Prometheus
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
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In spite of their reputation for being universally bad, there are actually quite a lot of good games that are based on pre-existing licenses/characters from other media. Since so many people seem to believe that all licensed games are automatically bad and avoid them all as a matter of course, I figured I'd start a thread for recommending the ones that are worth checking out. When recommending a game, please include the system you're referring to, since this thread isn't restricted to any single machine.
Let's get this thing started.
Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo - Samurai Wandering - Commodore 64 - Based on the Usagi Yojimbo (literally, "Rabbit Bodyguard") series of comics by Stan Sakai, you are tasked with guiding the ronin rabbit Miyamoto Usagi across feudal Japan, on a quest to rescue a friend, Lord Noriyuki, from the agents of the evil Lord Hikiji who seeks to rule the country. Rather than just slicing things up relentlessly, you are expected to observe proper etiquette - you must bow to noblemen and treat the poor peasants with respect (and, if you wish, offer them some money), and never draw your sword before either of them (bad things happen if you do). The only thing that isn't immediately obvious is how to put your sword away - you need to push diagonally down-left whilst pressing the fire button at the exact same time.
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo - Platformer - Commodore 64 - This game was originally a budget release, so it's fairly short - however, it's a competent and enjoyable platform game that's fairly challenging, and is well worth the time. You play as Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo, and have to traverse across four atmospheric and spooky levels in an attempt to rescue Scooby and Shaggy, who have been chased by ghosts and kidnapped. In one of them, you even get to use a hoverboard, much like the one that would later appear in the MS-DOS game, Jazz Jackrabbit. Scrappy can attack enemies by punching them, and you can hold down the fire button in order to charge up a super-punch for bigger enemies, as well. The game has nice art and smooth animation (which perfectly captures Scrappy's essence, as well as that of Shaggy and Scooby), and the theme tune (which was made for this game, rather than based on that of the TV series) will probably never leave your brain. There is also another game by the same name for the Amiga and Atari ST, but it is an entirely different game.
Yogi's Great Escape - Platformer - Commodore 64 - Another budget release based on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon (this time on a specific made-for-TV Yogi Bear movie), you have to help Yogi Bear escape from Jellystone Park, which has gone over its budget and is preparing to send all of its animals to a zoo. It's very, very challenging, and features some situations where you must time your jumps perfectly in order to land on moving parts of the scenery. Like Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, it has very smooth animation, and a memorable theme tune that is specific to this game.
Toy Story - Platformer - Mega Drive - Based on the Pixar movie of the same name, Toy Story pits Woody the cowboy doll against all the perils that a toy has to face in life - people, dogs, loony squeaky aliens, and his own envy of a new toy who seems to be taking his place. There are quite a few levels, and the game is similarly imaginative to the film - Woody's primary weapon is his pull-string, which he uses like a cowboy would use a whip! The Mega Drive version of this game is the best version. Due to what I have always imagined was some result of the developer, Travellers' Tales, having a working relationship with Sega at the time, the SNES version is cut-down and lacks levels and features which were easily possible on the system, and were done in earlier games by other developers - stick with the Mega Drive version.
Mickey Mania - The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse - Platformer - Mega Drive - A game which follows the modern-day Mickey Mouse as he ventures through a selection of his older cartoons, in order to rescue his faithful dog, Pluto, find his past equivalents who are hiding in each of the old cartoons, and defeat Big Bad Pete. This game, in spite of what one might think given its source material, is very challenging, and requires quite a bit of skill in some places. It's got a fantastic soundtrack and great atmosphere, and also features the only death scene that has ever been designed for Mickey Mouse (apparently the Disney licensing folks don't tend to allow that sort of thing, but the way losing a life was handled in this game got their approval). As with Toy Story, the Mega Drive version of this game is the one to play, for the same reason - for reasons one can only guess at, the SNES version is missing features and levels which would have easily been possible on the system, and which were done in other games that pre-dated Mickey Mania. The SNES version's soundtrack is also scrambled around, and tunes which were written for some levels are instead inexplicably used in different ones where they do not fit.
Let's get this thing started.
Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo - Samurai Wandering - Commodore 64 - Based on the Usagi Yojimbo (literally, "Rabbit Bodyguard") series of comics by Stan Sakai, you are tasked with guiding the ronin rabbit Miyamoto Usagi across feudal Japan, on a quest to rescue a friend, Lord Noriyuki, from the agents of the evil Lord Hikiji who seeks to rule the country. Rather than just slicing things up relentlessly, you are expected to observe proper etiquette - you must bow to noblemen and treat the poor peasants with respect (and, if you wish, offer them some money), and never draw your sword before either of them (bad things happen if you do). The only thing that isn't immediately obvious is how to put your sword away - you need to push diagonally down-left whilst pressing the fire button at the exact same time.
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo - Platformer - Commodore 64 - This game was originally a budget release, so it's fairly short - however, it's a competent and enjoyable platform game that's fairly challenging, and is well worth the time. You play as Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo, and have to traverse across four atmospheric and spooky levels in an attempt to rescue Scooby and Shaggy, who have been chased by ghosts and kidnapped. In one of them, you even get to use a hoverboard, much like the one that would later appear in the MS-DOS game, Jazz Jackrabbit. Scrappy can attack enemies by punching them, and you can hold down the fire button in order to charge up a super-punch for bigger enemies, as well. The game has nice art and smooth animation (which perfectly captures Scrappy's essence, as well as that of Shaggy and Scooby), and the theme tune (which was made for this game, rather than based on that of the TV series) will probably never leave your brain. There is also another game by the same name for the Amiga and Atari ST, but it is an entirely different game.
Yogi's Great Escape - Platformer - Commodore 64 - Another budget release based on a Hanna-Barbera cartoon (this time on a specific made-for-TV Yogi Bear movie), you have to help Yogi Bear escape from Jellystone Park, which has gone over its budget and is preparing to send all of its animals to a zoo. It's very, very challenging, and features some situations where you must time your jumps perfectly in order to land on moving parts of the scenery. Like Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, it has very smooth animation, and a memorable theme tune that is specific to this game.
Toy Story - Platformer - Mega Drive - Based on the Pixar movie of the same name, Toy Story pits Woody the cowboy doll against all the perils that a toy has to face in life - people, dogs, loony squeaky aliens, and his own envy of a new toy who seems to be taking his place. There are quite a few levels, and the game is similarly imaginative to the film - Woody's primary weapon is his pull-string, which he uses like a cowboy would use a whip! The Mega Drive version of this game is the best version. Due to what I have always imagined was some result of the developer, Travellers' Tales, having a working relationship with Sega at the time, the SNES version is cut-down and lacks levels and features which were easily possible on the system, and were done in earlier games by other developers - stick with the Mega Drive version.
Mickey Mania - The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse - Platformer - Mega Drive - A game which follows the modern-day Mickey Mouse as he ventures through a selection of his older cartoons, in order to rescue his faithful dog, Pluto, find his past equivalents who are hiding in each of the old cartoons, and defeat Big Bad Pete. This game, in spite of what one might think given its source material, is very challenging, and requires quite a bit of skill in some places. It's got a fantastic soundtrack and great atmosphere, and also features the only death scene that has ever been designed for Mickey Mouse (apparently the Disney licensing folks don't tend to allow that sort of thing, but the way losing a life was handled in this game got their approval). As with Toy Story, the Mega Drive version of this game is the one to play, for the same reason - for reasons one can only guess at, the SNES version is missing features and levels which would have easily been possible on the system, and which were done in other games that pre-dated Mickey Mania. The SNES version's soundtrack is also scrambled around, and tunes which were written for some levels are instead inexplicably used in different ones where they do not fit.
