I'm really amazed by how well Scooby Doo Mystery turned out! Not only does it look and sound just like the TV show, it even plays like the TV show! You control Scooby and Shaggy who move together as a team while gathering clues, encountering monsters, and making sandwiches. As you explore a pirate ship, carnival, or mansion (depending on the mystery), you'll often run into your friends Velma, Daphne, and Fred. Thelma explains the clues you find, Daffney supplies you with scooby snacks, and Fred offers hints on what to do next.

The stories are actually quite linear, with new areas that open up gradually. Most of the puzzles are pretty easy. You'll have your share of exciting run-ins with monsters, and also engage in entertaining mini-games. The graphics are cartoon quality, with excellent music lifted straight from the TV show. Not only are the controls responsive, but the interface for interacting with characters is also well designed.

I have a few minor complaints. First, touching certain objects like rats will drain your life, but since Scooby and Shaggy don't react at all, you don't even realize you're losing health. Next, at the beginning of the second mystery I became very stuck, and that was no fun at all!

Finally, since the mysteries always play the same, I suspect the game's replay value is pretty modest. At least a password feature is included so you don't have to replay old mysteries. All in all, Scooby Doo Mystery is a quality title that does a fine job of weaving a story into an entertaining game. And I probably would have given this an "A" if it wasn't for you snooping kids!! © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.

I vaguely recall the old commercials for the SeaQuest DSV television show (1993-1996) starring Roy Scheider. Was the show as boring as this game? SeaQuest begins with an excruciating "training mission" where you're expected to perform several search, destroy, and extract missions using various remote-controlled undersea robots.

Objectives usually involve locating trapped miners and salvaging plane wreckage. The graphics are sparse but the subs and remotes do have a photo-realistic quality. You must navigate your long, turd-shaped sub through some really tight areas, occasionally trading shots with "bad" submarines. This back and forth is annoying because adjusting your depth to their level places you directly into their line of fire.

The bulk of the game is spent strategically deploying six remote-controlled robots. One is good for shooting stuff (stinger), another can transport cargo (truck), and another is meant for extraction (crab). You also have a dolphin named Darwin that can push levers. You'll lose these "helpers" if they incur too much damage, but they can be replaced with money earned.

Seaquest is far too tedious for my tastes. Navigating tight areas is a pain in the ass, and blasting through obstacles is time-consuming. The mission objectives are confusing and it doesn't help that the map doesn't even bother to display your current position! Your sub needs to be positioned just right or you can't deploy your robots.

If you're looking for instant gratification, stay far, far away from Seaquest DSV. Strategic gamers however might find reward in hunkering down to figure out how to accomplish missions through juggling limited resources. If you're a die-hard fan of the show, bump up the grade by a letter. © Copyright 2024 The Video Game Critic.

My earliest recollection of this game came was from a 1993 two-page magazine ad. Since then Secret of Mana has become quite famous. Its graphics are rendered in bright, crayon-like colors that put me in the mind of spring. The gameplay is more Zelda-esque than I was expecting as you hack away at animals in a forest and visit quaint villages to stock up on items and save your progress.

The user interface employs an ingenious circular-menu system that lets you quickly peruse items, weapons, and spells. Considering how often you need to access your inventory, being able to press Y instead of start/select is a real thumb saver. Your party consists of three characters: a boy (warrior), a girl (princess), and some kind of elf (magic). There are no default names; you need to make up your own. What is the point?

You only control one character at a time but can configure the others to be more or less aggressive. It's not immediately obvious who you're controlling at a given time, but if you look close you'll see a tiny "1" next to your active character's face on the bottom. That seems odd until you realize up to three people can play at once. The two other characters usually follow closely, but on occasion it does feel like herding cats (or herding ghosts, if they're dead).

The fighting system is innovative. You can attack freely but you'll inflict far more damage if you wait for your attack meter to charge. You'll battle goblins, chess pieces, mind-altering owls, scorpions, and ducks wearing army helmets. I often found myself taking advantage of the fact that they tend to get caught up on the edge of the scenery. Defeated foes often drop treasure chests but many are rigged with boobie traps, which is bogus.

Secret of Mana's difficulty is uneven. It begins very hard, necessitating a mini walk-through in the instruction booklet. An encounter with a pair of werewolves really epitomized my frustrations. You tend to get sucked into them when hit, subjecting yourself to subsequent attacks. And they can heal themselves not once but several times over! There's a tiger boss that will knock you unconscious without even touching you.

Things get good once you obtain magical abilities. Your options really open up as you learn to juggle multiple spells for strategic advantage. There's no in-game map for the first half of the story, but once you acquire the services of a white dragon you can fly freely around an entire world via slick mode 7 graphics.

Secret of Mana's soundtrack is superb for the most part, although one particular tune (Dwarf Village) had me reaching for the mute. The difficulty ramps back up towards the end, subjecting your characters to one-hit deaths. Still, I fell under the charm of Secret of Mana. I obsessed over this game for two months and now I'm curious about the new reissued versions. © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.

I was wondering why it was so hard to find a copy of this game, only to discover it was never released! The best you can do is a reproduction copy. The Shadow is based on the 1994 Alec Baldwin film with the tagline "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" It's a little rough but in general this is a highly playable side-scrolling fighter.

On the surface it feels like a generic version of Batman Returns (SNES, 1992). Decked out in a red scarf and black trench coat, you methodically beat up gangsters on the streets of New York City. The characters are large and well defined but slow. You'll also face ancient "Mongol Warriors" decked out in colorful armor, referred to in the cut scenes as "Oriental guys". I love the clanking sound when you pound their armor. Some enemies have scrambled frames of animation, which I'm told is just the kind of glitch you can expect from an unfinished game.

Stage two takes place in an elegant hotel where you beat up valets, bellhops, and concierges. I love how you throw rapid-fire punches and can toss bad guys into one another. Weapons include torches which burn enemies to the bone. Cool special abilities let your dash into enemies or become invisible. But the most notable feature is the periodic gun battles. Armed with a pair of pistols, you pump lead into bad guys when targets appear on their chests. If you think it sounds like fun, you are right.

The scenery is elegant but you can tell it wasn't completely fleshed out. The back alley stage in the thunderstorm is great, but the amusement park and museum stages look sparse and unfinished. I noticed that when the game indicates you have one life, it does not mean you have one in reserve, which is confusing. But even in its half-baked form The Shadow is enjoyable. It's hard to believe this nearly-complete game was scrapped just because the movie didn't perform well. © Copyright 2018 The Video Game Critic.

Apparently Shaquille O'Neal has an interest in the martial arts that he wants to inflict upon the rest of the world! Too bad for us! This shallow one-on-one fighter lets you play as Shaq himself performing Kung Fu against exotic warriors and occult creatures. At best, Shaq Fu comes off as a third-rate Street Fighter clone.

Its design is typical, but the characters are surprisingly small and not very well balanced. Thanks to a lack of moves and lousy controls, each bout degenerates into a button mash-a-thon. The special moves seem very similar to Street Fighter 2 (*cough*rip-off*cough*), and the bouts tend to run for far too long.

Besides challenging a friend, you can also indulge in a story mode which is basically a string of CPU battles intertwined with some laughable cut scenes. I tend to enjoy fighting games, but Shaq Fu clanks off the rim like one of Shaq's foul shots. © Copyright 1999 The Video Game Critic.

This simple-yet-fun swashbuckling adventure puts you in the role of a clean-cut pirate out to destroy an ugly bastard named Skuljagger. I love the tropical scenery. The first stage offers a scenic view of distant green islands in a shimmering blue sea. It's quite a sight. Even the warehouse stage looks inviting thanks to the vine-covered ruins visible through the windows.

The gameplay is predictable as you leap between ledges, collect floating gems, and slay guards with your sword (after ducking under their shots, of course). You'll fight a lot of bad-ass buccaneers including those swinging skulls at the end of chains. There are only two or three types of enemies per stage, but the fact that they don't regenerate makes it fun to explore alternate routes and search for hidden areas.

Your sword has excellent reach but flying enemies like giant red wasps swoop in from awkward angles, making the jump-slash attack your best friend. Whimsical fruit power-ups include cherry balloons, orange grenades, and grapes that turn you into a big purple bouncy ball. Sometimes you seem expected to perform "leaps of faith" but you can usually spot the very edge of the next platform if you look close enough. Spicing things up are the occasional opportunities to man cannons to sink ships in the distance. Despite a number of indicators along the top of the screen I could never figure out what my health status was.

The excellent soundtrack is more contemporary than you'd expect, and I love the organ music that plays when you die. An 80-page manual (!) includes an extensive, colorfully-illustrated background story. They don't make them like this anymore. Skuljagger may be a conventional platformer at best but its that back-to-basics style which makes it so appealing. I never get tired of playing this. © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.

This is one of those obscure yet highly-rated platformers that demands a pretty penny if you try to buy it online. Skyblazer has quite a few things going for it, like crisp graphics, tight controls, and distinctive music with a middle-eastern twang.

Like Strider (Sega, 1989) you can latch onto most walls and climb straight up, unlike some games where you need to jump off to detach. The attack button lets you rapidly dish out punches or perform a sweet jump kick. The third button is your magical attack. You also acquire special powers like "comet flash" which lets you dash clear across the screen, wiping out enemies in your path.

The opening stage takes place on ruins at a stormy lake, and it's one of the highlights. After that the stage designs settle into the normal tropes of forests, volcanoes, and cliffs. In the forest stage you also have the option to jump between the treetops, calling to mind the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Besides cookie-cutter stage designs, the manner in which you stick to everything - including moving blocks - can be irritating. It's likely you'll get crushed at some point. The game also has that annoying "knocked back" mechanic when you take a hit. Fortunately it gives you several seconds of invincibility to get yourself on sturdy ground.

What really soured me was the level called Tower of Tarolisk. It utilizes a nifty rotation effect like Tower Toppler (Atari 7800, 1988), but scaling this tower is a pain, especially with brick ledges only appearing at certain intervals a la Mega Man (NES, 1987). Except in this case when they disappear from under your feet, you tend to fall a long way.

Mixing it up are some flying stages where you shoot and kick enemies in the air while pounding a button to maintain your altitude. While they add variety but feel more arduous than fun.

Skyblazer excells in terms of presentation. It boasts great music and advanced graphical techniques like a genie boss that materializes out of thin air. But under that glossy sheen it feels hollow. This game could use some kind of scoring system. There's a password but it's hard-to-write-down. That said, if you're looking for an elegant game that demands skill and precision, Skyblazer will put you to the test. © Copyright 2024 The Video Game Critic.