Ariel the Little Mermaid
Ecco Jr JrGenre: action - platform
Publisher: Sega
Year: 1992
System: Genesis
Gameplay Score: 1
Gameplay Notes:
Ostensibly this looks like a certain other underwater Genesis game but this title has none of the fluidity of the Ecco games. Movement is extremely imprecise and floaty. It's so bad that after a while I didn't even try to avoid enemies or obstacles. I just powered right through them cuz if I did try to avoid them it would just slow my momentum and all but guarantee that I take four times as much damage as I would if I just swim right through them. You can attack (and I use that term lightly) by firing a projectile head of you. Where it goes is random like shooting a shotgun and it's range is extremely short. So you basically have to mash that button as you move anywhere. Enemies don't die. They just get stunned and the hit detection is atrocious. Again. Again, the best thing to do is to mash and just go.
Level Design Score: 2
Level Design Notes:
The levels are a linear maze and the objective is to find and shoot all of the unfortunate souls who've been turned into kelp. There's a map on the pause screen that shows the location of each of these so navigating a level is easy enough. Unfortunately the map takes a long time to paint onto the screen so it's kind of annoying to bring it up. Levels end with a boss fight. These are annoying, especially since you can't tell if enemies are taking damage and how much health they have left.
Theme Score: 2
Theme Notes:
It's based on a movie that won't translate well to video game form since they're very little action in it. Aside from swimming around as a character from the movie, this doesn't look or feel like it's related to the property.
Art Style Score: 1
Art Style Notes:
Art and animation are practically a given for any Disney vide change of this era but this game is a notable exception. Not only do the sprites look a little of but the animation is non-existent. On top of that the world your swimming around in bear little resemblance to the movie. If my expectations were lower I'd give this a 2 but this deserves worse.
Audio Score: 0
Audio Notes:
Poor quality music. Like something from an educational game. Tolerable but not good. The sound effects, on the other hand, are downright embarrassing. I swear they're played using plastic instruments. And they're loud.
Overall Score: 24
Review ID: 749
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