Umihara Kawase
Bionic Commando meets Dora the ExplorerGenre: action - platform
Publisher: TNN
Year: 1994
System: SFC
Gameplay Score: 3
Gameplay Notes:
Quite possibly the most original movement tech in a platformer. You have a short jump, thankfully, and can ledge grab and climb cliffs, but the real innovation is a grappling hook that's equal parts Bionic Commando and Getting over it with Bennett Foddy. That is, it's an awesome idea with amazing physics, but man is it frustrating to use! You can do some impressive things with your hook, like swinging across the screen, bouncing up to higher ledges, and hooking the far side of an edge to slingshot yourself up-and-over, or down-and-under the various platforms. And by "you" I mean someone who dedicates a ton of time to figure out the nuanced mechanics of bouncing, swinging, and reeling the line in or out. It's more art than science, and I struggled to make it work in my little brain. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that enemies appear which kill in one hit. They can be caught and reeled in to destroy them but they respawn quickly, often, and in random locations. It's quite annoying, to be honest. I'm not sure whey they were even included as the game would be better without them or their randomness.
Level Design Score: 5
Level Design Notes:
The goal is to get to the open door before the generous time runs out. The levels are expertly crafted to train, and then test your ability to use the game's core mechanic. Aside from the annoying enemies, this game is very well made.
Theme Score: 2
Theme Notes:
Your character looks like Dora the Explorer. Your grappling hook is a fishing rod, and the enemies are varoius forms of ugly fish and eels. Weird, and ugly. Oh and the presentation is not good either.
Art Style Score: 1
Art Style Notes:
Who's the monster who created the backgrounds and platforms in this game? They're hideous! The backgrounds, in particular, are monochrome, low-res landscape images. The tiles and platforms you move around on are primarily made up of checkerboard patterns. It looks more like a bad Tetris knockoff than a platformer. They don't fit the the theme at all. And to top it all off, the HUD is alwauys on screen and occupies the middle third of the screen. Right where you are. Seriously, who designed this UI?!
Audio Score: 2
Audio Notes:
The same annoying song plays in every level, and even on the Pause screen. It's not the worst thing int the world, but I recommend muting it and playing your own soundtrack.
Overall Score: 63
Review ID: 1946
No comments:
Post a Comment