1 – Going to the dentist to get a root canal
2 – Mowing the lawn – hey its not that fun but it does give you exercise
3 – Getting a new car
4 – Hanging out with your favorite band, celebrity, etc
5 – Chuck Norris roundhouse to the back of the face! (because nothing is more powerful!)
Using the this scientific rating system I declare this game to be a Chuck Norris round house to the back of the face! This is an early hybrid game. Take one part Double Dragon, One part RPG, add a sprinke of humor and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Viola! It was very innovative, detailed and pretty lengthy for its time. There are only a couple of minor drawbacks, that I will explain, but you can't go wrong with this title. (Also check out the release with slight tweaks for the Gameboy Advance system)
- Gameplay : For the 8-bit era this was a pretty detailed and ambitious game. Initially you think the game is a simple beat 'em up similar to Double Dragon. However once you start playing you realize there is a lot more to it. After you defeat characters they drop money. Use this to upgrade your characters by eating various foods or purchasing technique book/clothing. You have various weapons and lots of different areas to fight in. Now one of the minor drawbacks is the password system. The cartridge did not have a battery backup, like Zelda. It is tiresome to enter that large password. The other minor drawback is enemies can sometimes hide off screen and get cheap hits. However once you get used to the flow of the game you can actually exploit this to your advantage. The real meat is fighting, saving up loot and building up your character. Multiplayer is also present so you and a friend can team up to take out the bad guys.
- Graphics: As an original NES game the graphics and details are really good. The environment is detailed, you get to see hilarious expressions on enemies faces while getting punched or kicked. Also there are animations of characters panting if low on energy. Characters are a good size and small touches to streets, parks and buildings add interest. There is no noticeable drop or chug in frame rate. The way the characters are drawn adds to the over all feel of the game. Kind of reminds you of the 50's era street gangs in a way.
- Sound: Well what else can you say about NES sounds. You have all the appropriate music (that changes for good old boss fights), typical smacks and thuds. Nothing spectacular compared to modern systems but good for the time period and with what the hardware can produce. It does not get annoying like some games of that era and since you will be engrossed in the game it will all blend together.
- Story: Well this is a plain Jane go rescue your girlfriend type of story. This is also a minor drawback. What does help the story though is the interaction with characters. Bosses will give you information as to what is going on and with whom you need to find next. This isn't linear and sometimes you have to back to previous areas to meet up with someone new. The enemies add some zing as well with funny sayings as they get pummeled – BAAAAARRRRFFFF!
- Learning Curve: There is nothing too difficult. Just level up your character for better combat and defense options. Sometimes figuring out what food/item/book does what is a bit of random purchasing and memorization. Its not a knock against the game, just makes it fun to figure out what is most useful. Just make sure you watch your stat screen and keep building up your character.
- Control Scheme: Since you are operating a game based on a simple controller it is just the directional pad and the A, B, start and select buttons. (Ah the good old days) There is no customer layout, but if it isn't broke don't fix it. The setup works perfectly with this game. You'll be beating up everyone in no time.
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