Hanna Barbera's Turbo Toons for SNES PAL
Review #3911
Hanna Barbera's Turbo Toons
Heavens to Murgatroyd! Exit, stage left.
Gameplay
Plays like Super Sprint or Super Off Road but you're one of six Hanna Barbera characters running around. Controls are static such that up is always up. Steering is initially very loose but in League mode you can power up your stats by collecting gems in-race and spending them on stats for acceleration, speed, grip, and turbo. After only a single race you can steamroll the competition so badly that the only real challenge is avoiding racers as you lap them.
The only thing you can do besides running around and collecting gems is to jump. If you hit another racer they will spin out for a couple of seconds. With so little to do and such low difficulty this game gets boring almost immediately.
Level Design
For years I thought this rom was an incomplete, unreleased prototype. I only ever played a single race "Ranger Smith's Jellystone Park" because that's what you get if you simply hit Start from the title screen. After confirming that this was, in fact, released in Europe and after also confirming that I had the right rom, I knew I had to figure out where the rest of the game was. Lo and behold, there are four game modes and 20 tracks! They're only accessible by pressing Select from the title screen instead of Start. The resulting page uses onyl graphics (no text) to allow you to select the four modes (training, single race, league, and battle). Those Europeans and their inability to use text!
The League mode is the only one worth playing as a single player. Having four leagues gives the game some replayability but with only five racers per league things end rather quickly.
Theme
Who doesn't love the Hanna Barbera crew?! Yep, I'm of a certian age. Aside from the HB sprites, which are dead ringers for the cartoon characters, there isn't much in the way of presentation. It doesn't feel like a HB cartoon - it's just a hollow racer with HB sprites. Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, Snagglepuss, Hong Kong Phooey, and Yogi Bear
Art Style
The sprites are awesome! Unfortunately, that's about all. The tracks are bland by comparison and the menus have a cheap look to them.
Audio
No music and barely any sound. The almost complete lack of audio in this game is a big reason why for years I thought this was a prototype.
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