Burnin' Rubber - Amstrad GX4000

You're fired!

Game: Burnin' Rubber
Format: Amstrad GX4000
Developer/Publisher: Ocean
Year Released: 1988
Also released on: Amstrad 464 Plus, Amstrad 6128 Plus
Available now on: Internet Archive





The Amstrad GX4000 is remembered for two reasons. One, it was a complete flop and two, it had Burnin' Rubber on it. Burnin' Rubber was the GX4000's most popular game, mostly because it was the game bundled with each console. Yep, all 300 of the console's owners were able to enjoy the delights of Burnin' Rubber, an arcade-style racing game designed to showcase some of the abilities of the GX4000.

Oooh, I can feel the excitement building up just sitting here staring at this screenshot.

Smile! There are plenty of other quality games available
for this console. Oh, wait. There aren't. 

For those who don't know, or those who want reminding, the GX4000 was Amstrad's attempt to enter the console market, and the only British console in video game history. An 8-Bit console released in 1990, it was clearly designed to compete with the Sega Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System. However, its launch was around the same time as the European launch of the Mega Drive and the Super Famicom's Japanese launch, so it was sharing shelf space, and competing for interest,  with much superior consoles. Added to that was the fact that many of its games were rereleases of earlier Amstrad CPC games that were available on tape at a fraction of the price of the GX4000 cartridge version. Even games programmed specifically for the GX4000 weren't up to much, and most felt a bit like computer games rather than console games. Unsurprisingly, the console didn't generate much interest, its price was slashed weeks after launch before the machine was pulled completely after only a few months. Hopefully Sir Lord Alan Sugar did a few firings after such a disaster.

There's some weird voodoo magic thing going on with my car here..

Signs for Ocean and a tunnel. Who knows what continent
lies at the other side?

Even so, the GX4000 is remembered with a certain amount of fondness in some quarters and has achieved something of a cult status. Burnin' Rubber is often regarded as one of its better games. This is probably due to the fact that there was crap all else available for the console. But even on its own merits, just as a video game, it's meant to be quite good. So, shall we take it for a spin? Eh? Anybody there? Oh right, I'm typing this, not talking to anybody. I'll imagine somebody has said yes then and boldly go onto another paragraph.

So, the idea of Burnin' Rubber is simply to drive a car. Begin with a qualifying lap, and then go onto burning dust and eating rubber for real. On starting up the game, the game's title blazes its way onto the screen over a animated tyre-like pattern. The first thing you need to do is change the controller layout. By default, the game is set so that pushing up on the d-pad accelerates, down brakes and the two control pad buttons control the gears up or down if you're playing in manual. The game is much easier if you set the buttons to accelerate and brake and use up and down to control gears. Or ignore the gears and stay in automatic, which is what I do.

Even before the days of Instagram, games like these featured filter effects that make it look like it was made in the 1970s.

Woohoo! 7th!

As already mentioned, you need to complete a quick lap to qualify for the main race. The qualification race is a good way of getting used to the game, but when you've done it once, it seems a bit pointless. Regardless of your qualifying position, it doesn't take long in the main race to get past the cars in the other qualifying positions. Initially your car feels a bit sluggish to control. It doesn't appear to move instantly to your commands. I guess power-steering was still a luxury optional add-on in 1990. Building up speed is also a bit laboured, and using your brakes or going around tight corners results in you losing the speed you've built up and having to get up to speed again to make the most of the straights. But after a while, controlling the car does become quite natural, even quite realistic, albeit sometimes frustrating. If you're not going too fast, colliding with a car just results in you being nudged to the side slightly. But hit one at speed or any of the objects inconsiderately placed at the side of the road will result in you spectacularly flipping over and flying through the air before magically landing in the exact position you need to be in to continue your race. Rather handily, you car doesn't come to a complete stop when either kind of collision happens, meaning you don't have the issue of having to start up again from being parked. It's the little things like this that make a difference to the game, the sort of things that frustrate you in other racing games.

A bit of a grey moment here. Nice tree though.

Other vehicles can be a bit of a nuisance. Some will just decide to make a random movement across the road purely to get in your way whereas others seem to have a habit of breaking down in tunnels, so it's important to try to avoid them.

Graphically, the game is quite good. The GX4000 was able to display quite a number of colours on screen and had a large pallet to choose from so Burnin' Rubber, being a launch title, shows some of this off. The game is supposedly set over 24 hours and as you progress, day turns to night, night becomes day again and the colour scheme changes to reflect this. It does give the feeling that you're progressing nicely through the race as you pass through each part of the day. Cars, backgrounds, roadside objects are all nicely drawn and the scaling of sprites and items works well. The game isn't the fastest out there, but you do definitely feel a sense of speed when you do have the opportunities to put your foot down. All of the on-screen information you need is nicely laid out and everything feels polished and well-presented.

Oh, what a feeling! When we're dancing on the ceiling 

Is that Cameron and Clegg? Or the Pet Shop Boys. Perhaps
they're the same thing.

Sound however is another matter. The intro music and menu screen music is great, but in game effects are horrible. Your car's engine makes quite a nasty noise, which continues throughout the game. There are some effects from when you overtake or get overtaken, but you really need to keep the sound down if you have any respect for your ears. That said, there is a certain "depth" to the sound - things just don't sound as tinny and high-pitched as other 8-Bit games.

Close, but not close enough. Not close at all actually.

Burnin' Rubber is not a bad game at all, and is quite a good launch game. It has some faults but is definitely one of the better 8-Bit racing games. I was initially put off by the game's sluggish controls and lack of oomph, but felt myself getting drawn into it as I continued to play it. I'm not sure it would really have much longevity, but it's a game I'd be happy to come back to for another go from time to time. It's just a shame that factors at the time meant that the GX4000 was doomed from the start as it had the potential to be quite a good machine.

RATINGS

Presentation: 79%
Well presented throughout. Large text fills the screen when needed, the title screen is basic but does the trick, and the menu system is simple and effective. Nothing special but very professional.
Graphics: 83%
A good use of the GX4000's pallet with changing colour schemes, detailed sprites and good crash effects, as well as nice smoke effects. 
Sound: 50%
Good music, sadly lacking in game, replaced instead by horrible engine noise.
Playability: 78%
Ironically given it's name, Burnin' Rubber is a bit of a slow burner. It doesn't instantly appeal but grows on you if you stick with it and turns out to be rather fun.
Overall: 79%
A good example of what the GX4000 could potentially do. Sadly tarnished by the console's reputation but a decent game overall. 

Begone! And don't forget to look for your missing apostrophe!

R-Type - ZX Spectrum

Game: R-Type
Format: ZX Spectrum
Developer/Publisher: Electric Dreams/Activision
Year Released: 1988
Also released on: Arcade, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64, Atari ST, PC Engine/TurboGrafx, Sega Master System, Nintendo Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Sharp X68000, Sony PlayStation, XBox 360, mobile phones, iOS, Android

R-Type is one of the iconic arcade games of the 1980s. Tough as boots, hard as nails, solid as a rock, you only stood a chance of completing it if you had the eyesight of a hawk and the reflexes of a cat. Or if you happened to be a hawk or a cat with a penchant for playing arcade shooters. As was the tradition back then, successful games tended to find their way out of the arcades and into the homes of computer and console gamers the planet over. R-Type was no exception and was ported to a multitude of machines. Rather remarkably, each conversion was actually rather good. The PC Engine/TurboGrafx game is generally considered to be the best of the bunch, and one of the best games on the system itself, while a splendid version for the Sega Master System was also highly regarded. But it's the ZX Spectrum port which is probably most deserving of praise. As well as being a bloody good version of the game, its existence is something of a technical marvel, pushing Mr Sinclair's baby to its limits and getting it to do things that he probably never thought possible.

The objective of all versions of R-Type is outlined in two lines of text: "Blast off and strike the evil Bydo Empire." No detail is given about what the Bydo Empire is and what it does that makes it so evil. But, striking it involves pitting yourself against a plethora of angry and aggressive alien types over a series of levels. The fact that the Bydo Empire appears to have such an antagonistic arsenal seems to confirm that it is most definitely up to no good, so must be evil.

You take on your enemies in your piddly little spaceship. Well, it looks piddly when compared with the enemies you come up against, especially some of the end of level bosses. But, as with any video game spaceship, it's possible to collect upgrades on your travels to greatly enhance your firepower, turning it into some space-based super destructive light and laser show. You can also power up your beam by holding down the fire button. Letting go of it unleashes a mega blast. A unique feature in R-Type is a collectible pod-like thing. This can be attached to the front or back of your spaceship, offering a smidgen of protection from enemy fire. Or it can be detached and sent off to destroy some of the hostiles that you can't be bothered to destroy yourself. When detached, it is invincible but it leaves you vulnerable. It added a touch of strategy and tactical play to the game. One of the key strengths of R-Type was that, although it was a difficult game, it didn't feel impossible. Your progress through the game is slow, as you eke your way through a level. You play a bit, die, play it again, die again, play again, try a slightly different route, get a bit further, die again, use the same route again, get a little further, die again, and repeat over and over again until you've eventually got your route, the enemy patterns and your tactics memorised to get you through a level. And there's something very satisfying about seemingly being able to fly through the level like a pro, taking out wave after wave of enemies and maxing out your spaceship with power-ups aplenty.

Translating an arcade game to the Spectrum inevitably leads to compromises, but Bob Pape, the man given the task of converting R-Type, did a spectacular job in retaining as much as he could from the arcade version of the game. The graphics are detailed and colourful with no obvious colour clash. Even if there was, there's so much going on that you probably wouldn't notice it. Sprites are recognisable from their arcade counterparts and the effects when firing from your powered up spaceship are remarkable. Special credit must be given to the end of level bosses who are just as fearsome as they are in the arcade original.

The sound in the game is a bit pants. There are no background tunes, although if there were, they'd more than likely be terrible. There are a couple of bits of music which play just before the game begins and when you die, and sound a bit like the phone in 24. But in game sound effects are limited to a put-put-put when you fire, and squelchy noises when you hit an enemy. Other bloops and bleeps and noises make up the rest of the effects. They're inoffensive but not great, but I guess more prominent sounds would get on your nerves after a while.

Most important though is that the game feels like the real thing. The Spectrum version isn't a game loosely based on R-Type - it is R-Type. The original R-Type was all about finding a route and planning your strategy based on what you've learned when attempting it before. And the Spectrum version is the same. The hard bits are still hard, the easy bits (well, easier bits) are still easier. The same enemies appear in the same places, and you have to clear a path in the same way. R-Type is famed for its difficulty level. It was from the eighties when games were tougher and gamers were real men. Or butch women. Throw anything at them and they'd tackle it. None of this modern-day microtransactiony crap where you can buy your way through a game. Ok, we'll ignore the fact that most arcade games could be played to the end if you kept shoving more 10p coins into them and continuing each time you died, which I suppose is actually a microtransaction. Hmmmm, anyway, Like the arcade version, R-Type on the Spectrum is a tough nut, and some might find its difficulty level offputting. Sticking with it does reap rewards, but there's nothing more frustrating than getting your spaceship maxed out to the nines only for you to get shot in the ass by a rogue bullet and having to return to the game with your standard setup. Later on in the game, the going gets extremely tough unless you have a bit of extra help from your weaponary. This isn't really a fault of the conversion, and it's exactly how all other versions play, but it's one of the reasons why R-Type isn't everybody's cup of Yorkshire Tea. There is a bit of slowdown when too much is going on, and it sometimes feels like frames go missing as a way of the game trying to keep up with the action so it loses some of its fluidity. Responsive controls are a must for a game like this and in this version, the controls are fine, although you really need to play it with a joystick or control pad to prevent getting your fingers all a-tangle. One issue, again inherited from the arcade version, is that your spaceship moves a little too slow. Sometimes, an almost-certain death stares you in your face. All you need to do to avoid it is move a little to the right. But, your spaceship just doesn't seem to want to move quick enough. Of course, quicker movement would probably result in less control over it, so perhaps its speed is just right. Who knows?

So, R-Type on the Speccy is a great conversion, and a must-have game for any Spectrum collection. Looks great, sounds shite, plays great. But, there is a problem. And this affects many games converted from arcades to home machines in this modern world of emulation and rererereleases and suchlike. Why would anybody play it today? The whole point of porting the game to computers like the Spectrum was to bring the arcade game to home audiences. The truth is that, although it was a fantastic port of R-Type, the arcade game is much better. And when it's now possible to get hold of the arcade game itself either through official rereleases or through other methods usually involving MAME and a visit to your favourite ROM-hosting website, there is little need to play a conversion of it. You can just play the real thing. The Spectrum version is definitely worth taking a look at and is a great game in its own right, but unless you're the sort of person who wants to complete every version there ever was of R-Type, you'd only really have a go of Spectrum R-Type for curiosity's sake. In a similar way, both the PC Engine/TurboGrafx version and the Sega Master System version were released on the Wii's Virtual Console service. The PC Engine version was clearly the better one, so why would anybody who wanted to play R-Type on the Wii opt to download the Master System version? And, on that note, I shall end my review. I'm kind of depressed now. I've convinced myself that all home conversions are pointless if they don't improve on the arcade version. Wish I'd never have mentioned it now.....

RATINGS

Presentation: 80%
The Spectrum makes a great attempt at emulating the arcade's iconic title screen, continue and high score screens, and things are consistently well presented throughout the game. 
Graphics: 95%
Fantastic graphics which show the intrinsic details of the alien worlds and their inhabitants, with plenty of colour and some amazing effects. Some of the Speccy's best.
Sound: 55%
No music, but the sound effects are adequate. 
Playability: 82%
Challenging initially, but the game lures you in and holds your attention as you know that on each attempt, you can get a little further by finding the optimum route through each level. Importantly though, it's great fun. 
Overall: 85%
A Spectrum classic, and a fantastic conversion of a great arcade game, but slightly redundant today when you can just play the arcade game instead. 

.

Road Fighter - Nintendo Entertainment System

Road Fighter  - sounds exciting!

Game: Road Fighter
Format: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Konami/Palcom
Year Released: 1991
Also released on: Arcade, MSX 
Now available on: Nothing

I've always been interested in bad games. Not because I get some perverse pleasure out of attempting to play them. More that I'm fascinated by what makes them so bad. Is it down to poor design or bad controls? Is it too easy, too hard, totally unfair, completely unfathomable or simply not any fun? What was the reason for games that were so clearly terrible still managing to find their way into shops? Why did nobody at any part of the process between the first code being written to the game being put onto a disc, tape or cartridge say "This is complete shite!" and attempt to stop things from going any further. Was it corporate greed, bad planning, ridiculous deadlines, publisher arrogance or contempt of their customers? In the case of Atari, famous for releasing two of the more notorious bad games, Pac-Man and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial for the VCS, it was probably all of the above. Yes, Atari's apparent "policy" of passing any old garbage off as a video game was partly responsible for the entire gaming industry pretty much imploding in the early 80s in the USA. Arguably, they were helped along this path of self-destruction by Coleco and Magnavox who also appeared to allow their Colecovision and Intellivision consoles to play host to countless cartridges of crap. The inevitable collapse resulted in most console manufacturers exiting the industry, with Atari remaining as the sole survivor, but much smaller and much poorer than they once were.

Nintendo's Fun Box

Filling the void and arriving in America as the saviour of the video game industry were Nintendo with their exciting new grey box of fun, the Nintendo Entertainment System, with Mario and his Bros. in tow and lots of other fab games. The NES quickly became the console that all the kids wanted - mostly because it was the only console available. And to prevent a repeat of what had gone before, Nintendo made the most of their monopoly by restricting the activities of the publishers who wanted to release games for their console. All games had to be released on cartridges manufactured by and purchased from Nintendo, only five games per publisher could be released a year, and the publisher couldn't release the game on a competitor's console for a couple of years. Satisfy the big N and you'd get a gold star slapped on your box signifying that Nintendo had given it their Golden Seal of Approval. As a consumer, this meant that every game released for the NES was going to be of high quality, didn't it? Well, no, not entirely. Although the seal of approval gave consumers the impression that Nintendo had given the game their thumbs-up and that the massive grey cartridge that they had in their hand contained something special, the reality was that the seal was just a way of saying that the publisher had kept to Nintendo's rules. As restrictive (and later illegal) as they were, it can't be denied that Nintendo's measures did definitely result in a marked improvement in the quality of games released and prevented publishers from taking the piss and just shitting out code and claiming that it was a game. The NES is still regarded as one of the best consoles in the history of the gaming industry, and that is largely down to the fact that it had some amazing games released for it, games that remain classics today. This was surely down to Nintendo's tight controls. But, they didn't completely prevent the odd turkey from getting out. Road Fighter, released in 1991, is a good example of a game gone bad. It's also a good example of what happens when publishers find a way around Nintendo's rules, and why the rules were there in the first place. Mean Machines, the UK's most popular console magazine in the early nineties, reviewed the game and gave it a rating of 9%, making a point on the issue's front cover that the magazine contained the "Worst Game Ever". Over two decades later, I still hadn't got around to experiencing the alleged horrors of Road Fighter. Until now. But after taking it for a spin, I have to say that it definitely isn't as bad as the review made out. It's by no means a great game, but it certainly isn't deserving of its 9% score.

Road Fighter is a conversion of an arcade game with the same name. Developed by Konami in the mid eighties, the arcade game was an overhead vertical scrolling driving game from an era of when overhead vertical scrolling driving games were all the rage. The idea is simply to drive along a road, avoid other cars and get to the end of the course before you run out of fuel. Once you're out of fuel, it's game over.

Ever get the feeling you're the odd one out?

The NES conversion remains faithful to its arcade parent in that it also requires you to drive along a road, avoid other cars and try not to run out of fuel. Sounds like my typical drive to work. There are only two tantalising options to choose from, representing easy or hard but called level 1 and level 2 just to confuse you. Once you've picked your level, you're onto the open road. After the starting beeps have beeped, your opponents race off, leaving you behind to start your car and build up speed by pushing down the accelerate buttons. You have a choice of two speeds, slow or fast. Slow in this game is apparently 222 kilometres an hour. Fast is a super speedy 400 km/h. One button allows you to drive "slowly", the other makes you go faster. You can move your car left or right using the d-pad. 

Vrmmmmm....

In most cases, cars just let you pass them. But, some of the drivers are twats and decide to block your way as you approach them to overtake. They tend to drive blue or red cars. The blue cars are probably BMWs and red ones are Audis. Yep, definitely reminds me of my commute to work. Colliding with other vehicles usually results in you spinning off to the side of the road, which causes you to explode when you reach it. But your RAC membership helps you to get back on the road in no time - virtually instantly - ready for you to continue your journey. It is possible to stop your car from spinning out of control after an accident by steering in the opposite direction to the one you're going in straight after having a bump. It's not easy, but might make the difference between you getting to the end of the course or falling short. You see, the car you're driving appears to be the most fuel inefficient car in existence and loses fuel at an alarming rate. Collisions, their often inevitable explosions and the time it takes to get back on the track and back to full speed are the main drain on your fuel. Fortunately, rainbow coloured cars carry fuel and driving into them replenishes a small amount of fuel. Not by much, but if you collect enough, you should have just enough to get you to your destination. Unfortunately, driving up the backsides of rainbow cars tend to be the BMW-driving shitheads so getting hold of fuel can sometimes be a risky manoeuvre. Superman sometimes makes a bizarre cameo appearance, flying along the track. He awards extra fuel and points. Or maybe just points. Usually I'm so in awe by his random appearance that I don't really know what he actually does.

At first, the game feels a bit unfair. Your car just doesn't seem to have enough fuel to complete your journey, so collecting replenishments is essential. Of course, the game wouldn't be that challenging otherwise so it's a bit of a moot criticism. Once you get used to dodging the drivers who appear to be intent on getting in your way and master the art of refuelling, the game becomes much more tolerable and getting from one level to the next is quite achievable, if not entirely fun.

Made it to the end with 1 drop of fuel left. Now, how am I going to get it to the garage to fill up?

Kaboom!! 

Presentation is quite lacking with just a static title screen to welcome you when switching on the game and just text on a black background when picking your options. Its uninspiring but it does the job. Similarly, the graphics aren't amazing but do change for each course although are more reminiscent of early NES games than something released in 1991 (there's a reason for this, to be revealed later). The same can be said about the sound. A tune plays at the start of the first track and when you get to the finishing line of each one, but throughout the game itself, it's just your engine noise and a few effects when overtaking BMWs or Audis, collecting rainbow cars or colliding with something. The engine noise gets a bit grating quite quickly.

Get the rainbow car for extra fuel!! I do that in real life too.

It takes a while to speed up and you definitely don't feel like you're doing the 400 km/h that the speedo says you're doing, but there is a sense of speed and the game scrolls upwards quickly and smoothly. The controls are also fairly responsive as you direct you car, although your car appears to move sideways rather than turn into the direction that you send it. Importantly the controls aren't too sensitive or under sensitive.

Already done this screenshot, haven't I? Oh well,
here it is again. Kaboom!

So, what exactly is wrong with the game? Basically, it's too short and isn't really much fun. There are only four courses and it's possible to complete them in about five minutes. The problem is that it is just an upwards scrolling avoid-em-up. Yes, it can be seen as a test of skills and reactions, and the game does reward skilful playing. But, although it doesn't feel like too much of a chore to play it, it just doesn't endear itself to the player in any way. It doesn't look or sound great, the red and blue cars wind you up, as do the hazards like oil slicks or pot holes in the middle of the road. Collisions result in frustration if you don't manage to salvage things before your car spins out of control and off the side of the road. It's also not easy to avoid a collision. Both buttons are used to accelerate your car, so you don't really have any brakes. The only way of slowing down is by letting go of one of the acceleration buttons. Also, your fuel depletes depending on what speed you're going at. Staying in slow gear the whole way means you lose fuel at a slower rate. So, you can quite easily get to the end of each course by just driving slowly. It makes the game easier, but takes some of the enjoyment out of it. What enjoyment there is in it.

The red car and the blue car had a race. And a truck and a yellow car did too.

Road Fighter isn't completely unplayable and will provide a bit of fun and challenge for a short length of time. After two or three goes though, you'll have either completed it or given up and begun looking for something else to play. If you ever need a game to define the word "average" then Road Fighter would be it.

Roadworks and nobody doing any work. Typical!

RATINGS
Presentation: 30%
A dull title screen is all you get, with in-game presentation lacking. 
Graphics: 40%
The sprites are small and lack suitable animation, and the backgrounds and tracks are uninspiring. Scrolling is fast and smooth though.
Sound: 45%
A couple of tunes introduce and end games, the rest of the game is made up of average sound effects. 
Playability: 55%
Frustrating at first, but there is a feeling of satisfaction once you get to grips with the game and manage to get to the end of a course with fuel to spare.
Overall: 50%
Definitely not the greatest NES game ever released, but certainly not the worst. Playable in small doses but not as enjoyable as it could have been.

The title screen from the game's first release.

BREAKING THE RULES
Earlier in the review, I mentioned something about Road Fighter being a good example of what happens when publishers find a way around Nintendo's strict licensing rules and why those rules existed in the first place. One of the restrictions that Nintendo placed was that publishing companies could only release a limited number of games for the NES a year, usually five. In theory, this would mean that the publishers would ensure that their games were top notch so that they could maximise sales. It would also give the NES a library of good quality games. One way of getting around this rule was by publishers setting up multiple companies, and producing games under that name. Konami set up Palcom (which later became Ultra) which doubled the number of games they could release. Konami were the developers of the Road Fighter arcade game, but released the NES conversion under their Palcom label. Incidentally, although it wasn't released in the USA and Europe until 1991, the game had actually been programmed and released in Japan for the Famicom in 1985. So, not only did the cheeky beggars use a loophole in Nintendo's licensing policy to allow them to release more games, they used their extra allowance to rerelease substandard games that they'd made years earlier. In a way, it proved that Nintendo were kind of right. A company being less limited in the number of games they can release would result in them being more likely to release crap games.

Super Adventure Island - Super Nintendo

A massive sign blocks the only way in to Adventure Island

Game: Super Adventure Island
Format: Super Nintendo
Developer: Hudson Soft
Year Released: 1992
Also released on: Nothing 
Now available on: Wii Virtual Console (800 points)

It's 2014 and the new generation of console gaming is finally with us. Once again, the three main contenders - Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo - have put forward their offerings for this latest bout. It's still very early days, way too early to predict a victor. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both appear to have got off to great starts and seem to be pretty much neck and neck, while the Wii U, even with the advantage of a year's head start, seems to be wandering around aimlessly like somebody's drunk uncle, not sure of its place or purpose, hoping that somebody will figure out that it is a brand new console and not just a variation of the original Wii.

New technology brings new capabilities, and this will undoubtedly mean that games become more realistic. This isn't just in terms of graphics, gameplay environments, physics and suchlike. Oh no. Developers are adding more depth to the characters in their games, giving them multi-faceted personalities and a greater variety of traits. They want gamers to become more emotionally involved in games, immersing themselves in the world of the characters that they are controlling - characters with human-like flaws, complexities, prejudices, their own set of morals - good or bad. The characters may not always be likeable, but as they possess more real personalities, gamers are likely to be able to empathise with them and understand how and why they behave in the way that they do.

Master Higgins is toast if he doesn't make these jumps

Of course, I've been empathising with video game characters for years. Master Higgins, of Adventure Island fame, is one such character I find myself relating to quite easily. You see, Master Higgins appears to frequent Adventure Island with a bizarre amount of regularity. It reminds me of my childhood when, no matter whether it was the summer holiday, Easter, half term or just a random weekend, I seemed to find myself at a caravan site in North Wales. My mum and dad having a holiday home there was probably something to do with it. I'm sure my adventures in North Wales weren't anywhere near as exciting or treacherous as Master Higgins' are in Adventure Island, but they probably come close. We once nearly got stuck in a flood near Cricceith, and I remember getting lost in the sand dunes on the beach once. I even very nearly had my very first kiss while there. And, this story of youthful romance even has a retro gaming element to it. It was the summer of 1992, and I'd spent three weeks on holiday there. I was at a special age, 13, nearly 14. And I became aware that I'd noticed a young lady with long dark hair while wandering around the arcade of an evening. I also noticed that she appeared to have spotted me too, and it became quite apparent that we spent much of the three weeks there giving each other knowing glances. On the final night, I was standing at a 5p-a-go fruit machine with a friend, watching him pump his pocket money into it in the hope he'd win the £2.50 jackpot. Behind me was the Out Run machine, and standing at it was the girl with long dark hair and her friend. All of a sudden, the friend walked over to me and asked me if I'd "go with" long dark haired girl. I froze on the spot. Back then, I didn't really understand what to "go with" somebody meant. I muttered something about having to go home the next day, which got the response "So?". After what felt like hours of standing there, wanting to say yes but not sure exactly what I'd be letting myself in for, the girl walked back to her friend at Out Run and they went away. And that was it. For years I kicked myself about the missed opportunity. Oh well. Yes, even in the romantic misadventures of my youth, retro games seem to feature. In fact, this wasn't the only time. A few years later, a Nintendo Entertainment System and Duck Hunt hampered another opportunity.

Worst date ever....

Back to Adventure Island where it appears Master Higgins had more luck with the ladies than I did, seeing as one of the reasons for him going there time and time again was to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. Unlike my visits to North Wales, which have never (yet) been depicted in a video game, Master Higgins' visits to Adventure Island were immortalised in a series of games for a range of consoles, namely the NES, SNES, Gameboy, PC Engine, Wii and even the Gamate. Today we'll be looking at his first appearance on the SNES which went under the title Super Adventure Island because it was the fashion at the time to slap Super to the beginning of titles for games on the SNES. But before we do, let's take a quick look at Adventure Island's convoluted, complex but not-really-that-interesting origins.

Wonder Boy - Adventure Island's spiritual ancestor

Adventure Island began life as the arcade platform game Wonder Boy, which featured Tom-Tom's quest to rescue his girlfriend. Being named after a sat nav, Wonder Boy easily found his way to home computers and consoles with ports appearing on the Spectrum, Amstrad, Commodore 64, SG1000, Master System and Game Gear. Hudson Soft acquired the rights to produce the game for the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System but legend has it that they decided to change the main character. Instead of featuring a nappy-wearing toddler named after a not-yet-invented satellite navigation system, it instead featured a caricature of Hudson Soft's PR man, Takahashi Meijin. They also decided to change the game's name to Adventure Island (for Westerners anyhow - in Japan the game's title translated as Master Takahashi's Adventure Island). However, seeing as the legend in this case is Wikipedia, there's a good chance that it's wrong. Other sources suggest that, although Hudson Soft acquired the rights to the game from Wonder Boy's developers, Escape (now Westone Bit), they didn't acquire the rights to the name and its main character, which were owned by Wonder Boy's publisher, Sega. Whatever happened, Adventure Island on the NES was basically Wonder Boy with a different name and without Wonder Boy himself and with a small number of creative changes. It's not quite as good a conversion as the one for the Master System, but it's not bad.

Throwing an axe at an innocent looking snail in Wonder Boy (arcade version)

Despite their shared beginnings, Wonder Boy and Adventure Island went on to become two independent franchises - kind of. Whereas subsequent Wonder Boy games contained more role-playing elements, Adventure Island's sequels mostly kept to the arcade platform style of the original. Wonder Boy was first followed by Wonder Boy: Monster Land in the arcade in 1987, which like its prequel received conversions for home computer and consoles aplenty, mostly under the name Wonder Boy in Monster Land, sometimes with a Super at the beginning of it. In Japan, the Master System conversion was named Wonder Boy: Monster World and was the beginning of the Monster World franchise. As with the NES conversion of Wonder Boy, Hudson Soft's conversion of Wonder Boy in Monster Land, this time for the PC Engine, featured different characters and a different name, becoming Bikkuriman World with characters based on those in a Japanese anime. To confuse things further, Hudson Soft's mobile phone port of Wonder Boy in Monster Land in 2005 was called Super Adventure Island, not to be confused with the SNES game with the same name that I'm meant to be reviewing here. I'll get there eventually.

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair was the third and final Wonder Boy arcade game, appearing in 1988. It was converted for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1990 and PC Engine/TurboGrafx in 1988. Hudson Soft handled the PC Engine conversion and this time tampered with the name by just calling it Monster Lair. In Japan, a Master System sequel to Wonder Boy: Monster World (the one known elsewhere as Wonder Boy in Monster Land) was developed. It was to be known as Monster World II: Dragon's Trap. However, as the Master System had been dropped in Japan, the game didn't get a release over there until it later appeared on the Game Gear in 1992. But, over in Europe, where the Master System was still a big seller, the game did get released in 1989 under the title Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. It really is one of the Master System's greatest games. Hudson Soft, once again, had their mitts on rights to this game, releasing it on the PC Engine as, um, Adventure Island. Gah! In the US for the Turbografx, it became Dragon's Curse.

After two different Wonder Boy III games, Wonder Boy's fifth appearance was on the Mega Drive, where, in 1991, he appeared in Wonder Boy in Monster World in the USA and Europe, and Wonder Boy V: Monster World III in Japan. The game also appeared on the Turbografx-CD as The Dynastic Hero. The game was also released on the Master System in Europe in 1993, keeping the name Wonder Boy in Monster World. The final game in the Wonder Boy/Monster World series was Monster World IV, a Mega Drive exclusive released only in Japan in 1994. The Wonder Boy name had been dropped from the title, and the game's main character was a girl. Monster World IV finally made it to Western shores in 2012, appearing on the Wii's Virtual Console service. Since its appearance there in 2012, no more Mega Drive games have been released on the Virtual Console.

So, that was Wonder Boy. I have a headache now. Fortunately, Adventure Island's history is slightly less complex, especially if we ignore the fact that some conversions of Wonder Boy sequels had Adventure Island in the titles. A couple of sequels followed Adventure Island on the NES, namely Adventure Island II and Adventure Island III. A fourth game appeared in Japan for the Famicom, apparently the last official Japanese Famicom game to be released. Two Adventure Island games appeared on the Gameboy, Adventure Island and Adventure Island II. Adventure Island was based on Adventure Island II for the NES, and Adventure Island II was based on the NES game Adventure Island III. Super Adventure Island and Super Adventure Island II appeared on the SNES. Super Adventure Island was released on the SNES after Adventure Island II on the NES so is the third home console Adventure Island game. The fourth was New Adventure Island for the PC Engine/Turbografx. Super Adventure Island II on the SNES went down the role playing adventuring route of the Wonder Boy sequels. This was Master Higgins' final console appearance until he returned in Adventure Island: The Beginning for the Wii in 2009. Coincidentally, I returned to the holiday park of my childhood in 2009 too. And this kind of brings my whole point about empathising with Master Higgins full circle and concludes my quick but possibly inaccurate summary of the Wonder Boy/Monster World/Adventure Island series.

One of the best things about the Wonder Boy and Adventure Island games is that many of them are still available to play on several of the latest consoles. Pretty much all of the Wonder Boy games are available on the Wii Virtual Console, along with the Adventure Island games, while some of the Wonder Boy games make appearances on the Xbox and PlayStation online services.

Totally rad skateboarding skillz here dude

So, after an introduction which went on much longer than I anticipated, it's finally time to join Master Higgins for his first 16-Bit based trip to Adventure Island. The story begins with Master Higgins and Tina sitting atop a tree, gazing at the stars. While Master Higgins occupies himself by rubbing his head, the evil Dark Cloak casts a spell on Tina and turns her into stone. Angered, Master Higgins waves his fist at Dark Cloak as he flies away. A rather large bird picks up Master Higgins and whisks him off to Adventure Island so he can make his way to Dark Cloak's castle and give him his comeuppance. Tina remains at the top of the tree in her stone-like form. That's the plot, a plot which is clearly so great that the writer of it gets first billing in the end credits. Forget about the graphics designers, programmers, musicians and so on. Their talents are nothing compared to that of the author of the story behind Super Adventure Island.

Here's the reason why sealions shouldn't hold their breath.

Climbing a tree covered by snails. Nasty things snails.
Totally destroyed my strawberry plant last year.

Master Higgins arrives at Adventure Island unarmed, but he quickly picks up an axe which he can throw around at will. And at snails and other such creatures. At first, you can only throw one axe at a time but collecting more axes scattered around the level increases its throw rate and power. At maximum power, the axe turns a purple glowing colour and can even destroy rocks. But that's not all. You can also exchange your axe for a boomerang. The boomerang is handy for attacking enemies from long range and above or below you. The axe remains good at short range. Conveniently, the game tends to ensure that the best weapon for the task ahead is usually made available to you just when you need it. Handy.

An end of level baddie with a light saber. Or glow stick.

It's gone mighty chilly on Adventure Island, and Master
Higgins has only packed his grass pants.

Unlike the original Adventure Island/Wonder Boy, it isn't possible to make Master Higgins run faster by holding down the fire button. This can cause a few frustrations when making longer jumps as you don't get chance to build up speed and go for it. It also sometimes feels like although you've timed a jump well, you actually fall short of your target, usually resulting in your death. It is possible to do high jumps by holding down when you jump and this becomes quite easy to pull off when you get used to it. Alternatively, for greater speed, a skateboard is sometimes made available to you. Unfortunately, you can only go in one direction on it and it doesn't usually take you long until you lose it by colliding into something. If you do manage to still have it by the end of the level, you aren't able to take it onto the next.

Special stage a go-go!

Inside the belly of a beast. Looks like he's been eating
pinepple and kiwi, and eels.

Super Adventure Island is split over five stages each containing three areas plus a boss bottle. Most levels are your typical left to right side scrolling affairs, although there are a couple of upwards scrolling and swimming levels, plus that old platform game favourite, a mine cart level. There are also special stages available, although accessing them appears to be by throwing your weapon into an empty space - good luck remembering where you found the special stages when trying to locate them again! Each level, area, or whatever you want to call it is different to each other in appearance- no two levels are the same. Even so, the game does feel a bit repetitive as the basic format remains the same throughout. Run, jump and smash the crap out of the weird and wonderful creatures of Adventure Island with your axes and boomerangs. Each level is also quite short, with most (once you get used to them) taking only a minute or two to get through. This means that you don't really get the opportunity to feel immersed in the theme of the level that you're in - it just seems that you're passing through them. The end of stage boss battle is varied for each one, but they remain consistent in that they're all a piece of piss to beat. The only one that offers any challenge is the final one, but this isn't a battle as such as it doesn't require you to use any weapons. A battle of wits and skill maybe.

The obligitory mine cart level.

Meeting a foe in the forest.

The graphics in the game are great, and remain consistently high throughout. Levels are colourful, sprites are large and detailed and everything looks the part. Music is also fantastic too and is more representative of early nineties dance and R&B than typical videogame music. The man behind the tunes was none other than Yuzo Koshiro, better known for composing the famous soundtrack of the Streets of Rage games. Overall, the game feels very polished, and doesn't bother itself with unnecessary intermissions and cut scenes. It just keeps to the arcade game style of Wonder Boy. In a way, this is one of its problems. It perhaps feels too much like an arcade game for a console. It's addictive (if a little frustrating at first) and easily draws you in, but it doesn't last long at all. You'll keep coming back for more because, each time, you get a little better at it. But, once it's completed, there isn't really any return value. And playing it through doesn't give you a feeling of being part of an adventure in a series of engrossing worlds. It's great that the game tries not to repeat the themes of levels over and over again, but you just don't have time to even feel part of a level before you're on to something completely different. You can have the game done in half an hour, which simply isn't good value for a game that would have cost you £40 on release. It's undoubtedly a fun little game which looks and sounds great, but it's frustrating in parts, a bit too short and it isn't really that captivating. Nowhere near as captivating as my holidays in North Wales were.

After years in the spotlight, Dumbo turned to a life of drugs and drink and general rebellious activity. Here he is at
a particularly difficult stage in his life.

RATINGS
Presentation: 80%
A title screen and animated introduction are all there really is presentation-wise, but this feels right for the game. Less is more as they say. 
Graphics: 85%
Although they don't push the SNES's abilities too much, the game features large colourful sprites and a great variety of graphics which represent each level's theme well, although the graphic designer's efforts are a little wasted as you don't get chance to look at them for very long. 
Sound:  90%
A selection of funky tunes plays throughout the game and add some coolness to the game. 
Playability: 80%
The game feels a bit clunky at first, especially if you're used to controlling the main character in the original Adventure Island/Wonder Boy, but once you're used to it, it becomes quite an enjoyable game to play. 
Overall: 82%
A true arcade-style platform game. Not the greatest SNES game, and probably a bit too linear and short to retain your attention, but most definitely worth a look.

Super Adventure Island playthrough on YouTube

Oh yes, not only have I spent forever trying to write this review, I've also played the game through, recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube. Enjoy!