaining, I’m officially calling it quits. No way in hell I’m going to drive for 30m under immense pressure with heavy SUVs trying to literary send me to the moon!

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling was charming yet simplistic. It told the journey of Prince Paco and his quest to liberate the Marvel Land from the King Mole, which wanted to control the Amusement Park and its people.  
• It had a nice presentation with cool animations in between. I did love the zooming in in real time, for 1990 that was really impressive! 
• While Prince Paco was the main character with his antagonist King Mole, the game also had a final credit scene with all the characters, enemies and boss’ names. Throughout the 4 levels, you fought the Great Condor, Yoroi Ankou, Princess A-La-Mode and Mole himself. All that to rescue the 4 Fairies and bring peace to the Land. 
• Pacing was great, with no more than an hour of play if you used your momentum and jumped though the stages. 
• Another thing I loved about the game, was how on bonus stages the game presented you a lot of characters from other games. It was such a marvellous surprise!

 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• While the controls had only one button to mash, the overall mechanics and their use was so good and innovative for the time. You had your jump button which got you through most of the sections, a duck ability to dodge enemy projectiles or skim through tight spaces, power ups like your clones helping you defeat distant enemies, the wings which gave you higher jumps with a gliding ability, and some red boots which gave you increased momentum! 
• The game was divided into 2 traversing modes. One with normal jumping and the other on the ferries. The way each level was presented with unique ways of progressing was really cool, although quite repetitive by the end. 
• Platforming was fantastic, but be warned, it got so hard and pixel perfect by the end it was crazy. You had to utilise all your abilities, power ups and clever dodging to avoid a lot of enemies and traps. 
• Speaking of traps and puzzles, very well done. The game was much more focused on momentum than clever placements or jumping abilities. You always had to understand that it didn’t matter if you jumped on a pole, barrier or enemy head, as long as those jumps generated enough momentum to get you to the end level. 
• Enemy variety was impressive with a lot of different enemies, and a bunch of annoying ones. Boss battles on the other hand were simplistic apart the final one, and get this, you had to play rock / paper / scissors to defeat 2 of them and the other 2, well, good luck smashing your jump button! 
• Difficulty was progressive with a steep difficulty curve by the end. I liked it a lot, because it taught you how to handle yourself in tight situations, which by the end helped you with most encounters!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design had that pleasing stereo output, with most sound effects sounding crisp and punchy. 
• The music was fantastic as well, having a lot fitting soundtracks! 
• Voice acting while limited to some dialogues, was rather impressive for a 1990 game! 
• Ambient sounds too, with water splashing enemies, bobbling lava and quicksand shivering effects!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was marvellous in all its glory. I couldn’t believe that it was released in 1990, because every effect, pixel art and overall parallax scrolling was out of this world. 
• Character models too, with cool animations and visual effects all around. I did love how each enemy was showing off, and they bloody delivered! 
• The art style in combination with the visual effects had outstanding vibes. Even though some levels had reused assets, their placements were quite unique!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was very impressive during its 4 different worlds. Even though mostly similar to one another, I did enjoy passing through the Flower and Grass Lands, as well as the Sweet, Ice and finally Lava Land. The only drawback was the asset reuse, apart from that, it had really cool vibes with a fantastic atmosphere! 
• The Landscapes were heavily reused though, which I didn’t appreciate. 
• World destruction wasn’t present, but I quite liked the falling platforms with their cool water, sand or lava animations.

 

TL;DR -> An awesome journey though the Marvel Land. It landed on everything apart its asset use, which did indeed show some repetitiveness. But, the gameplay loop, visual presentation, overall level design and platforming sections delivered outstanding vibes. A (9.0) game, masterpiece in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as the Genesis version is considered the complete experience! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling was great in its own way. It told the journey of Elta, a Magician Lord who defeated the evil sorcerer Gal Agiese by recovering the lost mystical tomes and preventing him from summoning the God of Destruction. 
• Presentation wise, very nice with cool dialogues in between. The evil sorcerer always teased you into the next fight. 
• The characters themselves didn’t see much development, but I did love Elta’s transformation forms. You could shift into a Shinobi, Samurai, Poseidon, Dragon, Electrical and Water Man. 
• Pacing was quite long considering the unforgiving sections of the game. It dragged for excessive amounts mainly in the exploration part, which punished you with a demon spawn that killed you instantly. And the worst part, you couldn’t understand where to go or how to reach a boss until you died like 30 times!

 

GAMEPLAY (1/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were sluggish and very annoying during basic attacks. You had a jump and attack button, which could be used to fire upwards, downwards or on the sides. But, it was such a fucking mess that I simply hated the whole experience! 
• The game also had a brief tutorial, which was useless to begin with. 
• The mechanics by collecting power ups and having more strength were simply useless, as you got hit on basically every occasion. I’m telling you, it’s impossible to predict enemy attacks! 
• On top of that, hit boxes were absolute dogshit, literal fucking garbage. I’ve never seen such a horrible gameplay in any video game to date. 
• While you could get a transformation and gain different characters with awesome abilities, in 2 hits you were reduced to the basic form. In fact, I got so tired of the game that I simply put coins in and stopped trying to manage the already clunky gameplay. 
• Enemy spawns and their overall reach was bullshit, and you died in 2 hits with a loading screen before the respawn. Not to mention that the enemies respawned too, leaving you with the same type of madness to deal with. Plus, some sections were literary designed to fuck you over, because I simply couldn’t get past them without getting hit. 
• Platforming too, sucked literal ass. You could change direction in mid air, which didn’t stop your momentum, but changed it to the opposite direction completely. There was a stage with floating eyeballs that got me so mad I wanted to kill someone right there and then! 
• Traversal was confusing and honestly, garbage. You got many doors that led to different sections with power ups, chests and whatnot. And if you lingered for too long, which happened a lot, you got obliterated by everything and everyone. Oh and don’t forget, floating enemies respawn indefinitely until you reach the boss battle. 
• Enemy and boss variety was cool though, with many having cool attacks that got you killed on each occasion. I swear, I died from each enemy, from everything! 
• The difficulty was impossible. Such a terrible experience, absolute hot bobbly caca. Whoever designed the gameplay was on some highly radioactive mushrooms!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design was awesome, with many sound effects delivering a great punch. 
• The music was outstanding, with so many cool soundtracks! 
• Voice acting was present in its limited form, yet for 1990 was unique. The dialogues themselves while short, hooked you up with that “I’m going to show you otherwise!”

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was marvellous for 1990, with so many visual and parallax effects it was crazy. 
• Character models and their overall animations too, so good on every encounter! 
• The art style was magnificent, and the overall scrolling felt pleasing!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design had its own charm. Starting with the Valley, then going to the Evil Mine, the Alien World, Castle, Hell and much more. The final stage with every boss encounter pieced together felt very ominous! 
• On the atmosphere side, incredible vibes. The combination of landscapes, parallax scrolling and overall visual presentation was simply magical. 
• World destruction was quite limited, but for 1990 I’d say it bloody delivered.

 

TL;DR -> While it was hard to swallow the medicine, it forced itself down my system. The game was a literal masterpiece apart its gameplay aspect, which to be honest, makes or breaks a game. To me, it sucked on every, single, scenario. I value gameplay over everything else, and this one was, how do I put it, like a Century Egg. While the outside looked harmless, the inside reeked of absolute disgust. A (7.8) game, very good based solely on its looks and vibes. I wouldn’t touch this piece of garbage ever again, not unless I’d want to torture some friends of mine. To whoever wants to try a play-through, please squeeze your buttcheeks extra hard, you’ll need the pressure! 

GAMEPLAY (5/10) 

• Starting with controls, which had weird inputs and would always get you in trouble. The spell casting mechanic was dumb, as you couldn’t select your spells properly in any fast paced situation. The jumping mechanic was good, but unorthodox. Attacking felt too slow in comparison to enemy projectiles.  
• You could select a variety of spells to help you in battle. Starting with the normal attack, a boomerang, slow time, shield barrier, fast movement, instant kills, become fire itself and summon a helper. The last one was my main choice, mostly because I didn’t have to do anything but watch him obliterate everyone. 
• Platforming was basic yet clunky, with most gaps being way too narrow for proper jumps! 
• Traversal was confusing and honestly way too repetitive. You had your 3 realms to explore, but I ended up in a loop with no ending in sight. Problem was, after defeating the dragon, the game would spawn some dudes or princesses and launch you back on another similar level, which confused me as I was expecting a proper ending! 
• Difficulty was manageable once you learned enemy and boss patterns, yet quite unforgiving when there were too many enemies on screen.

 

AUDIO (7/10) 

• Sound design was very simplistic with the same sound effects and music, which looped you into believing you were actually getting somewhere. In any case, for 1985, I’d say it was charming.

 

VISUALS (8/10) 

• Fidelity was nice with a lot of reused assets. The only levels that felt somewhat different were the dungeons. 
• Character models were fantastic though, for 1985, seeing so many enemy variations was very impressive! 
• The art style delivered with its bright landscapes and the visual effects themselves had a nice presentation.

 

WORLD DESIGN (7/10) 

• Level design was repetitive and very monotonous apart some different platforming sections. 
• The atmosphere was addicting though, mostly because I was so immersed into believing there was an ending that I chased the letter G with all my focus! 
• World destruction was nonexistent apart from destroying shiny chests, still, 1985!

 

TL;DR -> A pretty nice Wizard world, with cool visuals and repetitive loops. One play-through could be achieved in less than 5m, but it hooked me for more than an hour. A (6.8) game, good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, as it was really monotonous! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (6/10) 

• Storytelling had its own charm, although was reduced to simple dialogues during boss battles. It followed the quest of the Brave One in search of the Black Orb, with 2 endings that you could choose as you pleased. 
• Its presentation was unique with a cool vibe, mostly because it all led to the Dark Lord Drokmar and his dominion over the whole world. 
• While the main character didn’t have any dialogues, there were many side characters that helped you along the way! 
• Pacing was long and repetitive, oftentimes dragging for no reason whatsoever in its 51 monotonous sections. The levels themselves were heavily reused and would always drag on with the same type of progression!

 

GAMEPLAY (7/10) 

• The control scheme was basic with 2 buttons, yet quite difficult to execute in action. You could duck, jump and attack with your sword or with the allies that could have ranged attacks as well. I preferred the Dragon to the others, because he was literary OP! 
• The upgrade mechanic with different swords was welcomed, and each one had their unique abilities too. From a normal sword to the lighting or fire one, which blasted enemies from farther away with their magic. Also, you could pick up a variety of shields to block projectiles, but it was useless against melee attacks. 
• On top of that, the health system was really good. You could get more than 1 life stack, but by the end the enemies were so tough that I simply put coins in like crazy! 
• The map system at the top helped to some degree, leading you to the right door instead of roaming around an already repetitive world. 
• By unlocking doors with the keys you collected, you could get allies that gave you health or points, helping you as a bonus. Plus, opening chests always gave you a surprise, a rock in the head, a sword in the back or an explosion besides the usual rewards! 
• The game also had some platforming sections, although reduced to basic falling platforms and jumping sections. 
• Enemy variety was heavily reused, as well as boss fights. I was expecting some variety near the end of the game, but nada, only reskinned enemies! 
• Traversal was monotonous and the overall progression felt dragging. With only the sword upgrades feeling somewhat good. 
• Difficulty was quite easy at the start and unforgiving by the end. There were instances where the whole screen was filled with enemies and you simply pressed attack while hoping for the best.

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design was pretty good for 1990, with great use of sound effects and little voice shouts! 
• The music on the other hand was fantastic, with so many great soundtracks all around. Even though the levels were heavily reused, the music kept you entertained!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was great for 1990, although with some drawbacks on repetitive assets. 
• Character models and their overall animations were great as well, with many having their unique set of attacks and move sets! 
• The art style was fantastic on each location by having hidden landscapes through parallax scrolling!  
• Visual effects were nice when you saw the attacks having their own twists. Like the thunder power ups, the lighting sword or the falling boulders. Very well done!

 

WORLD DESIGN (7/10) 

• Level design while heavily reused, had a charming and engaging loop. You always expected the same type of environments just to be surprised with a new painting, a new landscape or a new set of traps. Climbing the 51 floors up to the top of the tower was monotonous sure, but beautiful as well. 
• The atmosphere was there, with that medieval vibe that hooked you up for a pleasant adventure! 
• The landscapes were gorgeous and world destruction while not impressive, did deliver in its own way!

 

TL;DR -> While the game was rather tedious by the end, it did deliver cool vibes all around its 51 monotonous locations. The gameplay and world design was there, as well as the visual and audio cues, with only the story lacking behind. Nonetheless, a pleasant adventure to save yet another forgotten world. A (7.6) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, mostly because of its heavily reused assets. It did have CO-OP play, but I think I’ll just take the Black Orb and be on my way! 

STORY (8/10) 

• Storytelling was charming and simplistic. You fought off Satan (Fire Demon) and his fiery minions in your quest to save the Woody Lake Land. 
• The presentation was fantastic with cool little interruptions in between, rewarding your bravery with nice cutscenes. 
• While Hipopo was the main character, his quest wasn’t just to save the valley, it was to save his friends and girlfriend Tamasun along the way. 
• Pacing was just right, with the whole game taking from 40m to an hour or more. The different paths at the end of each boss battle were welcomed, this way adding to the replay value!

 

GAMEPLAY (10/10) 

• The controls were pretty basic throughout the whole game. Problem was, with the amount of traps and surprise enemy spawns, it was nearly impossible to execute a perfect run. 
• You always had to predict enemy encounters while dodging constant projectiles and avoiding a lot, and I mean a lot of creative traps! 
• The game itself had a lot of cool mechanics with the water bubbles. Once they popped, the water would flow through the gaps and hit enemies or simply move them around. Quite impressive for 1990. 
• On top of that, you used them to traverse level gaps with mechanical boats, solve cool puzzles which required precision, grow plants to ascend and even defeat mini-bosses by hitting their weak spots. 
• You also collected different power ups which could increase the size of your water bubbles or gain extra speed by collecting trucks. One ups as well, although quite hard to reach. Plus, some power ups had that one hit ability, like Mario with his star power, or simply the obliterating screen power up which I found great. 
• Platforming was a lot of fun yet quite hard to execute by the end. I did love how unorthodox the levels were, which gave you an advantage during different sections with lots of enemies on the screen. You always had a way out by using even the slightest gap. 
• Enemy variety was fabulous, as well as bosses. I was so impressed by their attack patterns, blocking abilities and even surprise attacks. You didn’t know what to expect through the whole game, because the enemies were always different. The underwater ones were a pain in the ass though! 
• Traversal was brutal on most later sections, with the final boss being nearly impossible to beat. Some advice, make sure to eliminate them fast, as the more time passes, the thinner your chances! 
• The difficulty itself was a wake up call. You started the game thinking that you’d have an easy journey, just to get slapped in the face with a reality check later on!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design was incredible even though reduced to its mono output. There were so many sound effects with cool mechanical parts, screams, the water bomb itself and even the environmental ambient sounds all around. 
• The music too, spectacular on each level. I was so impressed by its variety and placement, especially the Pyramid levels! 
• For a 1990 game, this was so good that I went for a second playthrough right away!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was incredible, with so many cool enemy encounters, landscapes, animations and more. It was simply gorgeous to look at. 
• The character models were outstanding. I loved how on each jump or fall, Hipopo would look down as if predicting his doom. These little details made these games stand out. 
• The art style was out of this world. Each section unique, each level with a different twist, just WOW. 
• The visual effects too, with so many variations that I’d have to write an essay for a full description. The water effects were something special, as well as enemy projectiles, the chasing fire, spikes, trap mechanics and more!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design was simply perfect. Not only because you could choose different paths, but also because their creative designs made your jaw drop on most occasions. From the Woody Lake to the Water Land, Mechanical Factory, Pyramid, the Giant Tree, Cloud Temple and ending with the unforgiving Fire Castle. All that combined into a beautiful showcase on the initial map, where Hipopo would fly on his Giant Pelican into all these locations! 
• The atmosphere was wet, and I mean it in every sense of the word. Nothing could stop Hipopo from soaking everything and everyone in its way, which provided an awesome vibe. Also, the changing times of day during the gameplay itself was simply outstanding! 
• Landscapes and overall destruction were fantastic, with each mini-boss, enemy or boss having progressive destructive patterns.

 

TL;DR -> An incredible journey through the Wonder Land. It delivered on everything, including a huge water bubble right at your feet. While it started as a simple adventure, it did expand into a phenomenal showcase. From its story to its visuals, music, world and even gameplay mechanics. A (9.6) game, GOATED in my book. Would absolutely replay the game in the future, just to get soaked from head to toe by Hipopo’s bubble flow! 

GAMEPLAY (3/10) 

• While storytelling wasn’t present in the Arcade version, Karnov did hunt the 9 levels for his long desired treasure map. The Japanese NES game had cutscenes and a story where Karnov was on a quest from God in redeeming his freedom! 
• The controls were simplistic and quite straightforward, but with a twist, a heavy one. You had your fireball attacks, from Karnov’ mouth at that, the jumping, ducking and the items. The items though, were a pain in the ass to select. You had to walk left or right to select them, and guess what, during combat, it was an absolute nightmare. You basically had to remember each enemy spawn before proceeding with your desired weapon or ability. Sorry, -3 points just for this dumb shit. 
• The game had its own platforming sections which again, required you to know what’s ahead. I get the coin eater succulent technique, but if you want my coins, at least let me restart from the near point I died, not at the start of the level. And from what I’ve heard, the cabinet didn’t allow for continues, what?! I wasn’t born in the 80s, but if I was, I’d say fuck that! 
• Enemy variety, traps, boss battles and the overall progression was absolute carnage. There was always, and I mean always a surprise around the corner. 
• I’ll admit, once you memorised enemy spawns and got good at dodging techniques, it became easier. By easier I mean getting fucked sideways instead of straight down the drain! 
• Traversal was brutal and the difficulty is forbidden to speak of. If you truly want a mind fuck, you know what awaits ahead.

 

AUDIO (7/10) 

• Sound design was good for 1987, and it shined in all its mono glory. 
• The music on the other hand was repetitive with little twists at boss encounters or near the end of the game. 
• Sound effects were basic, but I did love the thunder cracks!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was impressive for 1987, with most animations having excellent fluidity! 
• Character models were spectacular for the time with their unique animations and surprise attacks. 
• Performance had some hiccups during the underwater level and on some intense enemy encounters. Nothing major, in fact it helped with the absolute carnage the game had to offer! 
• The art style was magnificent for 1987, with each level having that eye opening vibe! 
• Visual effects were mostly reused, but I did love the water splash with Karnov’s heavy ass!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was very diverse with clever traps, beautiful landscapes and awesome vibes. Through all the 9 levels you didn’t feel any monotonous designs, all diverse with their own twists! 
• The atmosphere was mostly ruined by the constant deaths, mostly because it was hard to enjoy the vibes while in a deep state of penetration! 
• World destruction was awesome for the time, with lots of destructible objects and enemies all around.

 

TL;DR -> What more can I say, a pretty rough experience with a gorgeous look. It was like seeing that Christmas candy you wanted so much, just to unfold it and taste literal disgust. While it shined on the visuals, audio and world design, it crushed your soul with its unforgiving difficulty. A (7.0) game based solely on its audio and visual showcase. It’s not a good game, the opposite in fact. I wouldn’t touch Karnov ever again, wait, that came out wrong! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

STORY (6/10) 

• Storytelling was the same as the Peter Pan iterations, with Captain Hook always taking the hardest kick. 
• The presentation was nice with cool little images in between, telling the already known story of why Peter had to kick butt. 
• The characters themselves were quite diverse, which I loved playing and discovering each of their special attacks. While Peter was the main character, the others were on par if not better on most occasions. 
• Pacing was great, with the whole game taking around 30/40m to complete. It was divided into 6 sections, which didn’t drag for too long. 
• As a last note, I did love how each character had its own stats, this way making you decide if you want to have a tank playthrough or a more versatile one. But if you had the cash, you could simply try them all!

 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were very basic and to the point. You could jump, attack, grab, punch, kick, do specials which cost you health and even throw weapons, use them against the same enemies or simply punch downed pirates! 
• I did love the trap mechanic, as well as explosive throwables. You always had to wait for the perfect opportunity to drop a bomb, cut an anchor or simply use the environment to your advantage. 
• While the game did get intense towards the end, I did find the health items pretty useful. They were plenty as well, making the journey more seamless. Speaking of difficulty, it was very progressive without any extra spikes in between. 
• Traversal was good, but way too limited with its basic movement. 
• Problem was, enemy variety wasn’t too diverse to begin with. They were the same types of enemies with different skins, which I found very monotonous right from the start. Bosses as well, apart some unique ones. On another note, I did love their defeated animations!

 

AUDIO (8/10) 

• Sound design was great, with many cool sound effects combined with its stereo output. 
• The music was nice as well, having some great beats in between. 
• The sound effects themselves were very diverse and always surprised you with a new one throughout the journey.

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity was something special, which I didn’t expect for a 1992 game. Every character and animation seemed hand drawn, with most enemies having such great teases! 
• The character models themselves were fantastic, even though heavily reused. 
• The art style screamed Peter Pan, and I loved each and every location. Fighting pirates with cool backgrounds was a lot of fun! 
• The visual effects didn’t lack far behind, with most explosions, breakables and overall attention to detail matching even some masterpieces out there!

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10) 

• Level design was fantastic for the most part, although quite short on most locations. I did love each one, starting with the Forest and ending with the Icy Mountains and the Pirate Ship while admiring those beautiful landscapes. Unfortunately they weren’t extensive enough! 
• The atmosphere was pleasant, with every encounter feeling like a new adventure, even though with the same type of enemies. 
• World destruction was peak, with nearly everything being reduced to your own mayhem!

 

TL;DR -> An amazing journey through the magical world of Peter Pan. While it lacked the gameplay and story punch, it did deliver with its amazing visuals, cool world design and nice audio. A (7.6) game, very good in my book. Would only consider a replay when playing other Peter Pan games, mainly because it felt pretty monotonous. While Captain Hook crawled around, Peter Pan had all the fun! 

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (10/10) 

• While storytelling was nonexistent, the gameplay shined in its true glory! 
• Starting with controls, which were so slick and steady that I honestly felt right at home. You could jump, use poles, ladders and beams to hang from and pull yourself up or drop down, even avoiding enemy attacks on most occasions. Same for the duck option, although here it was nearly optional, mostly because the main character had 2 guns this time, which meant double fucking around. 
• As in the previous game, you could use vehicles and have fun obliterating every cocksucker in sight. But here, the vehicles themselves were integrated into missions and provided cool boss fights or platforming sections. On top of that, you got the opportunity to save babes from their doom, or simply leave them behind while squeezing your buttcheeks! 
• Speaking of platforming. It was so damn good in combination with the actual combat. You jumped up and down seamlessly without any interruptions, even avoiding boss attacks like a badass! 
• Traversal was seamless without any loading screens in between, only with a tiny interruption for the score board at the end of a level. 
• Difficulty was just right, with many levels being actually on the easier side!

 

AUDIO (9/10) 

• Sound design was awesome, with the game having a stereo output. Thing is, every explosion, enemy death and overall implementation with the music itself was very well done! 
• On the music side, pure awesomeness. The music flowed perfectly with your actual inputs and overall madness on screen, leading to a pleasurable experience. 
• Voice acting was limited to death screams, cool nonetheless. 
• Ambient and sounds effects were spectacular though, with so many cool little details in between!

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was absolute peak for 1994. The 2D elements flowed perfectly with the parallax effects on most locations. 
• The same could be said about character models, which had such well developed animations! 
• Performance was great, but the game did drop frames when the screen was filled with schmucks! 
• The art style in combination with all the visual effects was spectacular, and don’t even get me started on destruction effects!

 

COMBAT (10/10) 

• While the control scheme remained the same as the previous game, here it was much more polished. You could fire your guns in 2 different directions simultaneously, hitting more than one alien at a time. 
• The dual weapons were simply perfect, mainly because you used one with your basic blaster and the second with the power up. And I’m telling you, chaos couldn’t be more freeing, mostly because you obliterated everything, including the world around you! 
• You had your 2 lives per coin, giving you an advantage in tight situations! 
• Enemy variety was expanded to such extents that you became an alien exterminator by the end, sweeping the floor with literal goo! 
• The bosses themselves were spectacular on a level that I couldn’t describe. Each one unique, each one more badass than the previous one. And the last boss was disguised as a sexy babe with an awful dragonbreath, ewww!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10 out of cracking 10) 

• Level design was absolute cinema. And by cinema I mean that experience which elevates your ass from the couch and glues your eyeballs to the screen! 
• The atmosphere too, with fantastic landscapes which not only gave you dopamine spikes, but injected some adrenaline as a bonus. 
• And finally finishing with the world destruction itself, which to be honest was something I never seen before on any other retro game so far. It was, how do I spell it, cracked to such a level that even a Metal Slug crackhead would be surprised!

 

TL;DR -> An absolute adrenaline rush of pure awesomeness mixed with babes, double machine guns and aliens all around. A (9.6) game, GOATED in my book. Would absolutely replay the game with friends, especially since it has a loop gameplay which basically never ends. While the aliens tried to keep the babes, Max stepped in and saved those running dames! 

GAMEPLAY (8/10) 

• While storytelling was basically nonexistent, the gameplay shined in its own way. The game reminded me a lot of Metal Slug, mostly because it was its predecessor! 
• Starting with controls, which were simplistic and to the point. You could jump, duck, use ladders and drop down for some cool platforming. 
• On top of that, you could use machine guns and a variety of vehicles and even a helicopter to fight off enemies. They were easy to control as well, and always provided extra hit boxes as a bonus. 
• The platforming itself was so fluid and seamless that your only deterrent was enemy gunfire. 
• Traversal too, which had side scrolling movements as well as vertical climbing. 
• The difficulty wasn’t too hard, but some sections did require pixel perfect precision!

 

AUDIO (6/10) 

• Sound design was good, but reduced to its mono output. The sound effects themselves weren’t on par with most games from 1991, but it had its own charm in a way. 
• The music was good as well, but nothing outstanding. 
• Sound effects had their own uniqueness, but again, way too simplistic for 1991.

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was very good, with most levels having great world destruction and particle effects. Beware of boxes here, as they do fall right on your head! 
• Character models were great as well, mainly the enemy variety with their unique animations. 
• The art style was fantastic on each level, and I’ll let the screenshots speak for themselves! 
• Visual effects did remind me of Metal Slug, which surprised me with their similarities. Riding the bike was super cool, especially while firing rockets like a badass!

 

COMBAT (8/10) 

• While the overall combat was reduced to its 360 shooting angles, the game did expand with its vehicles and power ups. 
• By picking up a variety of them, you changed your main weapon to a laser beam, flamethrower or straight up grenade launcher. It was pretty basic yet very engaging. 
• Unfortunately the game didn’t have a health system, which got you killed in one hit. You did get 2/3 lives in exchange for a coin, but the thrill to execute a level to perfection was more than enough to keep you going! 
• Enemy variety was welcomed, although heavily reused in its already small journey. 
• Boss battles on the other hand were pretty creative with cool pixel perfect requirements!

 

WORLD DESIGN (9/10) 

• Level design was awesome here, with most locations having great vibes. From the deep jungles to the navy, pretty cool. 
• The atmosphere was expanded by the beautiful landscapes and overall impressive world destruction.

 

TL;DR -> An awesome gameplay showcase with its engaging combat style. It had very nice visuals on par with its world design, only falling behind by its simplistic audio output. Still, a fun ride through those pesky enemies. An (8.0) game, very good in my book. Wouldn’t replay it though, mostly because I’m already accustomed to the better concoction called Metal Slug! 

While newer Assassin’s Creed games have innovated the formula and perfected the grind, the OG is simply unmatched on most details.

Starting with crowd density, which is insane considering that it’s a 2007 release. There’re so many NPCs all around, moving in tandem with your own flow, just what an Assassin would need!

Then, you have structure imperfections. I noticed that by climbing different houses, beams, buildings and so on, they’re not the same. All have unique imperfections which can be seen through Altair’s climbing animations.

The shadow density, draw distance and overall quality is impressive too. As well as dust from simple walkings, smoke from the chimneys, and most of all, the overall fog buildup during a rooftop scoop!

I could go on on so many more details like the cinematic vibe, brief sunshades mid gameplay, awesome presentation with the constant smoke buildup, impressive world density and so much more!

So far, a 10/10 on immersion vibes!

STORY (6/10)

• Storytelling was present only at the end, with the story of a soldier finally coming home. 
• It had a nice presentation at the end with cool music and beautiful pictures. 
• Pacing was good without too many interruptions in between, although I hated the loading screens upon death. 
• The game required 2 full play-throughs to see the true ending though, which was good but kind of repetitive replaying the same levels.

 

GAMEPLAY (5/10) 

• Starting with controls, which were simplistic and to the point. You could run, duck or use your Jetpack to hover around and reach higher areas or avoid enemies altogether. 
• You had your health bar as a heat dissipator, which got up and down similarly to modern games. The more damage you took, the more your suit would heat up, unfortunately there weren’t any health items around, so you either waited and got your timer down or proceeded to bash through enemies at your own risk. 
• The same thing for the Jetpack, with a rechargeable battery in real time. It was very useful, especially during the final stages. 
• When your timer ended, you didn’t die instantly like on most Arcade games. Instead, you had around 10/15s to react and try to end the stage fast, because the suit would constantly heat up at a steady rate. 
• Upon death, there was such a beautiful background with the cool music playing that it honestly felt good dying! 
• You also had the radar underneath, which helped you orientate better and predict enemy encounters. Unfortunately some of them were really tough, with rockets, lasers and drones, which I especially despised. 
• Platforming was quite good in its limited form, more so during stage 3/7. You had to use your Jetpack to get on higher platforms and perform precise landings to get ahead. 
• Same for traversal, which was very cool with different environments and obstacles. 
• All that was ruined by the difficulty spikes. During stage 1-3, you managed. But, during stage 4/8, it was literal insanity. Bombs, rockets, mechs all around giving you 0 room to breathe. And on top of all that, during the last boss encounter you had no continues, so if you died, game over!

 

AUDIO (6/10) 

• Sound design was great, with a cool stereo output during explosions, laser beams and overall bass. Unfortunately the whole sound was mixed together terribly, with the gunshots, music and sound effects blended in an awful way. Only the third stage had some good mixes, the rest were bad. 
• The music was forgettable apart the third stage and the final credits, mostly because of the above mentioned. 
• Sound effects were mostly the same, with basic explosions, gunshots and walking sounds. Although I did love the heavy stomps, felt like you were an actual Mech with weight.

 

VISUALS (9/10) 

• Fidelity was very impressive for 1989, with most 2D elements having cool depth which gave you tremendous immersion vibes.
• Character models were cool, with their unique animations and attacks. The main character was pretty basic though, guess that’s how it feels like being a Mech. 
• The art style was phenomenal. I was shocked at the level of detail and the depth of the world itself. Everything seemed so well placed at every step, even those annoying mines! 
• Visual effects were great, but mostly reduced to basic explosions.

 

COMBAT (4/10)

• The game had an auto-aim feature which I hated from the get go. You basically didn’t have any control over which enemy it would hit, and sometimes it focused on the wrong enemies, leading to your doom. From a control perspective, clunky AF. The switching sides mechanic was really slow, thank god for the Jetpack, because without that I would’ve gone mad. 
• You started with your blaster and ended up with the same weapon at the end. No upgrades, power ups or anything in between, simple raw power. 
• The only ability you could use was running, mainly avoiding heavy Mechs. Unfortunately, they always chased you down even if you traversed half the level, which was crazy considering the hardware. The game would slow down in intense firefights as well, where enemies would fill the entire screen and basically obliterate you! 
• From a variety perspective, nothing crazy. You had some enemy variants with rockets, but the others used the same blasters with different colors. The drones on the other hand were super annoying. 
• Mini-bosses were easy, mostly because you could cheese them. But the final boss was literal insanity. Took me a long time to learn his patterns and beat his ass, as you died in 2/3 hits from his laser beams!

 

WORLD DESIGN (8/10)

• Level design was quite awesome, although limited to only 4 levels. The jungle leading to the beach was great, as well as the city and lab with the beautiful landscapes. 
• The atmosphere was there, but mostly limited by the terrible sound overflow. 
• World destruction was very limited to the enemies themselves, which I didn’t mind at all for a 1989 game.

 

TL;DR -> The game started off very strong, with its beautiful visuals and world design. Unfortunately it didn’t quite impress with its story and sound output, leaving the gameplay and combat far behind. While I do respect the 1989 year it came out, I didn’t have much fun. A (6.3) game, average in my book. Wouldn’t replay it, as it was mostly chaotic in every sense, leading to mechanical mayhem! 

GAMEPLAY (6/10) 

• Storytelling was nonexistent, with the game focusing much more on gameplay and combat. 
• There was an initial tutorial showcasing a basic control mapping, nothing too complicated to begin with. 
• The game featured 2 modes. Ground combat and running sections. Pretty nice but really repetitive from the start. 
• Platforming was welcomed, yet reduced to some jumping sections and a couple of moving platforms here and there. 
• Traversal was seamless between each level. Loved the cool running animation which transitioned from combat to running. 
• Difficulty was very hard, to the point where I simply spammed coins just to progress forward. The problem was that the game itself required such precision that you had to be inhuman to have such a reaction time!

 

AUDIO (7/10) 

• Sound design had that stereo output which streamed either from left, right or center by switching to mono. Pretty cool yet not as good as other games I tried. 
• The music was good, but very repetitive by the end. 
• Sound effects had their own charm with unique explosions and robotic sounds.

 

VISUALS (8/10) 

• Fidelity was good, but nothing outstanding. For 1991 it somehow delivered, yet didn’t quite impress. 
• Character models were awesome though. Eight Man had cool animations either when running or doing combos on the ground. The enemies themselves had their own animations and surprised you at every corner. 
• The art style was pretty good as well, with the 5 levels having their own charm. 
• Visual effects were quite basic though, with many enemies simply exploding and fading from your sight without much variety.

 

COMBAT (5/10) 

• Starting with combos, which weren’t as varied as I expected. You could punch, kick, dodge under, do a basic combo or use jumping attacks in tandem with your special ability. By the end, I simply spammed the special ability with the punch button like a madman, mostly because the game got really repetitive without much combat variety. 
• You could also pick power ups like the 8 number and become invincible for a short time, health, specials and even one ups! 
• Enemy variety was outstanding while mini-bosses and the bosses themselves were heavily reused, leading to a monotonous play-through. Although I quite loved the final boss section with the elevator, mostly because it had that suspence up until the top, which not only showcased the huge Mech itself, but surprised you with a totally different boss altogether!

 

WORLD DESIGN (6/10) 

• Level design was good, with most environments having great world destruction and landscapes. Unfortunately it felt quite suppressed with most levels having the same vibes with too many mechanical environments all around. 
• The atmosphere was good though, the running sections with the burning city in the background was a bonus!

 

TL;DR -> A pretty repetitive journey with a lot of reused assets. It suffered from a gameplay, combat and world design perspective, only delivering with its audio and visual details. I really wanted to arrive at an 8/10, but I simply didn’t quite enjoy this one. A (6.4) game, average in my book. Wouldn’t replay it, as it not only was repetitive, but didn’t have much to offer besides its insane precision requirements!