Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. the review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES library housed many cartoon-based video games. From the legends like Ducktales, and the more forgettable ones like Tom and Jerry. This week I decided to look at one of those more easily forgotten cartoon based games. One based on a cartoon that itself has been easily forgotten. But is the obscurity of this game deserved, or is this a diamond in the rough? Only one way to find out. Let’s croak us some toads with the review of Bucky O’Hare
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992
PUBLISHER: Konami
GENRE: Action platformer
Bucky O’Hare made his debut as a short lived comic book series in the 1980’s by Larry Hama. The story involves a green anthropomorphic hare named Bucky and his ragtag crew of allies, who defend the aniverse from the evil toad menace, which is ruling the aniverse with a warty iron fist. Similar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the cult popularity of the comic was enough to spawn an animated series. And in 1991, Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars(Or Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Menace in Canada, because over here war is scary) was born. Unfortunately though, the cartoon would only end up with one 13 episode season, before being cancelled.
Despite that, the show still earned some decent popularity. Enough so that Konami would snatch up the rights to produce video games. Two Bucky O’Hare games would be made. One for the arcades, which was an action shoot-em-up, and the other for the NES which was an action platformer. But how well was the NES version? Let’s get into the game.
STORY
On a transport to the righteous indignation, Bucky O’Hare and his crew from S.P.A.C.E (Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment) are attacked by the evil toad armada. Bucky’s crew end up captured and sent to different planets. Navigator robot Blinky on the green planet, pilot Jenny the cat on the blue planet, gunner Deadeye Duck on the red planet, and boy engineer Willy DuWitt on the yellow planet. Bucky managed to escape in time, but now is tasked in rescuing his friends and putting a stop to the toad menace once and for all.
COVER STORY
The cover for the game is really well done. All of the important characters are there, and there is plenty of action to be seen. Exactly what is needed to sell a game. I would personally say that there is perhaps a bit too much going on, and the cover itself does come off as a bit too busy, but that’s honestly a minor gripe. It’s still some excellent official artwork.
GAMEPLAY
Bucky O’Hare is a one player action platformer. You control Bucky and his crew as they traverse through multiple levels defeating he evil toad menace and everything else that stands in their way. You control your characters with the D-Pad, jump with the A button, and shoot with the B button. Pressing select will switch the crew mates on the fly. Holding B will charge up your character’s specific special ability. But more on those when we get to them. You start the game with only Bucky, who can shoot in 6 different directions (Left/right, up, down, and crouching left/right). When B is held, you can extend the power of Bucky’s jump. Using this can help you jump to higher areas which you couldn’t reach with your more puny hop.
You start the game with the ability to choose between four different planets. Each one holds one of your crew members. The green planet is a lush forest with giant trees to climb, and rivers to cross. The red planet is your standard fire level with volcanoes, spitting fireballs, and spreading lava. The blue planet is a planet of ice with slippery platforms, one hit kill icicles, and robot snakes you have to move on. And finally, the yellow planet is a mix of space and industrial areas. One minute you’re hopping from asteroid to asteroid, the next you’ll be on moving platforms, hopping from one to the other, while ducking spikes. Once you beat the level and its boss (which include villains from the show like Al Negator and Toadborg), you will earn each of your crew mates back. Once rescued you can use them at any time.
Blinky has a descending shot that is weak on most enemies, but is the only weapon that can break blocks. His charged move is a rocket pack that can have him fly for a very brief period of time. Best used for long platforms that can be tough to traverse any other way. Deadeye Duck has a three way shot, but despite it’s good use, it has weak range. His charged ability is to cling to walls like a bug and climb them briefly. Jenny has a basic energy shot, and her charged move is a ball of psychic energy that can be controlled with the D-Pad. It’s very similar to Ness’ PK Thunder from Super Smash Bros. And finally Willy has a blaster that can do some great damage, but can’t shoot up or down. His charged move is an even stronger blast of energy.
Now, for those who do remember the cartoon who are probably asking “Where’s Bruiser Baboon?” Well, the simple answer I can give is ‘I don’t know’. The most likely reason I can give is that this game is based more on the comic books than the cartoon, which didn’t have Bruiser in them. But then again, Al Negator is in this game, and he wasn’t in the comics, so there’s that hole in logic too. Then again, we already have enough characters to use, I dunno if Bruiser was entirely needed either. Then again, it’s not the first time a major character was completely dropped from a video game, right most Winston-less Ghostbusters games?
Once you collect all four characters, you will enter the final area of t he game, which is the toad magma carrier. This giant level is quite long with many areas to travel through. Sadly, unlike the four planets in the beginning, it is totally linear. Another issue is that your allies will get captured again (except for Blinky), and you will have to fight each one of them again in order to earn them back on your team. These stages also house the hardest levels in the game, with plenty of instant kill areas, and tricky platforming. Though the planets themselves are still no picnic either.
Every character starts with the same health bar, and their own individual power meter. Both start very low, but can be upgraded with the items found in the game. L Hearts add more points to your health bar, and can be instant heals as well. P coins increase the power meter, which can make your abilities even more effective. Regular coins simply add points to your score, and 1-ups, as expected, add extra lives. All health and power increases stay after each level, but if you get game over (and trust me. You will. A LOT!) every time you continue you will be demerited either health or power.
While the power moves are neat to execute, one major issue I have with them is that when using them, you crouch, and are unable to move until you let go of B. This can sadly leave you a major sitting duck (or a sitting Deadeye Duck)when it comes to oncoming enemy attack. This is a very minor issue, but in areas where hazards are an issue, this can be quite troublesome.
The controls for this game are a weird mix of really tight, and really slippery. Most level platforming can suffer from being tricky at times, especially with the blue planet, which might just have the worst slippery ice ever. So bad, that your character can end up still walking even when you stop, leading to quick deaths. While there aren’t any hit detection issues, some jumps, especially in the later levels can feel a bit touch and go, and when you think you can just land on something, you might hit the edge and fall to your doom. Other than those issues, the controls are still decent at best.
Trust me when I tell you this. This game is hard. Wickedly hard and at times unforgiving. You will die a lot, especially in the final levels and bosses of the game. However, unlike Battletoads or Cobra Triangle, three major things can save you from massive failure. One is unlimited continues, another is quick passwords, and one that is the most forgiving of all, multiple checkpoints in every level. So, when you die, you don’t have to dread about going back to the start of a level, but rather the last screen you were on. This cuts the challenge quite a lot, but that doesn’t mean this game still isn’t insanely frustrating. There are plenty of areas that require pixel perfect timing, and even some strategy to survive in. And if you have the wits for it, you might just be able to survive this ever so daunting task.
For the most part, I’d say if there’s any game that inspired Bucky O’Hare, it’s definitely the Mega Man series. Some areas in the game have perils that seem like they were lifted right from one of the MM games. For example, on the red planet, you’ll have to quickly move as lava pours down rocks, in a manner quite similar to the Quick Man level in Mega Man 2. Another classic item from the Mega Man series seen here is the infamous disappearing/reappearing blocks. Other than those similarities, the game still has some original ideas. One area will have you ride asteroids, while another will have you deal with big spinning areas, while trying to get to the right exit. It all leads for some really well done level design that never gets repetitive or old. It just continues to prove the game’s solidarity.
GRAPHICS
As expected from Konami, this game has some great graphics. The levels are all really well designed, and use the NES color palette to its fullest. The character designs are perfectly done, and capture the look and feel of each character’s cartoon counterpart. And the game’s cutscenes are all well done and perfectly designed. I personally think that Konami saw some of their best looking NES games by the end of the console’s run rather than its beginning, and this one, similar to Tiny Toons as I reviewed previously, is certainly no exception.
MUSIC
Boy, oh boy, does this game ever have one fantastic soundtrack. Tons of action packed songs, and some definite ear worms. If I had to choose the best of the bunch, the green planet is easily the best in my opinion. It’s so good, that I would personally place it in any “favorite NES songs of all time list”. But that’s not taking anything away from other excellent songs like the cell levels, the red planet, or the final levels of the game. This is one of the best NES soundtracks on the console, and is sorely overlooked and under-appreciated, just like this game is. Remixers, stop work on the billionth Dr. Wily 1 remix and give some of these a shot.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Honestly, if you were to ask me to choose one game that I feel was sorely underrated, I’d easily say Bucky O’Hare. It’s really one of the true total package games that the end of NES run was seeing at the time. Everything about it was almost perfect. Quality graphics, amazing music, a difficulty that most games would die for, and some excellent gameplay. Other than some control issues, it’s a nearly flawless game. I can understand why it was lost in the shuffle though.
First off, Bucky O’Hare, while earning some popularity, wasn’t exactly a monster hit, so merch like this wasn’t bought for that reason. Plus, and the most damning reason for its obscurity, was simply the fact that the game was released in 1992, and most games around that time were simply left to fend for themselves with the 16-bit war in full swing. It is an absolute shame that this game is so forgotten, but hopefully some people will give this game a chance and find something special like I did. If you can find this gem, don’t hesitate. Give it a buy, and go croak up some toads!
RATING: Thumbs Up