Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. Not just for the classic games I’ve played as a kid, but also for the cartoons I loved as a kid as well. So, this week we’re going to put those two together and see how a video game based on a cartoon I loved as a kid holds up after so long.
Year of Release: 1991
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Platformer
By the late 80’s, Saturday morning cartoons seemed to shift their gears with their programming. In an attempt to get “down with the kids”, many cartoons remodeled their cast as kids in a hackneyed attempt to relate. In its wake you got cartoons like Tom and Jerry Kids, The Flintstone Kids, A Pup Named Scooby Doo, and Yo Yogi. While some of these cartoons were decent at best, none were able to see massive success. Well, except for one.
Tiny Toon Adventures was released in 1990. It was the first of the classic “Steven Spielberg Presents” cartoons that would air throughout the decade (Others being the likes of Animaniacs, Freakazoid, and Pinky and the Brain). The show took the idea of recreating the Looney Tunes cast as youngsters. However, instead of just making Bugs, Daffy, and co. kids, the show presented a new cast of characters with no relation to their predecessors. The show gave us classic characters like Buster and Babs Bunny (No Relation), Plucky Duck, Elmyra Duff, Dizzy Devil, and more. The show stayed true to the Looney Tunes cartoon style of old. All the over the top violence and humor that the original had done so well stayed prevalent in Tiny Toons. The show was handled early 90’s pop culture and satire extremely well. Celebrities, movies, even episodes based entirely on MTV and Saturday Night Live. Everything was fair game, and Tiny Toons handled it perfectly.
The show was a massive success. And of course, almost any success sees a video game. Tiny Toons would see several games released on practically every major console. Hell, there were even Tiny Toon games being released as far into the GBA age. And of course, the franchise had a few for the NES. Three to be exact. But today, we’ll be focusing on the original.
STORY
Buster Bunny is enjoying some T.V, when all of a sudden Montana Max appears on the screen. He tells Buster that he’s kidnapped Babs, and dares him to try and save her. Buster enlists the help of his Tiny Toon friends Furball, Plucky, and Dizzy Devil to traverse through Acme Acres and eventually face off with Montana Max.
GAMEPLAY
Tiny Toon Adventures is a traditional sidescrolling platformer. The game has you playing as Buster and his friends, as you trying to defeat the various villains of Acme Acres. There are are six worlds total. The first four being 3 stages each,with the final two being single level each. You’ll traverse through grasslands, beaches, a pirate ship, the forests, the city, Wackyland, and finally Montana Max’s mansion.
You will start as Buster, who only has the ability to jump on enemies, but can jump considerably higher than the other toons. You can find a magic star ball hidden in any of the blue balloons in the level. touching the star ball will change you into whichever toon you chose in the beginning of the world. You can choose between Plucky Duck, Furball the Cat, or Dizzy Devil.
Plucky can fly downward by tapping the A button, and is the best swimmer (which is definitely useful in world 2-2). Furball can cling on walls, which can actually get you to the very top of some levels, making bypassing some areas far easier. And Dizzy has a tornado spin that can break through walls. Each character will definitely be useful in certain areas of the game. Though to be honest, Dizzy will probably be the one you use the least, considering how heavy and lumbering he can be. Plucky will no doubt be your best bet through most stages.
You collect carrots throughout the level. These become your currency in the game, as you can find a door in certain stages, where you’ll meet up with Hamton Pig. He’ll give you extra lives for every 30 carrots collected. Alternatively, if you have a carrot count that is in the 11’s, at the end of a world you can face off in a boss battle with Duck Vader for a chance at a 3-up. Keep in mind though you can only store 99 carrots at a time.
You start with only one hit, however you can find hearts throughout each level to earn one extra hit. One of the game’s big downsides is the lack of checkpoints, meaning you can end up back to the beginning of a level if you get hit. Considering how short the game is, it’s understandable. But it’s still pretty aggravating when you’ve made it to the final boss of the stage, only to get offed, and have to start all the way back at the beginning.
You’ll face plenty of enemies in your journey. Some being enemies from the cartoon like Roderick and Rubella Rat, and Arnold the Pitbull. Most of the bosses are pretty simple to beat with 3 hits to take them out. Once defeated, they will drop a key that is needed to get into the mansion. Another boss of sorts is Elmyra, who appears at the end of the 2nd stages in the first four worlds. You have to avoid her until the door appears to end the level. If you get caught, you’ll have to start all the way back at the beginning.
The controls work fine in the game. You can jump with the A button, and run/use Dizzy’s spin with the B button. You can also do a running slide by pressing down in mid run. The only real gripes I found with the controls are that they can suffer from some bad hit detection, and jumping can feel a bit too loose at time. The game is pretty short as well, and easy despite the issues I covered earlier. You should be able to beat this game within a couple of hours without too many big problems.
GRAPHICS
The game’s graphics look fantastic. They manage to give off a nearly flawless feel of the cartoon. Characters are all drawn and designed exactly as they would in the show. All of the backgrounds are vivid and colorful, giving you the feeling of being in the cartoon. Chalk it up to Konami doing another top notch job.
MUSIC
Konami’s music rarely disappoints, and this game is certainly no exception. You get some decent renditions of the classic Tiny Toon Adventures theme song, as well as some other decent tracks. While all of the songs are great, I however, don’t feel that there is anything super catchy in the soundtrack, despite the awesome 8-bit version of the Tiny Toons theme. Still, it really helps to continue that feeling of being in the show, as I stated already.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Tiny Toon Adventures is far from a perfect game on the NES. However, it’s still a solid licensed game. It captures the feel of the cartoon, and looks like an NES version of the cartoon. The gameplay is solid, and never too annoying, save for a couple control issues. The game isn’t too difficult, and was definitely geared to a younger audience. There are some mild issues, and some that keep it from being one of the all time console greats. But in the end, this doesn’t hurt this game. It’s an excellent addition to any NES library. It’s tiny, it’s toony, it’s all a little looney, and it’s certainly a load of fun.
RATING: Thumbs Up