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Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
(I used to get shocked when people told me they didn't like
Mario games.)
//introduction
Most of the people reading this should know the Tiny Toons. They were the eponymous cast of a cartoon created by Warner Bros. some years ago. They were extremely popular in Japan, due to the fact that they were basically cute versions of popular cartoon characters but they made their mark all around the globe.
As you may well have already guessed, this is a platform game starring some of the Tiny Toons.
//rules and toys
You control Buster Bunny (a blue anthropomorphic rabbit) and must guide him safely through various levels. Instead of being asked to jump on top of enemies, your standard method of dispatching enemies is a sort of spinning kick. Apart from performing a standard jump and simply walking left and right, Buster's other moves are a dash and a dropkick.
//dashing
Over time, a 'dash meter' will fill up, and as long as it isn't empty, pressing L or R will force Buster to dash in the direction he is facing. If he meets a vertical wall whilst dashing, he will run up it. However, the dash meter will quickly run out, so you are forced to either stand about and wait for it to refill, or collect little Gogo statues, which will instantly refill the meter for you.
//WARNING - LEVEL DETAILS REVEALED - DANGER RATING 2 (SLIGHT)
//levels' features
In total, there are 6 levels. However, on the easiest difficulty level, you only get to play 5 stages.
Most of the levels are comparitively normal platform sections, but the 4th stage is an American football bit. As Buster, you must run up the field, jumping over or ducking over members of the opposing team trying to tackle you.
The first level begins by introducing you to the basic features of the game. After making your way past some enemy mice, you are introduced to the dash feature and are asked to make your way up a wall and onto the next part of the level, where you must dash up some bookcases before defeating a trickier-than-usual enemy. After making your way down another corridor, you must then feed Dizzy by hitting food from below in a fashion slightly similar to destroying enemies in Mario Bros.
The 2nd level - 'The Western Movie' starts off with you wandering down a street, avoiding falling tomatoes and running dogs. Shortly a skipping section (which asks you to correctly time your jumps over the rope), you get to the meat of the level - a train section. Mailbags in the foreground must be avoided, a mountain must be dashed over, falling train sections negotiated, flickering lights ignored, a magician defeated and an escape made.
Throughout the game, stages continue to be reasonably long and varied.
//END WARNING - DANGER EXTINCT
//bonus levels
Between stages, a bonus level is chosed by a wheel of fortune. 2 of the 5 possible bonus levels involve no skill whatsoever, being totally down to luck. The other 3 involve a maze game where enemies must be avoided and certain points reached; a game involving hitting a ball against a wall and trying to not miss it; and a game in which tiles must be re-arranged to create a path for Hampton to reach some apples.
The difficulty of the bonus levels changes according to the difficulty level.
//options
There is no 2-player mode. There are 3 difficulty levels to choose from. On the easiest setting, you only have to play through a small portion of the game. On the most difficult setting, you start each level with only 1 hit point.
You can also choose between Stereo or Monoraul sound settings, change the functions of buttons and listen to some in-game sounds.
//sound
Many levels' tunes are a remix of the Tiny Toons main theme. Most actions have a suitable sound effect. The music changes frequently, although some short themes are repeated.
//graphics
The graphics are as you'd expect from a Konami Snes game.
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how far I got: completed the game on all 3 difficulty levels.
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rating : 45
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I enjoy playing a 2D platform game, but even I get tired whilst playing a derivative mediocre effort. To keep my interest and keep me smiling, a platform game must offer something different. It must have enough variation to keep me from getting bored. Just like every other type of game then.
As you'll have gathered from the score, this game does indeed meet the above criteria. Buster's ability to dash up walls and - to a lesser extent - the replacement of jumping on enemies with a drop kick both help to distance the game from a typical Mario clone. From the very first level, you are asked to run up walls, jumping between them to dodge obstacles and this element, whilst never over-used, becomes integral to the game.
There is a fair bit of variation and originality elsewhere though. Jumping up to feed Dizzy on a platform above you (in a section slightly reminiscent of Mario Bros.) is soon followed by having to repeatedly jump over a skipping rope. The game is broken up by a strange american football section (asking you to jump over or duck under foes attempting to tackle you). Each level is followed by one of 5 bonus games (chosen by a wheel of fortune) and whilst 2 of them are pretty crummy, being totally down to luck, you'll have fun playing them all a few times and trying to get good at the 3 which do actually involve some sort of skill.
Crucially though, none of these element are too drawn out. The game keeps changing, and whilst few parts really stand out, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The game simply stands out as a whole.
The difficulty is well balanced. The difference between the different difficulty level will mean that there will be a suitable difficulty for everyone. You won't be able to finish the game on your first attempt on Normal. However, you'll come back and do so. And enjoy yourself while you're at it.
Completing 'Challenging' is indeed a challenge. Not an unfair one or a ridiculously hard one. Just a bit of a challenge which you can try your hand at after beating the Normal difficulty.
Overall, it's a combination of variation, originality and polish that makes this game so enjoyable to play. It might well be a tad too easy for some, meaning that it doesn't take as long to get through as you'd like. However, like all other games, the reason for playing isn't to complete the game, but to enjoy yourself. Chances are that you will - so much in fact, that a few months down the line, you'll pick it up and go through it all again. And enjoy yourself.
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