Toxic Crusaders (NES review)

Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Bandai
Released: 1992

Toxic Crusaders is a side-scrolling beat-em-up that's based on the 1991 cartoon of the same name.

+ Avoiding damage allows you to upgrade your mop so it unleashes projectiles, which is a nice reward for skilled play.

+ Includes a password system to continue your game, and there's some neat graphical touches, cut-scene artwork and music.

- Gameplay is mind-numbing, as you'll face the same handful of enemy sprites while having barely any moves to defeat them.

- Swarming and relentless enemy A.I. is brutal, and it doesn't help that the collision detection is utterly atrocious.

- For some bizarre reason, your strongest attack uses the Select button, which is uncomfortable and unwieldy.

- Level 4's skateboarding section is ill-advised, as it removes your projectile weapon if you're fully powered-up.

- Boss battles are unimaginative and their basic, repetitive patterns make for some truly boring fights.

Chubby Cherub (NES review)

Developer: Tose
Publisher: Bandai
Released: 1986

Chubby Cherub is an action game and one of the first third-party titles released on the NES.

+ Features simple, Arcade-style fun, secret levels to uncover, as well as bonus points for meeting unique stage objectives.

+ Flying depletes your power metre quicker than walking, so careful management of your surroundings is always required.

+ Food items vary in point and power metre increase amounts, so there's risk-reward in grabbing them while avoiding foes.

- Enemies can shoot farther than you, so trying to get in their path for a shot is perilous and trickier than it needs to be.

- Collision detection is extremely suspect, both in terms of item collection and attempting to shoot incoming enemies.

- Boss battles occur every three stages, but they're a weak excuse for variety, as they require the same tactics every time.

- There's only one music track in the entire game, which becomes painfully repetitious after the first few loops.

Super Tennis (SNES review)

Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1991

Super Tennis is a sports game that was a launch title for the SNES in Europe. 

It supports 1-2 players and the modes on offer are Singles, Doubles (can be played with a friend, or a CPU teammate if required) and Circuit. The latter mode consists of eight tournaments and your objective is to rack up points and gain the highest possible seeding by season end; however, your player can tire, so strategy is required when deciding whether to enter a tournament or get some rest. The options are plentiful, including three court types (Hard, Lawn and Clay) and 20 players (10 male, 10 female). The gameplay is very accessible with a fair difficulty level for newcomers, but a deep shot selection for pros that includes Top Spin, Lob and Slice. Controlling exactly where the ball will travel from a horizontal and vertical standpoint is a breeze, and there's even fun advanced options, such as adding spin to each serve. Co-op with a friend is the best way to experience the game, but it's still enjoyable advancing through the Circuit with a CPU team-mate, as the A.I. is smart and reliable. Opponents have varying styles (e.g. some frequently rush the net, while others rely on power serves / strokes) which forces you to adapt your strategy in each match. Likewise, rather than being simple palette swaps, the Hard, Lawn and Clay courts play very differently to each other (in terms of how the ball bounces) and changing your style to suit the setting and opponent is one of the game's best aspects. There's lots of memorable jingles and the action oozes personality, with players reacting with speech bubbles throughout depending on the outcome of a point (e.g. "Yeah!" or "Rats!").

Super Tennis is one of the finest sports titles of the 16-bit era and it's top-notch gameplay still manages to shine. Everything from the responsive controls and intricate shot selection is first-class, and it comes highly recommended, especially if you enjoy Arcade-style sports games like Virtua Tennis (2000, Sega Dreamcast).

Random trivia: The two other SNES games available for the European launch were F-Zero and Super Mario World.

Shooting Range (NES review)

Developer: TOSE

Publisher: Bandai

Released: 1989

 

Shooting Range is a light-gun game that requires both a standard controller and an NES Zapper.

 

Normal mode includes four events and the objective is to reach a specific point total by shooting pinwheel targets as they move across the screen. Missed shots decrease your energy metre, and once it fully depletes (or you run out of time) it's Game Over; additional energy and time can be obtained though by hitting icons from smashed targets. The gameplay requires you to simultaneously use the Zapper as well as a controller to scroll from left-to-right; it works okay, but using two inputs is awkward and never feels comfortable. The Western stage is up first, but the scenery is barren and targets only appear across two planes, making for some unexciting action. The required point total is also never displayed, leaving you to guess when you're close to completing the area! Ghost House is more interesting due its varying target patterns and reverse 'E' icons that introduce some strategy (accidentally hit one and you'll end up losing energy!). Space is similar to Ghost House with its tricky patterns, but when the clock reaches 100 seconds a gigantic alien boss appears which needs to be shot five times. It's a fantastic idea and it makes you wonder why previous stages didn't follow a similar structure. The Bonus Round tasks you with shooting bottles when they start to flash; this timing-based action is brilliant, playing like a much better Mad Dog McCree (1994, Philips CD-i), and it really shows how accurate the Zapper is. There's also a multiplayer Party mode where you blast as many targets as possible within 249 seconds; it's like Whack-a-Mole but the lack of substance and stimuli makes it a real snoozer.

 

Shooting Range is fun in short bursts, but truth-be-told it's no more advanced than Hogan's Alley (1985, NES) or Wild Gunman (1985, NES). It's definitely playable and may provide some entertainment for 10-20 minutes, but once you've completed it there's really no reason to return for multiple play-throughs.

 

 

 

Random trivia: The game was only released in North America.

Short Order / Eggsplode! (NES review)

Developer: Nintendo R&D1, TOSE
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1989

Short Order / Eggsplode! is a collection of two mini-games that require the NES Power Pad (Side B).

Short Order is a memory game where customers request ingredients for their burger and you're tasked with entering the same sequence using two numbers on the Pad. Each game starts with only three layers but additional items keep being added to the burger until the customer is satisfied; fail three times and it's Game Over. The gameplay is slow paced and basically ends up being a glorified version of the electronic game Simon (1978, Milton Bradley). The only thing to do is remember increasingly difficult patterns and then repeat them; as a result it's repetitive and quickly gets dull due to the lack of action. Everything works well enough but the concept is just too simple with no variation to the opening mechanic. The animations are funny though, especially the mouse who suddenly becomes huge after eating your burger! Eggsplode! plays similar to Whack-a-Mole as you have to destroy bombs that appear before they blow up. Strategy is involved as certain coloured bombs activate quicker than others and you must ensure you don't squash the hen's eggs as you'll lose one of your two lives (if it hatches you get bonus points). 100 points are given for each bomb you destroy but you can wait until they're close to exploding for 300 points! The game is frantic and sees you flailing around the responsive Pad trying to press the right button without falling off; it's entertaining and resembles a solo version of Twister! The difficulty increases gradually but it always challenges your reactions and balance. It does decrease the hatching mechanic too quickly though so there's nothing to stop you from mashing buttons.

While Short Order is a bit of a duffer due to its thin, boring gameplay it's Eggsplode! that steals the show with it's fast-paced action that's guaranteed to get a few laughs. It's the perfect mini-game for a party and it's a good sign when you're having just as much fun watching as you are playing!

Random trivia: TOSE worked on several other NES titles that were released in 1989 including Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach and Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball.

Goal! (NES review)

Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Jaleco
Released: 1988

Goal! is a soccer / football game published by Jaleco who are perhaps best known for their Bases Loaded series on the NES.

As you start the game the first thing you'll notice is the multitude of options available. The main mode on offer is World Cup which, as you would expect, features national teams. There's also Tournament mode (competition between local American teams), Shoot (a 2 vs 3 set-piece competition), and Vs. Mode (2 players). The nice touch about the latter is that 2 players can play against each other, or on the same team! The game adopts a strange overhead / isometric viewpoint and the camera is a little too zoomed in. This means that you can't really see where your team members are and most of the time you'll end up kicking the ball ahead and hoping for the best. Speaking of teammates, why do they never bother to tackle the opposing player? They much prefer to follow him around the pitch until he either scores or you manually take control and put in a sliding tackle. The game also refuses to let you pause the action unless someone is in possession of the ball which strikes me as a really odd decision. However, the main problem with Goal! is that it's simply way too slow. Even on an NTSC 60hz machine the action crawls along, so you can imagine the horror that I faced as a kid when playing this on a PAL 50hz NES! The game doesn't appear to be very well optimised either as moving your player diagonally causes the framerate to drop dramatically. On a positive note, Goal! has some great upbeat music and a well animated cut-scene during scoring celebrations. The cheerleaders during the half-time show look really strange though and as my wife pointed out: "They're not even in-sync!"

With a few tweaks this could have been a really good football game. As it stands though, it's just too slow and unpolished to be anything more than a short gaming distraction.

Random trivia: The Goal! franchise was seemingly successful for Jaleco and they eventually published a NES sequel in 1992. It was then followed up with a further two games on the Super Nintendo (SNES) called Super Goal! 1 & 2.