Tag Archives: Nintendo Switch Online

Extreme-G Review

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It’s time for a racing game that was particularly inspired. This game has aged extremely well from the soundtrack to the visuals to the overall gameplay. Every part of the game really went hard and was better than I expected. Definitely a title you will want to check out right away when you boot up the Switch Online again. The game may not have a lot of single player content but the multiplayer is all that you need.

So at its core the main trait for this game is that it’s a futuristic racer kind of like F-Zero. It’s the kind of game where you get to blaze a trail past all of your opponents and go all the way to the goal. The road is fairly narrow so expect a lot of battling until you break away from the pack. You have a machine gun with a ton of ammo but taking down an opponent’s full health bar is extremely tricky. It takes so many hits that it almost feels pointless to use the gun but it’s still fun to have.

There are a number of items in the game though and that’s where it taps into its inner Mario Kart here. You can hit opponents with different kinds of energy blasts, aerial weapons, etc. Turning is the toughest part so half the time I would just absorb the hit and keep on going. Slowing down to do a sharp turn didn’t really feel worth it. Of course I’m sure that there are more optimal ways to play since I just know the basics here. The point is that it’s a lot of fun. The gameplay is very fast and something is always happening. The pacing is extremely good here.

The levels all look good here as well. They are all different while keeping the future aesthetic. Then you have the soundtrack which in particular is a big highlight here. The tunes are all just so good that you are left super impressed. There are very few games on the Nintendo 64 that could hope to hold their own against this one. It’s really ahead of its time. The graphics are also good, perhaps not as impressive as the soundtrack though.

Like I said, there’s not a whole lot of content in single player mode. There’s only 3-4 tournaments to play through there and even in those, some of the levels are recycled. So most of your play time will definitely be in multiplayer mode which is definitely a lot of fun and doesn’t really have any issues. Of course it will help to have someone to play with but there is also an online vs mode thanks to the new online features which is another buff to the game. Everything really went in its favor this time so that definitely turned into the best case scenario.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about the game. It is rather basic after all and that’s part of the charm. I suppose one last tip I will leave you with is to use the boost. It’s a bit deceptive in that you may not even realize that there is a boost feature. You have to tilt the control stick down and then you activate the boost. You can use it 3 times per race and it is a real game changer. You move incredibly fast when using the boost to the point where it’s almost literally game breaking as you fall through walls and deal a ton of damage. It’s pretty fun though I gotta say and that made the game even more enjoyable. I like to spam them at the start to build up a good lead but you can make a good case for saving them for the final lap instead to prevent the computer from doing any rubberbanding.

Overall, Extreme-G is definitely a really fun racing game. It’s basic but the execution is just so good. A lot of modern games could learn from this one’s example. Of course it would be nice to have a true story mode and some other features but when you buy a racing game, the main selling point is the actual racing and there are no issues there. So you really need to play this one as soon as possible and see just why it is so good. It’s definitely a title that deserves some kind of modern comeback.

Overall 7/10

Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls Review

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It’s easy to see why this game never became a household name. I think it’s actually got a fairly interesting premise but the game doesn’t live up to it. The gameplay is way too limited and the platforming part just isn’t too fun. It should have leaned a bit harder into being a full on racing game and that would have worked better. This 50/50 split ultimately ends up limiting the game’s own potential. Still if you have the Switch Online service then you may as well give it a shot.

There are 2 main game modes here, Battle Mode and Grand Prix mode. There is also a training mode and for once I highly recommend that you check it out. It’s not that the controls are necessarily complex but they aren’t always intuitive so you want to know what you are doing first. This is particularly useful because the game can be deceptively difficult. I had an easy time for the first few levels but by level 10 I was starting to be left in the dust. I only won the first tournament by a single point and it was clear that I was going to get smoked in the levels after that.

Basically the race is going upwards rather than towards a goal. For example you need to get to the top floor and you do this by running and then jumping up a level. To fully reach it you have to press another button to grapple onto the ceiling. You can also use this to go down to spring yourself upwards. The physics for this work well but the whole game is super fast paced so you also need fast reaction times. It’s so easy to overshoot your target and run too far. Additionally the enemies are running around too and will try to get in your way. They will actively attack you and do their absolute best to get in your way. They do not hold back. You can use your grapple to slam them to the ground which will stun them for a bit but of course they can do the same to you.

Then the battle mode has the same gameplay but there is no end point. You have to instead hit your opponent 3 times in order to drain away all of his health. Once you have done that then you are all set. It is also a rather difficult mode to get the hang of because you have to time things perfectly since you and your opponent have the same attack range. Whoever lands the blow first will score the point and then you have to repeat that 3 times. I won a lot of times and also lost a lot of times so it was fairly balanced. I probably ended up spending a bit more time in this mode than in the races. It’s slightly more fun but still not thrilling.

The graphics aren’t bad though. It’s clearly not a top tier title by any means but I wouldn’t say it looks cheap either. The development shows the lack of budget more in the actual gameplay I’d say. The soundtrack is also rather good. Not out of this world good or anything like that but definitely good enough to warrant a mention. The technicals weren’t bad but unfortunately when the gameplay doesn’t deliver then the rest doesn’t ultimately matter all that much. Seriously, you need good gameplay to keep someone playing. That is why you pick up the game after all.

There is technically a good amount of content here. You can play through over 10 different grand prixes with several races in them. A lot of the levels do tend to look the same but they do start to get more difficult by covering more of the ground so you can’t jump just anywhere. It means you have to run around to get to your spot. There’s a decent amount of slow time compared to other racing titles which didn’t help this one. Monkey Ball gets around this by keeping a strict time limit on all levels so you have to move really fast. This game could have absolutely learned a few lessons there.

Overall, This is a game that will quickly be forgotten. It’s not that it’s a bad game but it doesn’t really have any hook to it. There’s no reason for me to play this over a traditional racing game like Mario Kart. It doesn’t stand out and there is no story mode to fall back on either. The racing ends up feeling a lot more repetitive due to the gameplay style of just climbing up. I appreciate the creativity here but it’s not enough for me to call this a good game. Ultimately your best bet is to duck this one for now and hope that one day they make a modern remake that really revamps the whole gameplay style.

Overall 5/10

Sugoi Hebereke Review

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It’s time for a game that’s a bit on the odd side. It’s okay but ends really fast. There are only a few levels before it starts looping so your best bet here is definitely the multiplayer mode and even then I’m not sure if it’s really going to keep your interest all that well. But hey I might be underestimating this one just a tad.

Basically you are playing as a bunch of little animals and you fight each other. The gameplay is that of an overhead fighter. The level starts off with a 1 on 1 fight but then as you progress through the game you get a 3 way free for all and then a 4 way free for all. You want to really make sure that you are dishing out the combos and heavy blows early on or you will quickly be left behind. I found the best thing to do was to focus on one opponent until you have him completely defeated. Then move onto the next one. Rinse and Repeat until you’ve finally taken everyone down for the count. It’s much easier this way because the computer isn’t great at head on fights. It is great at landing sucker punches and hits from behind though. When that happens then you are really in trouble.

That’s pretty much it though which is why I don’t put this game much higher. There’s really not much to it here at all. The gameplay is really simple so you will have the hang of it in no time but there is no depth here. It is truly a button masher/brawler all the way but one of the simplest ones that I’ve played. The character cast is quite small so don’t expect a lot of variety there and the same goes for the stages. It feels like the bare minimum amount of effort was put into this title and that’s a shame.

The graphics aren’t bad. At least they do look decent so I won’t say that the game cut any corners here. Could it look better? Yes of course but it’s not bad and that’s the important thing. The soundtrack is supremely forgettable of course but that’s really to be expected. A game like this one isn’t usually going to wow you in that department. Really what should make this game a success is the gameplay and to do that they needed to add more attacks or something. The game needs a hook because right now it doesn’t have one.

When you’re fighting the opponent you’re just thinking that you could be playing Street Fighter instead. Maybe if the story was super good then having it be translated would have helped but even then I have my doubts. I don’t get the feeling that there was much of a story from how short the cutscenes are. So that just means that the game is really out of luck on all sides. I’d play a modern reboot that added a ton of features but as it is this just feels like an incomplete game. If you play it, I guess I’d say to think of it more as a proof of concept. Not a full fledged fighting game. Then you can at least have fun thinking about how you would have tackled some things differently and what content you would have added.

Overall, This is a decent game but it is hurt by the lack of content and replay value. Ultimately there isn’t a ton to do here at all. You won’t be playing this for more than an hour and if I spent any money on the game then I would probably be very disappointed. As a free title with the Switch Online it’s not bad but I still couldn’t call it particularly good. This game will have to put in some work before I can really put it on that level. So, check it out if you’re curious but it doesn’t really hold up next to the others.

Overall 5/10

Super R-Type Review

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Time for another adventure through the SNES catalogue. This game takes us back into the realm of Sci-Fi which is always a good place to be. It’s a fun game but one where the penalty for death is way too high. Getting sent all the way back to the beginning of the level because you took a hit is crazy. This means you have to go through the whole level without getting tagged and that is a tall order. I’d say that it would quickly cross the line from being fun and challenging to just being annoying very quickly. The rewind feature helps to counter that but otherwise it would be rather rough.

There’s barely a plot here but you get in your ship and start to take the aliens down for the count. The gameplay is fairly basic. It’s an auto scroller 2D game where you keep on going through the level and watch as scores of enemies approach you. You are able to use your machine gun to mow them down and can store up energy for a charge shot. You gain new ways to fire your laser as you collect power ups like energy blasts that fire backwards. These are super handy to have and you even get a little drone that helps you out. Like I mentioned before though, if one attack hits you then you blow up. There are no exceptions here so prepare yourself.

There are 7 levels in the game and each one ends with a big boss. Most of the bosses are true glass cannons. They overwhelm the screen with attacks but a few hits defeats them. I appreciate that at least because it’s super hard to dodge their attacks. If they had a ton of health or something then that would just make the problem even worse. As it is you at least feel like you have a chance. Perhaps not an incredible chance of winning since this game is rather difficult but it’s certainly not impossible. I imagine you will get better at reading the different enemy formations as well and coming up with plans of your own to combat them.

Meanwhile the graphics here are rather sharp. The artstyle really makes the most out of them and the enemy designs are all good. My only problem here is how much the game lags. It lags constantly for all of the latter levels since there are so many enemies on screen and this version of the game can’t handle that. It’s just so noticeable that it’s crazy. It’s not the kind of thing that would lower the score for me or anything like that but I haven’t played a game with this much lag in ages so it was still funny to note. As for the soundtrack, it’s reasonable enough. I won’t be humming any of the tunes or anything like that but it sounds good while you are playing through.

So in a lot of ways it’s really what you would expect in a sci-fi shooter. It’s not doing anything out of the ordinary or smashing records but it is delivering a quality experience on all sides. I do think they put in a good amount of effort for this one and it’s clear that it’s not just some easy cash grab. So I can appreciate that. Make a modern remake of this game with a real cinematic story and I think you’d really be delivering on some great content.

Overall, Super R-Type is a pretty good game that is bogged down by the design choice of having such a harsh penalty for death. Without that then I think this would have been a whole lot better. Still, it is entertaining. They did well on the technical elements and it can go blow for blow with a lot of other games in the genre. I’d say win or lose, it’s a fun game to pick up so I recommend giving it a try. Just go for the person high score of how far you can make it and that’s even a fun way to tackle this as a multiplayer type of game. Once you are able to see how far everyone can go you will be all set.

Overall 6/10

Wrecking Crew ’98 Review

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It’s time to look at a game that I didn’t even know existed until very recently. The game has an actual story and everything which was cool, although sadly Nintendo didn’t translate the text so we’re missing out on that quality dialogue. Ultimately the gameplay itself is interesting and reasonably fun but it does get hurt by the implementation. I can see why this game was not originally licensed.

The basic plot involves Mario heading back to the Mushroom Kingdom but Bowser has developed something far more sinister than his old Koopa Hotels. Now he has whole towers and is taking over with a lot of corrupt builders. Mario quickly switches out his classic M hat for a construction one and gets to work. Can he really tear these buildings down and defeat Bowser or is this a fool’s errand? There’s only one way to find out.

So the story is fun of course and the art style has aged well for the cutscenes. The graphics within the game are fun too and it’s why a colorful artstyle like this will often beat a more realistic look that gets dated way quicker. You could have a game look like this in 2024 and I wouldn’t bat an eye because it would still be a fun look. Meanwhile the soundtrack is reasonable enough. It doesn’t quite have the popping themes of the mainline Mario games but it works well enough.

Unfortunately the weakness here is the gameplay and as all gamers will know, it can be hard to get around that. Think of this like Tetris. Technically there is another game type that is even more similar but you have blocks raining down from the top of the screen. Your goal is to match sets of 3 or more of the same type. This allows you to summon block to the opponent’s side of the screen. You win by getting their blocks to go past the ceiling and you lose if the same thing happens to you. One main difference this game has compared to other games of the style is you can jump from row to row and use levers to move the blocks across different spaces. It’s an interesting addition but unfortunately it paves the way for the game’s downfall.

Put it this way, the game is just too easy. You can keep on moving the blocks and breaking them as fast as they come down. The opponent can do this as well so even when you’re landing big combos, nobody ends up dying. The first stage took over 20 minutes before the enemy finally gave in and that felt more like a fluke than anything. The difficulty of the game really needs to be ramped up because otherwise the matches are too long. I imagine it would be even worse with a player who really knows what he is doing.

Now, I’m sure I would still lose against an expert player who is able to chain such long combos together than they would exceed my speed of destroying boxes but the single player mode is almost unplayable. It is possible that I have missed something but it seems to be that the only way to really defeat your opponent is to dial in and risk the big combos but it also means that you run the risk of being defeated. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and so you are unlikely to keep on playing til the end.

There’s no real reason to do so when there are better versions of this game out there. Titles with a good sense of balance that let you progress a lot easier. Maybe the platforming elements are what doomed this one even if they made the title stand out more. It’s a shame but that’s just how it goes sometimes. It definitely keeps this game from having a whole lot of replay value.

Overall, At best I can say that with friends this game could be a little entertaining as everyone takes turns poking fun at the game. Look, I wouldn’t say that it’s downright bad either. There’s just no real reason to play it and that’s a really important factor. If you have the Switch Online then you may as well give it a try since the game is free but otherwise there’s no real reason to dive into this one.

Overall 5/10

Killer Instinct Review

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All right it’s time for a fighting game! Those are always fun to look at. This one is definitely really old of course so it’s certainly not going to compete with some of the newer titles but it’s still pretty solid. It definitely feels like an old Mortal Kombat even though I haven’t played through that series. It just has the vibe you would expect from it. The edge is almost a bit funny with how old the graphics are.

So there’s no story mode or anything like that here. This is all about the fighting gameplay and in a way that’s really what you’re hoping for here. That’s why you are playing after all. The core gameplay is good and at the end of the day that’s why this game is pretty good. It’s got infinite replay value and the character roster may not be very large but all of the characters are quite distinct. My favorite character to play as was easily the guy made out of fire. He reminded me of the Human Torch and was really solid.

The gameplay does take a lot of getting used to in terms of using the combos though. For example, the quarter circle moves I mastered for Street Fighter don’t work here at all. I was able to button mash myself to a few reliable combos that would work but that was really it. Otherwise I just had to hope for the best. It reminds me of Tekken a little bit as well with how one hit can lead to an absolutely devastating combo. I make one mistake and the opponent would immediately counter by taking out half of my health bar. It’s definitely impressive but also rather scary. I imagine that tournament battles for this game would really end very quickly.

After all, a pro player could probably get even more leverage out of that initial hit than a computer would. I could be overestimating the depth of the game and maybe that wouldn’t happen but for now I would bet on losing 70-80% of my health after the hit. So make sure you guard and approach really carefully! That said, it’s a game that I know I would never be an expert at since it’s not like I would have played it much so I would just hold the L there. I didn’t really experiment with the other characters but I’m sure all of the movesets are fairly good.

While there is no story, I should say that the characters do get a quick ending writeup which was nice to see. It reminds me of the classic arcade endings from games like this. The graphics are fairly good. They may be a bit blocky but the designs are all distinct so I do think that the game did a good job in the end. The soundtrack is also decent. Not amazing or anything but I thought the variety was good considering that this kind of game could have easily just had like 4-5 tracks or something like that.

Naturally the replay value really depends on how much you like the gameplay. It’s pretty much infinite as I always say for fighting games since the experience will always be different but by the same token, that means it has to completely compete with other fighting games. A story based game has its own unique scenarios so it doesn’t run into that problem. I suppose you could say it’s one of those things where there are pros and cons to each genre. In the end though the common element is that each game must succeed on its own merits. In the end I would say this one does a good job so it gets the passing grade.

Overall, Killer Instinct is a pretty good game. The combat is really on point and while there is not a lot of different modes for combat, it is fine. The game is 100% focused on being a solid brawler and succeeds in that respect. There’s no story, nothing like that but you know that you can boot this up at any time and really enjoy a solid amount of martial arts. I would definitely recommend checking this one out. It’s a pretty fun blast through history, particularly since I was never really familiar with the Killer Instinct series all that well.

Overall 7/10

Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll Review

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It’s time for another classic retro game. This one’s definitely fairly difficult with how the control scheme goes. Particularly in the last levels you wonder how anybody could pull this off in a reasonable amount of time. You have to be running and jumping while trying not to slip on the ice and it’s a really difficult task. I had to retry the sections so many times. There may only be 11 levels in here but let me tell you that the levels can take a while to complete.

The gameplay itself is fairly simple. You have to maneuver your way through the level until you reach the scale where stepping on it will cause the alarm to hit the ceiling. That means that you have put enough weight on it. At that point, the door at the end of the level opens and you can crawl through it. The way that you pick up weight is to eat the little balls that get shot out of a cannon somewhere in the level. The cannon also shoots out bombs that look similar but you must make sure not to pick up those or you will lose health instead. All the while you have to keep the timer in mind because if that goes to 0 then it is all over for you.

The timer is often the most difficult part to get around. The exception are the ice levels that I mentioned earlier, but it can just be really difficult to get big enough to break the scale before the time goes away. I suspect there is probably a better way to optimize how you eat the pellets since I was just button mashing though. All in all, it’s an interesting gimmick but it’s a gimmick that does get old quicker than standard platforming.

In terms of graphics this isn’t the most impressive Nintendo title. It looks good but it’s nothing to write home about. I do like the artstyle though. In terms of the soundtrack, eh it’s okay but also not super good. So all in all it is passable which is sort of how I would describe the whole game. It excites you a bit with how unique it is and by the end you start to get tired of it. I would say that’s what separates a good gimmick from one that gets old. As you see it used in more difficult contexts you have to ask yourself if this is still a lot of fun or if it’s getting in the way now. In this case it was the latter so then that’s an issue.

While there may not be much in the way of replay value, the 11 levels will take you longer than you might suspect so that’s not actually a big problem. Especially for back in the day when most games were super short. I’d say it’s why people loved RPGs and Mario titles because those were certainly way longer than the average title. It’s definitely quite impressive and I couldn’t appreciate that quite as deeply as I do now after playing all of the competitors. Who knows, maybe this will get a remake at some point, but in the meantime it’ll stay forgotten and that just makes sense to me. It needed to have a little more pop.

I guess my quick gameplay tip for this title is to remember that you are always moving in 4 directions. There is no way to move diagonally despite what the camera angles might indicate. So if you are having trouble getting somewhere, pick a direction and plunge straight ahead. It can be really tough to see exactly where you are going so this helped me a lot in the later levels. It doesn’t mean that things will suddenly get easier but it certainly helps.

Overall, Snake Rattle is a decent game but I do think that the level designs end up holding it back quite a lot. There needs to be less slipping and sliding. If you remove ice from the equation then the levels end up being a lot more pleasant but part of the problem is that you just don’t want to play through the later levels. You just spend too much time slipping around which takes away from the platforming. That’s where this game doesn’t really age well if you ask me. Give it a try if you have the Nintendo Switch Online but it’s not a game that you will be coming back to.

Overall 5/10

R.C. Pro-Am Review

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It’s time for an old fashioned racing game that’s finally back on the NES titles within the Switch Online. It’s definitely extra nostalgic to be back here but I would not say that this is a game which has aged all that well. There just isn’t a lot to do here at all. The content runs out fast and I wasn’t a big fan of the controls.

Now of course you do have to be a little lenient with how old the game is. I probably would have had a much higher view of the game back in the day but now I’ve played things like M&M Kart Racing. I’m going to be expecting a higher bar of stuff in any game. So for this one, you have 32 tracks where you race in order to be the best. One unique thing here is that you keep going as long as you place in the top 3. The spots above that only matter so much as you get better trophies when you win but you can actually play the whole game as a third place finisher and there will be no issues.

Don’t let that fool you into thinking that the game is easy or anything like that though. Put it this way, the A.I. know that top 3 is what you need and so all of the cars are really racing their hearts out. It’s really hard to stay in front of the pack because the turns are so tricky. Turn too hard and you lose all momentum but if you don’t turn enough then you will crash. It’s incredibly difficult to get the turns just right. On the straight roads you can easily overtake the computers but once the turns get involved, that is really game over.

Now you do have items in this game which can help to even things out. I was passing them by for a while but didn’t actually start using them until later on. I kind of assumed they were boosters or something but there’s actually a good variety like rockets and bombs. The rockets in my opinion are easily the best weapons. You can store up over 30 of them and pepper your opponents. The roads aren’t very wide so it is easy to blast them. In the levels I played they would never use the items back at you but I’m guessing the deeper you go, the more they would start busting these things out. Just a guess of course but it makes sense.

The graphics aren’t bad but the soundtrack isn’t memorable. So really my only issue with the game is the lack of content as the 32 level main mode is the only thing but also the gameplay. I just didn’t think it was really smooth. It’s way too hard to make the turns and since you have to do this numerous times in each level, it felt like you could never go at full speed. That really ends up limiting things in the end.

Overall, This is a car game that won’t be able to hold its own with the big shots. The controls need to be ironed out first and then the rest will come into place. I would still recommend checking it out when you have time just since it’s free with the Switch Online. If nothing else, it will give you a greater appreciation for the modern racing titles. I’ve always considered this to be one of the easiest genres to do well but that really just applies to the modern era and I get how an older title would work a bit differently there.

Overall 4/10

ToeJam & Earl Review

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It’s time to play the original ToeJam & Earl title. This one’s fairly basic but in a way that’s the game’s problem. It’s sort of like playing a slice of life video game. I think with more likable main characters and some kind of ongoing story that could certainly work but as it is, there’s not much to keep you here for long. The RNG and everything makes this even trickier as well.

Basically the gameplay revolves around you walking through a level until you find a piece of your spaceship. You need to find 10 pieces in order to leave the planet but of course that won’t be easy. There are 25 levels in the game though so not all of them have a piece. Fortunately the game does let you know right away if a piece is on the level or not so you don’t have to worry about aimlessly walking around or anything like that. Now that would have been annoying so I have to give the game some real credit here. That’s a good quality of life feature.

You walk around as I mentioned and the only real controls are pressing A to interact with things and B to open up your gifts. The gifts are the items of this game and so they are all mystery boxes. At least the first time around, the longer you play, the more you will find gifts of the same type that you have previously opened and those will be marked going forward. The one rough part is that some gifts have negative effects like one that blows you up and one that takes you back to the original level. There’s no way to know which is which on your first playthrough which is rather sketchy.

Some of the items are really handy like one that lets you run around and one that lets you fly. The only problem is that since these are locked behind gifts, it means that you can’t normally run around. Instead you have to walk everywhere which isn’t the most efficient way of travel. Some pieces are also locked behind large jumps so if you already used up that gift, you’re gonna need to go through a few more levels to find one and then head all the way back. That’s definitely not great.

There is a very odd sort of atmosphere around the game which is probably the real selling point here but at the same time I don’t think it’s necessarily as cool as it could have been. I actually have one easy fix for this. Your character should be able to fight. If he was holding a blaster then the game becomes a lot more fun as you blast away at everyone who is in your way. Instead…you guessed it, your only forms of attack are locked behind items that are randomly spawned and temporary. So for most of the game you have to run away from enemies, most of whom are faster than you anyway. So in the end this wasn’t really my cup of tea.

The graphics are fairly good though. Here is where the wild vibes of the game actually come back to help it. The art style is very memorable and you can easily identify everything in your way. This helps with the presents once you are on your next playthrough or if you are using rewind a lot. The soundtrack is less inspiring though and you probably won’t be remembering any tunes in particular.

Then we come to the replay value which is fairly decent here. The difficulty of finding all of the pieces when the levels are constantly changing is already one reason why you wouldn’t beat it too fast. Then because of those changes you might have fun playing it over and over again. There is a lot to have fun with here to be sure as long as you enjoy the gameplay. I wasn’t a big fan of the initial game so the replay value doesn’t do much for me but at least it is there.

Overall, ToeJam & Earl is definitely a very unique game. You can’t say that it is copying any other titles or anything like that. At the same time, I don’t think the gimmick worked this time. So credit to the devs for trying but at the end of the day you won’t be able to win with all of your bets. Some of them will inevitably not pan out and that’s just the way that it goes.

Overall 4/10

Kid Chameleon Review

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The Genesis run is almost over but it’s time for another platformer real quick. This one does have me impressed with how long it is. There are over 50 levels which is almost completely unheard of for this console. Usually we’re looking at 10 levels, maybe 12, etc. 50+ though?? Yeah that’s really impressive. I don’t think the gameplay is the smoothest that I’ve seen on the console but the length really helps to make up for it.

So the levels are your classic platformer type levels which can be long or short depending on what the game feels like. You use different power modes in order to get past the obstacles. For example one of them allows you to break walls by running really fast, another one lets you fly, etc. The power system is really the critical part of the gameplay that makes this different from other platformers.

I would also say there are some puzzle type fundamentals to the gameplay as well. Finding the goal isn’t always as simple as just running to the right. Additionally the timer will actually become a big obstacle as the game goes on. You end up cutting it really close with the levels at times which isn’t easy. You have to have some kind of strategy in mind in addition to pressing on.

So what is the game’s weakness for me? Well, some of the costumes just aren’t that fun. For example there is a bee mode that lets you wall jump. The jumps can be rather tricky which isn’t bad on its own but mix in the game’s odd sense of momentum and you end up going too far or too short at times. It was hard to really wrap my head around it. Some of the puzzles that the level designs were wrapped in were also just a bit too much if you ask me. Removing that element and focusing completely on the levels would have been a good idea if you ask me.

When you get the flying power there are always a ton of obstacles to prevent you from running for long. When you get the power to run through walls, there will be something that makes you switch powers again later on, etc. There are always tons of power blocks to replenish your abilities and give you new powers but that also means you don’t always have a lot of time to enjoy them. There aren’t a lot of bosses here but they can be fun. They are the most difficult part of the game by far though. You have to blast away at these floating heads that are constantly moving and they deal you damage if you bump into them. It’s hard not to with how much they move so that’s where things get tricky. You’ll probably be rewinding a lot there and this is also where the timer becomes a real problem with how large their health bar is.

The graphics for the game are pretty good. They may not be top tier or anything like that but they work well. The soundtrack also isn’t bad. It’s way less memorable than some of the other titles but it works well enough. So the technicals are okay. Nothing to write home about but they also won’t hold the game back. You get a lot of value for your dollar with how many levels are in the game as well. It should take you around 3 hours or so which may not seem like a ton but it beats the average for this era.

Of course you don’t have to spend any money if you have the Nintendo Switch Online but if you did have to buy a Genesis game this would be a better value than most. There isn’t much of a story which is too bad but it’s not something you would expect a whole lot here. I do think the main character is very distinct though. He definitely has a cool air about him and it’s one that has aged well. It never gets cringe or anything like that. This guy knows he has what it takes to save the day.

Overall, Kid Chameleon is a pretty good game. I give it a little more credit due to the overall length than the gameplay. Naturally the gameplay still has to be good in order to reach this high of a level but if the game was short then it probably would not have been quite as high. So I recommend checking this game out if you have the Switch Online and see how far you are able to get in the campaign. If you make it all the way then you actually do feel a good sense of pride and accomplishment. The game’s difficulty level may not be as high as some other titles but it should give you some troubles.

Overall 7/10