So close, yet so far
Close,
but no cigar. This is a phrase that perfectly encapsulates the
greatness that Looney Tunes on the Nintendo Gameboy almost achieves.
First
impressions are very good. The graphics are of a high standard, with
large, clear sprites and detailed backgrounds, as well as some smooth,
high speed scrolling. The music is catchy and jaunty as any good
cartoon platformer soundtrack should be, and for the first few levels you
will be impressed with the responsive controls and fun gameplay. Then you reach stage 5 and it all comes crumbling down.
The classic monochrome look brings back great gaming memories.
Being
a Looney Tunes game with no specific character referenced in the
title, you know this will incorporate a wide selection of your
cartoon favourites, and this game does not disappoint. Starting with
my personal favourite, Daffy Duck, you leap and bound your way across
a forest landscape, dipping your feathers in the odd bit of water for
fun underwater sections – it is nice to see a duck actually getting
to swim in a platform game. As well as being able to make use of the
good old fashioned head bounce to dispatch enemies, Daffy also has a frisbee for some
reason, which is used to hurl at enemies in order to send them
packing. Diamonds are the collectable of choice here, with 100 awarding you a 1up – pretty standard platforming fodder certainly,
but great fun nonetheless.
Daffy's stage is probably the best stage. Plus he is the coolest character.
The second stage puts you in the tiny feet of Tweetie Pie as you attempt to flee from Sylvester, who is hungry and has his eyes set on you for lunch. Sweetie’s limited flight is gained by tapping the jump button, as you avoid numerous pitfalls and the respawning feline menace. The stage is enjoyable, despite the fact I always wanted Sylvester to eat the little bastard – cats always get a raw deal in cartoons, just look at Tom & Jerry for further proof.
Porky takes to the skies for some horizontal shoot-em-up action.
The
porcine stutterer is up next, with you controlling Porky in a small
plane. It's shoot-em-up time f-f-f-folks. It's not going to give
Gradius anything to worry about, certainly, but it's a nice break from
the platforming, on a par with the shooting sections in Super Mario
Land. Next up, Taz takes centre stage for a short level involving
smashing through blocks using his trademark tornado move, and
chomping down on some meat.
So
far the game is a wonderful platformer that ranks up there with the
most enjoyable on the monochrome handheld. But then, disaster! Stage 5 rears
its ugly head and everything goes to shit. Speedy Gonzales is the
culprit. The Mexican rodent on amphetamines stars in not only the
worst level of Looney Tunes, but also one of the least enjoyable
platforming experiences I have ever had... on any platform. This
abomination is due, mainly, to slippery controls and fiddly and
inaccurate jumping. Coupled with a useless attack which takes ages to
finish (usually resulting in you taking a hit), sadistic enemy
placement, rising lava, blocks that crush you and
spiked ceilings, and you have one of the most infuriating platforming
experiences you will ever have. It is absolutely no fun whatsoever
and it took me ages of saving and reloading save states just to get
past the damn thing. By this stage my patience and love for the game
were at an all time low, so the next stage had to be something pretty
damn special to win me over. Unfortunately it is just an aggravating
'infinite runner' style stage featuring Road Runner. Quite frankly,
It wasn't worth the effort.
You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get to this stage. Was it worth it? Sadly, no.
It's a real shame too as, up until Speedy's stage, I was really enjoying the game. It is cheerful, fun to play and has a decent level of variety between stages. It came so close to be a whole hearted recommendation, and a game I was eager to sing its praises, but the unforgivable stage 5 absolutely killed it for me. I would still say that it is worth a few quid, or a quick ROM download (shhh) just to experience the first few levels, but for God's sake, turn it off after stage 4.
Title : Looney Tunes
Developer : Sunsoft
Year : 1992
System : Gameboy
