Game: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1989
Perhaps nowadays a game about Michael Jackson attempting to save a group of children from being kidnapped would be seen to be in bad taste, but in the late 80s there was no such problem. Thus, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was born, a game for the Mega Drive and Master System in which players attempt to rescue children from "Mr. Big", playing as Michael himself. Although the music and graphics are unquestionably better in the Mega Drive version of the game, I decided to check out the Master System release.
Featuring a total of 5 main areas each with 3 stages, as well as a final boss level, the game is fairly short and can be completed within an hour. The overall gameplay is similar to that of other run ad gun style games such as Shinobi and Rolling Thunder, although only short range attacks are available. Players can kick and punch, as well as throw Michael's hat to damage enemies, although swapping between these two methods seems to be almost random from level to level.
The children that need to be found are hidden in increasingly strange places as the levels continue, including in windows, behind gravestones, and in car boots. This can make collecting them all a bit of a nightmare as missing just one hiding place can entail searching the entire level once more to find the last child. Another issue is the fact that many of the later enemies have frustrating attack patterns and are difficult to get rid of, as they respawn almost instantly once Michael moves away from them.
The controls and overall gameplay aren't particularly bad, and there's a certain Off The Wall humour to the game, which includes being able to moonwalk, most of Michael's movement animations being completely in character for him, and enemies flying away when hit. While the early levels seem to keep to a general theme, later levels don't seem to be as recognisible, although I haven't seen the Moonwalker film.
Graphically the game is fairly good for the 8 bit era, although there's not a huge amount of stylisation to it. Most objects and locations are fairly standard for gaming, and wouldn't look out of place in any other title. The music is one of the game's biggest features; with five Jackson songs in total, but they're not particularly impressive on the Master System and this proves to be one of the weakest features.
Overall Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is definitely worth a play on the Master System, unless you have a copy of the game handy for the Mega Drive, in which case I'd go for that. The control and premise for the game aren't bad, but the part I enjoyed most was Michael's animations when moving around levels. This is an example of a game that's so retro it almost hurts, considering the number of things that'd get in the way of it being released today.
Rating: 61/100
Grade: D
Game: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Virgin Interactive
Release Date: 1995
Released a full 6 years after Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and based on the movie of the same name, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is an incredibly late era game for the Master System. Despite this, in many aspects it reminded me of games for home computer systems in the 80s such as the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. There are 12 levels in total and the goal of each is to get to the end, defeating enemies as you encounter them. The game is presented as a beat 'em up with platform navigation inspired by Shinobi and Rolling Thunder at times.
Controlling Bruce Lee is fairly difficult because of a few key decisions made by the developers; firstly the jump and attack buttons are the opposite of most beat'em ups and can't be changed, secondly unless players are pressing a directional button in conjuction with the attack button nothing will happen, and lastly the hit detection and attack range is truly awful, leading to a lot of button mashing in the hopes of actually hitting something.
Graphically the game is pretty poor, using unattractive colours and repetitive backgrounds throughout the 4 different areas. There are few enemy types and the only standout feature is Bruce's animations which are fluid and fairly impressive. With no musical accompaniment whatsoever to gameplay, it's hard to assess the overall sound of the game; the sound effects are pretty standard but it's disappointing to have nothing to listen to alongside the "action".
Overall Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is probably one of the worst Master System games I own. The gameplay, controls, graphics and sound are all poor, and there's no real effort at level design or an attempt at a plot. The game's 12 levels over 4 areas seem more like 4 elongated levels which are very similar to eachother. There's really no reason why anyone should play this game as it's barely functional as a video game, even by 1987 standards.
Rating: 10/100
Grade: F
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