The Adventure of Little
Ralph is a 2D platformer on the original Sony Playstation that
many of you may have missed when it was originally released. You can
be forgiven for doing so however, as it only ever saw release in
it's native Japan. Little Ralph, or Chippoke Ralph No Daibouken
to give its original title, was released in 1999, a time when the
Playstation was getting a bit long in the tooth. Indeed, Sony had
unveiled its Playstation 2 console that would see release in Japan
the following year, and the Sega Dreamcast was already wowing gamers
with its next gen graphics. It also didn't help the game's case that,
as a 2D platformer it belonged to a genre
that was no longer in favour, seen as outdated by many due to
developers mostly focusing on 3D games that took advantage of the
32-bit host software. It is a shame though as Little Ralph is a great
game that deserved more attention, but yesteryear's loss is our gain
and we can now enjoy this hidden gem via the wonders of emulation, or
ebay if you are willing to splash out the high asking prices this
game commands. Little Ralph has a lot in common with Castlevania
Symphony of the Night, it is a 2D platformer that did not sell well
on it's original release, has a cult following, and is expensive to
obtain a copy nowadays. It is also one of the few games that deserve
the high asking price, and is well worth seeking out.
A cutesy platformer at
heart Little Ralph finds you in the tiny shoes of the titular hero,
who starts the game as plain old Ralph before being shrunk down to
his diminutive child status by a dastardly demon. I'd love to tell
you why this happens, but I don't speak Japanese so your guess is as
good as mine. Maybe the demon had a bad case of little man syndrome
and couldn't stand Ralph lording it up due to his vastly superior
height, or maybe he had a penchant for small boys, who knows.
Regardless, Ralph is naturally pretty peeved and rather than
relishing a second chance at youth Ralph decides not being able to
legally buy alcohol or get on all the cool theme park rides is
unacceptable and so sets off in pursuit of the spell casting irritant
in order to regain his manly status.
What ensues is a joyous
romp through gorgeous stages comprising of castles, deserts, ice
world, caves, and more, defeating a wealth of foes with his trusty
sword (which strangely is just the right size for him, even in child
form). The game looks and sounds great, the sprites and backgrounds
are colourful, bold, and full of charm and character, both Ralph and
his many adversaries are all well animated and oozing charisma. The
stages include many neat touches, such as birds fleeing the rooftops
as your approach, that really bring the game world to life. Visually, the game possesses a very 'Super Nintendo' quality but with
the added polish and razzmatazz that one would expect from a console
more than twice as powerful. If you ever wondered what games from the
32-bit era would have looked like had the world not gone 3D crazy and
carried on with the 2D sprite based games beloved by all in the
16-bit days, then Little Ralph is your answer.
As well as being
aesthetically pleasing, Little Ralph is also immensely enjoyable to
play. It is standard platforming fare, travel from left to right,
jumping over dangers and platforms, collecting fruit, and dispatching
critters with your sword, but it never slips into mediocrity due to the
high quality of all the elements in the game. Collecting certain
items improve your sword, give you extra protection, and even give
you a little helper critter called Feiro, though with his pitiful
bomb attack, you can use the term 'helper' loosely. It also has a
cool scoring system which allows you to hit enemies into one another,
causing chain kills and boosting your multiplier, collecting the
fruits that appear everywhere also boosts your score, and finding
secret areas usually hold big treats for the curious adventurer. It
is these secrets, as well as multiple routes through the stages, that
grant Little Ralph a little depth and replayability. The game is
challenging, but never so that it leaves you pulling out your hair in
frustration, there are certain parts that will prove troublesome, but
persistence and all important skill will see your through.
The game also throws a
curve ball your way when you encounter one of the games bosses. Upon
meeting the green lizard beast in question the game suddenly switches
Little Ralph back into adult form and initiates a side on beat-em-up
scene in the style of Street Fighter. Luckily this section is not
just a weak attempt to add variety, but actually a pretty good
effort. Sure, it was never going to give Street Fighter 2 any
sleepless nights, but it plays perfectly well. Moves are activated by
the well known Dragon Punch & Fireball joypad commands even
producing moves that Ryu himself would eye up suspiciously, and it is
pretty satisfying and breaks up the platforming bulk of the game
really nicely.
There are traces of other
great 16-bit games thrown in the mix, the mine cart stage bringing to
mind Donkey Kong Country, the ice world (especially some of its
monsters, and music) conjuring up memories of Symphony of the
Night, and even jumping over rolling boulders is pure Wonder Boy, but
none of this feels too derivative as the game has its own
personality.
It may not have made it to
our shores first time around but now that you can relatively easily
obtain a copy today I urge you to take the time to appreciate this
overlooked classic. It has survived the ageing process remarkably well, its
attractive sprites holding a timeless quality that will still look
wonderful (with the right kind of eyes) in another 13 years from now.
The Good:
- Wonderful Timeless 2D Graphics
- Lovely Music
- Extremely Playable and Challenging
- Fighting Sections Add Variety
The Bad:
- Er.. The Story Is In Japanese
- Copies Fetch High Prices On Ebay
