TaleSpin (NES, 1991)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-7.5 Story-6
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+
Shop for upgrades between levels (armor/HP - 3 to 4, engine/speed, rapid fire)
Interesting control method (can turn around with a button press and it also reverses the scrolling – similar to defender or fantasy zone)
Diagonal fire
Follows the cartoon somewhat well
Animated dialogue scenes with pretty large characters
Take 3 hits before death (4 with the upgrade) in a shooter
+/-
Forced scrolling in vertical segments
Hidden bonus levels (kinda lame though and each layout is nearly identical)
Can move into walls without taking damage
Upgrades are permanent
-
Can’t turn around while moving diagonally up or down
The camera is too slow to adjust after turning around – leads to cheap hits and missed power ups, can’t turn around in some horizontal segments (before second boss)
Lame weapon system (just levels of rapid fire)
Very low initial rate of fire (one shot on screen at once, then just two with rapid short lvl 1) and slow ship speed (this upgrade is also rather expensive compared to fantasy zone for example)
Trial & error (hidden items/bonus levels with no clues, enemies can shoot through walls but you can’t, you also can’t shoot through items on the ground)
No difficulty options
Pretty simple bosses overall
Uneven difficulty curve (hard construction site boss and horror house level compared to the rest, game becomes easier overall after getting the speed and rapid fire upgrades)
Rehashes Mega Man sounds & music
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+
Shop for upgrades between levels (armor/HP - 3 to 4, engine/speed, rapid fire)
Interesting control method (can turn around with a button press and it also reverses the scrolling – similar to defender or fantasy zone)
Diagonal fire
Follows the cartoon somewhat well
Animated dialogue scenes with pretty large characters
Take 3 hits before death (4 with the upgrade) in a shooter
+/-
Forced scrolling in vertical segments
Hidden bonus levels (kinda lame though and each layout is nearly identical)
Can move into walls without taking damage
Upgrades are permanent
-
Can’t turn around while moving diagonally up or down
The camera is too slow to adjust after turning around – leads to cheap hits and missed power ups, can’t turn around in some horizontal segments (before second boss)
Lame weapon system (just levels of rapid fire)
Very low initial rate of fire (one shot on screen at once, then just two with rapid short lvl 1) and slow ship speed (this upgrade is also rather expensive compared to fantasy zone for example)
Trial & error (hidden items/bonus levels with no clues, enemies can shoot through walls but you can’t, you also can’t shoot through items on the ground)
No difficulty options
Pretty simple bosses overall
Uneven difficulty curve (hard construction site boss and horror house level compared to the rest, game becomes easier overall after getting the speed and rapid fire upgrades)
Rehashes Mega Man sounds & music