Mini reviews: Tiny Toon Adventures games (NES and SNES)
Aug 5, 2016 19:17:03 GMT
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Post by Pimpjira on Aug 5, 2016 19:17:03 GMT
Tiny Toon Adventures was a cartoon that I enjoyed during my childhood and here I am going to cover two of the licensed games on the property: Tiny Toon Adventures on the NES which was released in 1991 and Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose which was released in 1993 on the SNES, both published and developed by Konami.
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures is considered a clone by many of Super Mario Bros. 3 and it does indeed play quite similarly to it in it's level design but it has enough of it's identity and is one of the better games based on licensed properties on the NES, where many are considered terrible. The game has four playable characters: Buster, Plucky, Dizzy, and Furrball that each control a bit differently and each have a special ability. The initial character is always Buster Bunny though and they cannot be switched between freely, only when a star ball is found in a level. The controls took some slight getting used to as jumps feel a little floaty and it was easy at times to over jump and miss a platform or hit an enemy. The game is fairly challenging but what many consider NES hard(like Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, etc) but it is mostly one-hit deaths. A heart can be found to get one free hit but the game is not very generous with them. Carrots can be collected and traded for extra lives.
Tiny Toon Adventures is a little short with 6 worlds/18 levels but the game provides a moderate challenge and will take a little bit to get through. It is a standard but fun platformer with a chase sequence in the middle and boss battle at the end of each world. Lots of characters from the series make appearances and it makes very good use of the property. I would easily recommend it for any NES collector that enjoys platformers as it is still reasonably priced, around the $12-15 range. There is also a fun Star Wars easter egg in the game which is a fun discovery, which is really expaned on in the next game I will talk about.
4.25/5
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose is another platformer but it varies in a lot of ways from the NES game. This time, Buster is the only playable character but he has more moves to use. He has the standard jump(which can kill many enemies by landing on their head but only in easy), a kick attack, and he can dash for a limited time which can also be used to run up walls. The dash mechanic is used a lot throughout the game(well in normal or challenge mode) and is one of the things that sets it apart from Tiny Toon Adventures and other platformers. This time the game has three difficulty modes so it is more open to a variety of players. The easy mode cuts out almost half of the game so I would only recommend it one wants to use it to learn the controls and get a little practice. In normal health starts out at three hearts, and can total to five by finding items. In challenge mode certain parts are more difficult, start out with one heart, and the max is three.
Aside from the standard platforming, Buster Busts Loose has a lot of gimmicks and mini games. These range from the randomly selected mini games to collect lives inbetween levels, a football level, and more. Most of these are pretty well done and provide some variety to the game play. The entire final level this time is Star Wars themed, the others include a wild west them, a haunted mansion, etc. While the dash mechanic provides some fun and a little bit of uniqueness to some of the levels it is also a little finicky and can be a pain at times. I found at times that stopping dash just doesn't work as fast as it should and caused a few deaths in the auto scrolling sections. Overall it isn't too much of a detriment though. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose I felt like was an easy shorter game but it was a fun romp with a good amount of variety, although at times it felt like the levels weren't as well designed. I would recommend this one as well to SNES collectors as it looks to go for around $8-12, definitely worth that.
4/5
Overall, these were two solid games from Konami. For me nostalgia-wise I actually enjoy Buster Busts Loose more as I grew up with that one but feel that the first Tiny Toon Adventures is a bit better. These are not the only games based on Tiny Toon Adventures either so I may do another set of reviews like this if I go ahead and play them.
