12 Days of NESmas: Circus Charlie, Legend of Kage, Adventure Island and Mappy (#8)

Game: Circus Charlie
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Soft Pro
Release Date: 4th March 1986

Circus Charlie is a platform game where players control a circus performer through 5 different circus events; riding a lion, tightrope walking whilst jumping over monkeys, balancing on large balls, riding a horse and swinging on high ropes. Each of the events controls a little differently, but the controls remain the same, the control pad is used to move with the button used to jump. Stages 1 and 2 are particularly easy, and shouldn't trouble players too much once they've passed them a few times.

Stage 3 and 4 however are slightly poorly designed in that it's much more difficult to judge the jump length and what's required not to lose a life. The last stage in the game seems more like the first in its difficulty, so it's strange to see such a change in difficulty in the middle period of the game. If players manage to clear all 5 stages without losing all their lives then the game loops and each stage is played again.

Graphically Circus Charlie is simple, yet manages to effectively show off the theme of the game. The crowd are displayed as the classic NES repeating pattern, and flash to simulate applause. It's a shame that the background of the circus tent is simply black, but this does mean that the onscreen action can be displayed clearly. Soundwise there's some good music to accompany gameplay, but all other effects are white noise, which can become grating after a while.

Overall Circus Charlie is a simple game, but one that understands its own simplicity and offers responsive controls, a good concept and a fair level of difficulty, save for a single level. Having only been released in Japan, this game is part of the earlier crop of Famicom titles which bore a closer resemblance to home computer titles than post 1985 NES games.

Rating: 50/100
Grade: D

Game: Legend Of Kage

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: TOSE

Release Date: 1987

As an arcade title, The Legend of Kage felt pretty great, jumping about through trees and throwing shuriken around at enemies. On the NES, the experience feels not only a little watered down but somewhat more difficult. Having definitely got a few levels into the arcade game, it took many tries to even clear the first level of the game, and it's not really clear when the first level ends; as far as I can tell there's an opponent that randomly appears who must be defeated to continue, but he seems to arrive when he likes. 

The other levels are also basically the same as the arcade version with slightly worse sprites and less detail overall. The controls are also somewhat irritating as the jump button has been mapped to up on the control pad, due to Kage having both a shuriken and a katana attack. Aside from this though, the game plays almost as well as the arcade version, though there were issues with that too.

Graphically the game features faceless sprites, basic shapes and a lack of interest in its backgrounds. Later on in the game there's some repetitive walls which are used as backgrounds and overall it's pretty unimaginative. Soundwise however, there's a nice track or two behind the game and it's refreshing to see an NES game with music all the way through the action.

Overall The Legend of Kage is pretty average as a game, the controls are a bit fiddly, the levels boring, the difficulty level somewhat uneven and the plot fairly cliché. It's something that most players should try once, and need never play again.

Rating: 49/100
Grade; D

Game: Adventure Island
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Hudson Soft
Release Date: 1988

Adventure Island had a strange start to life; originally supposed to be a port of Wonder Boy to the NES, Sega's license to the Wonder Boy series meant that the characters and story had to be changed in order to remove any similarities. What was left was a surprisingly solid platformer with some original elements and plenty of charm. Players take control of Master Higgins, who is on a quest to rescue a female on a pacific island.

With 8 areas of 4 rounds each for 32 levels total, and checkpoints throughout each round the game is pretty expansive for an NES cartridge and rivals Super Mario Bros. in terms of content. While the platforming isn't quite as spot on as in the Nintendo classic, Adventure island still manages to provide a good feel to the game, with an axe weapon which can be thrown, a skateboard power-up to speed through levels and some other fun goodies hidden within eggs across the game's levels.

Graphically the game is bright and interesting, featuring many different locations throughout the levels of the game, and providing a fairly relaxed feeling except for maybe the boss battles. The music changes as the levels change and the tunes featured are enjoyable and fitting for the game. The only real downside is the inclusion of a depleting health meter which must be topped up with fruit constantly throughout the levels, encouraging players to keep moving through the levels, when a simple timer would have sufficed.

Overall Adventure Island is a classic NES title, and probably the best game I'll be looking at within this 12 Days of NESmas feature. The platforming is solid, and the controls are great, allowing players to feel as if they're in full command of their actions. The levels are varied and plentiful, the enemies are inventive and brightly coloured and the boss battles are fun and exciting. If you like 8-bit platformers then this is definitely a game to check out.

Rating: 80/100
Grade: B

Game: Mappy
Console: Nintendo Famicom
Developer: Namco
Release Date: 14th November 1984

Mappy is an interesting game where players take on the role of a police mouse, collecting stolen property from around a house using trampolines of sorts to boost themselves up to each floor and doors to stun enemies. It's pretty quirky and takes a little getting used to, but having been an arcade game, there's some fast paced and fun action to be had.

Once all of the stolen goods have been collected for the round, players progress to the next house which is laid out a little differently to the last. This means that gameplay can become a little repetitive, as the game's main concept remains throughout with only the level layout changing. As a fairly early Famicom game, it's better than a lot of its contemporaries.

Graphically the game is fairly simple with each house laid out in a 2D cutaway view, with different roof and floor colours in each level. As the game progresses more and more stolen goods must be recovered, and there are more enemies also. The game's soundtrack is light hearted and fitting for the game, but can become a little repetitive as the only accompaniment.

Overall it's fairly obvious as to why Mappy never made it to American or European NES consoles; because it's such an early game, by the time the NES came out in the west, there were far better games and platformers to choose from. The unique concept can still be appreciated, and I personally enjoy having a copy of the Famicom cartridge, though it has no real rarity or value.

Rating: 55/100
Grade: D