Konami Wai Wai World (NES, 1988)(w/ camera hack)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5 Control-7 Challenge-8 Story-5.5
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
+
8 playable chars that you can switch between on the fly after rescuing them (each with their own ammo-based sub weapon and ability; Konami Man and Girl can fly and shoot (the latter's shots go through enemies but at a slow rate of fire), Mikey can fit into smaller paths, Simon has longer reach+can throw boomerang crosses (3 on screen at a time), Goemon can open item containers/chests+attacks diagonally upwards, Fuuma+Moai+King Kong can break certain blocks and the latter two have a strong melee attack)
Two more chars for the second to last level which is a vertical shooter level (twinbee or gradius ship)
2-player coop
Nice art direction, pretty impressive music
Can exit levels where you entered them
Character info menu (door 1)
Can attack while moving
One AP upgrade and one DP upgrade which affects all chars (AP in Goemon-themed level / DP in CV-themed level)
Pretty good bosses overall (only some levels have them though)
Pretty frequent checkpoints
Some mini-bosses
One hidden item (simon's sub weapon)
+/-
Partially non-linear (level select screen (6 levels)*, can't get far into the Fuuma or Moai levels without King Kong nor the city level without Mikey, after beating these (by rescuing the character in each) you unlock a shooter level
Maze levels (have to find a key and rescue a playable character in each level)
Can heal and resurrect at the homebase however the latter costs 100 bullets per char - leads to some grinding
Password save feature (pretty short)
There are hidden warp points leading back to the homebase/lab but finding them is a matter of trial & error and they only appear in some levels
Pretty frequent health drops from enemies
Enemy drops disappear quickly
Separate health bars for each char
Can't move while crouching
No dodge or block moves - some unavoidable damage
Surplus health doesn't carry automatically over to someone in your party who needs it
Mikey's sub weapon is like a crappier version of Konami Man's (can't shoot while ducking)
Death pits here and there
No knockback when hit
Levels aren't marked as cleared even if you've collected everything in them and beaten the boss
Final level plays more like a run 'n gun game (continuously spawning enemies in most rooms)
Timed escape sequence after the final boss (kinda tight timing but not that exciting as you're just backtracking through an empty level with no new hazards)
NPCs tend to curse you if you say no or don't have enough money
Some gambling mini-games (pure luck)
-
*However you can pretty much only proceed through the Goemon and CV levels at first as you'll need to rescue the other characters to be able to get past obstacles in other levels - if you don't have the right char/ability you'll have to backtrack to the beginning of the level again. You can beat the CV-themed level but it's pretty hard and you can't open the item containers yet. Can also do the Goonies-themed level but part of it is hard in a really tedious way without ranged attacks or Simon (CV)
Too much backtracking - there should've been a teleporter to the level exit when rescuing a playable char at least
Some control/interface issues (very loose camera (fixed w/ a hack), can't turn around in mid-air, can't jump onto or off of stairs (CV) - leads to some cheap hits, have to jump to switch chars, no jump height control)
Kind of tedious level design at times (flat surfaces/corridors and frequently spawning+kind of spongy enemies that you can't just avoid)
Being able to open item containers (Goemon) as an ability is kinda lame as they just contain health and his sub weapon works the same as konami man's
No level maps
Repetitive level design compared to CV or Goonies 2
Have to wait between shots to not waste bullets due to long invincibility times on enemies
Annoying how Mikey is small but not small enough to get to the AP capsule in the Goemon level
Overly spongy enemies overall in the city level
Some cheap hits (city level's purple shooting robots end of Fuuma and Moai levels - some unavoidable damage in the latter, Moai boss)
Some trial & error (the konami girl sub weapon and chest in the CV level are basically death traps if you don't have the mantle yet, simon's whip can't hit behind him here, how to resurrect a dead char - have to go into the char info menu and select him below the list)
Easy shooter level
Some slowdown
Kinda bullshit final boss that just turns into a war of attrition (can't really avoid damage from the flying enemies here and as soon as they reach you you can't get rid of them)
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-6.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-6.5
+
8 playable chars that you can switch between on the fly after rescuing them (each with their own ammo-based sub weapon and ability; Konami Man and Girl can fly and shoot (the latter's shots go through enemies but at a slow rate of fire), Mikey can fit into smaller paths, Simon has longer reach+can throw boomerang crosses (3 on screen at a time), Goemon can open item containers/chests+attacks diagonally upwards, Fuuma+Moai+King Kong can break certain blocks and the latter two have a strong melee attack)
Two more chars for the second to last level which is a vertical shooter level (twinbee or gradius ship)
2-player coop
Nice art direction, pretty impressive music
Can exit levels where you entered them
Character info menu (door 1)
Can attack while moving
One AP upgrade and one DP upgrade which affects all chars (AP in Goemon-themed level / DP in CV-themed level)
Pretty good bosses overall (only some levels have them though)
Pretty frequent checkpoints
Some mini-bosses
One hidden item (simon's sub weapon)
+/-
Partially non-linear (level select screen (6 levels)*, can't get far into the Fuuma or Moai levels without King Kong nor the city level without Mikey, after beating these (by rescuing the character in each) you unlock a shooter level
Maze levels (have to find a key and rescue a playable character in each level)
Can heal and resurrect at the homebase however the latter costs 100 bullets per char - leads to some grinding
Password save feature (pretty short)
There are hidden warp points leading back to the homebase/lab but finding them is a matter of trial & error and they only appear in some levels
Pretty frequent health drops from enemies
Enemy drops disappear quickly
Separate health bars for each char
Can't move while crouching
No dodge or block moves - some unavoidable damage
Surplus health doesn't carry automatically over to someone in your party who needs it
Mikey's sub weapon is like a crappier version of Konami Man's (can't shoot while ducking)
Death pits here and there
No knockback when hit
Levels aren't marked as cleared even if you've collected everything in them and beaten the boss
Final level plays more like a run 'n gun game (continuously spawning enemies in most rooms)
Timed escape sequence after the final boss (kinda tight timing but not that exciting as you're just backtracking through an empty level with no new hazards)
NPCs tend to curse you if you say no or don't have enough money
Some gambling mini-games (pure luck)
-
*However you can pretty much only proceed through the Goemon and CV levels at first as you'll need to rescue the other characters to be able to get past obstacles in other levels - if you don't have the right char/ability you'll have to backtrack to the beginning of the level again. You can beat the CV-themed level but it's pretty hard and you can't open the item containers yet. Can also do the Goonies-themed level but part of it is hard in a really tedious way without ranged attacks or Simon (CV)
Too much backtracking - there should've been a teleporter to the level exit when rescuing a playable char at least
Some control/interface issues (very loose camera (fixed w/ a hack), can't turn around in mid-air, can't jump onto or off of stairs (CV) - leads to some cheap hits, have to jump to switch chars, no jump height control)
Kind of tedious level design at times (flat surfaces/corridors and frequently spawning+kind of spongy enemies that you can't just avoid)
Being able to open item containers (Goemon) as an ability is kinda lame as they just contain health and his sub weapon works the same as konami man's
No level maps
Repetitive level design compared to CV or Goonies 2
Have to wait between shots to not waste bullets due to long invincibility times on enemies
Annoying how Mikey is small but not small enough to get to the AP capsule in the Goemon level
Overly spongy enemies overall in the city level
Some cheap hits (city level's purple shooting robots end of Fuuma and Moai levels - some unavoidable damage in the latter, Moai boss)
Some trial & error (the konami girl sub weapon and chest in the CV level are basically death traps if you don't have the mantle yet, simon's whip can't hit behind him here, how to resurrect a dead char - have to go into the char info menu and select him below the list)
Easy shooter level
Some slowdown
Kinda bullshit final boss that just turns into a war of attrition (can't really avoid damage from the flying enemies here and as soon as they reach you you can't get rid of them)