Not all games require you to suit up as a sword-wielding knight or machine gun-toting mercenary to fend off all enemies in your way. Sometimes, developers take the wacky (and sometimes strange) idea of making the hero, or playable character, at least, an animal. Sometimes these ideas work. Other times - and I'm giving the evil eye to you, Ecco the Dolphin - it doesn't. So here are 10 instances where the idea worked. And if anyone can fill me in on what the point of Ecco was, please feel free to let me know.
10. Quackshot Starring Donald Duck (Genesis): Treasure-hunting Donald Duck armed himself with quite a plunger-blasting pistol in this game that was actually a lot of fun to play. Be sure to check out the Indiana Jones getup he's wearing.
9. Kangaroo (Arcade, Atari 2600 & 5200): Those "Punch the monkey and win $20" banner ads must have come from this game. Because there isn't much that is more entertaining than a kangaroo wearing boxing gloves who knocks monkeys out in order to save her son.
8. Yars' Revenge (Atari 2600): I know a Yar is supposed to be like a bug, so I counted it even though it's apparently not an Earthly one. But any bug tough enough to eat through a barrier before aiming a cannon that makes the screen flash all kinds of colors is OK in my book.
7. Altered Beast (Genesis): OK, so you're thinking this probably shouldn't count because you don't actually start each level is an animal. But are you going to tell the Golden Werewolf that to his face? Didn't think so.
6. Lemmings (PC, NES): Believe it or not, Lemmings are real animals who live in or near the Arctic. The ones in the video game look more like Fraggles to me, but I don't guess that really matters, except for the fact several of the games levels feature lava, which I reckon is much hotter than anything the Arctic has to offer.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES): I was never a big fan of Nintendo's first foray into the world of TMNT, not because it was mind-numbingly hard, but because I expected more out of the commercial juggernaut. TMNT II has a much faster pace and better action sequences.
4. Donkey Kong Country (SNES): The best-looking Donkey Kong game at its time, DKC carried the franchise to previously unexplored territory: A side-scrolling platformer with faux-3D graphics.
3. Frogger (Arcade, NES, others I'm sure): Just get your little frog across the road then across the pond. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But as anyone who's ever played Frogger knows, just crossing the road can make you want to pull your hair out. And if you're not made into roadkill before crossing, you're then up to be the guest of honor at some alligator's feast.
2. Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade, Atari 2600, NES): The original Donkey Kong didn't make the list since you play as the spawn which would eventually become Mario (Jumpman). But in this game, it was Mini DK's turn in the spotlight as he swung across vines to save his Daddy from the clutches of Mario. And you thought Mario was all good.
1. Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis, Sega Master System): The blue blur blew his way into our lives back in 1991 and is still going strong today with new releases coming out. The anti-Mario was actually the second pack-in game sold with the Genesis (Altered Beast was the first). Sega struck gold with this guy, as the sequel to this game is the Genesis' biggest-selling game. The first two Sonic games were also developed in 8-bit format for the Sega Master System, so Sega fans who didn't own a Genesis console could still get their Sonic fix.
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1 comment:
What about Brutal on the SNES the fighting game where you were an animal Kung Fu fighter?
Oh and there was a game I believe on Atari 2600 that was like frogger but with a chicken I think it had a name like Freeway or something like that?
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