Nemo (ARC, 1990)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-7.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5* Story-6
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8* Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*w/o credit feeding
+
2-player co-op (player 2 can join at any point)
Weapon range upgrades
Temporary chain attack weapon (ammo-based)
Smart bombs although they trigger upon touch and can't be saved for later use
Nice spritework, use of color and pretty good animation. Nice intro and ending cutscenes (all cutscenes can be sped up), and good transitional scenes in-between most levels
Pretty good variety (some auto-scrolling and vertical segments), especially visually. Levels rarely scroll both vertically and horizontally though
Some intense action
Very good mid-air control when jumping
Pretty detailed difficulty options (credit worth, 7 levels of difficulty, lifebar length - small/medium/large, lives per credit - 1-4)
Respawn on the spot and after dying you get to fly in and land where you want to
Some interesting level gimmicks (throwable objects, cogwheel platforms, the lightbulb platforms which respond to your weight (SMB) and can be climbed up from below, spinning ball platform at sea, final boss harassing the player during his level)
Pretty good bosses overall (generally just a couple of patterns though and they don't escalate or switch things up much when near death)
Power ups spawn while fighting bosses so you don't stay underpowered for long
+/-
Time limited levels
Frequent HP drops
Frequent flying enemy respawning
Randomly hidden treasure chests like in Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Can jump attack most smaller enemies and certain projectiles but not others
Bouncing on enemies could've been made more interesting with more control over the height of the bounce and having to use this to your advantage - especially vs the final boss
No alternate paths through levels
Can't move while attacking
Bosses tend to get more aggressive but also rather spongy on higher difficulties
-
Too short (7 pretty short levels, sometimes overly short levels such as the last one)
No jump height control
Repeated beeping while low on health
Trial & error (various cheap attacks)
Can't attack upwards or downwards (not with the throwable objects either besides with the stars used for one boss fight only which fly at a slight upwards angle) - various flying enemies
Some slowdown at times
Needed more weapon variety and being able to become noticeably stronger (upgrading your range a bit isn't enough and the chain attack only helps vs enemies - not bosses)
Some difficulty spikes (vertical tree climbing segment, some later bosses)
Pretty easy final boss (default difficulty)
Notes:
-Based on the Little Nemo JP cartoon/anime movie
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8* Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*w/o credit feeding
+
2-player co-op (player 2 can join at any point)
Weapon range upgrades
Temporary chain attack weapon (ammo-based)
Smart bombs although they trigger upon touch and can't be saved for later use
Nice spritework, use of color and pretty good animation. Nice intro and ending cutscenes (all cutscenes can be sped up), and good transitional scenes in-between most levels
Pretty good variety (some auto-scrolling and vertical segments), especially visually. Levels rarely scroll both vertically and horizontally though
Some intense action
Very good mid-air control when jumping
Pretty detailed difficulty options (credit worth, 7 levels of difficulty, lifebar length - small/medium/large, lives per credit - 1-4)
Respawn on the spot and after dying you get to fly in and land where you want to
Some interesting level gimmicks (throwable objects, cogwheel platforms, the lightbulb platforms which respond to your weight (SMB) and can be climbed up from below, spinning ball platform at sea, final boss harassing the player during his level)
Pretty good bosses overall (generally just a couple of patterns though and they don't escalate or switch things up much when near death)
Power ups spawn while fighting bosses so you don't stay underpowered for long
+/-
Time limited levels
Frequent HP drops
Frequent flying enemy respawning
Randomly hidden treasure chests like in Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Can jump attack most smaller enemies and certain projectiles but not others
Bouncing on enemies could've been made more interesting with more control over the height of the bounce and having to use this to your advantage - especially vs the final boss
No alternate paths through levels
Can't move while attacking
Bosses tend to get more aggressive but also rather spongy on higher difficulties
-
Too short (7 pretty short levels, sometimes overly short levels such as the last one)
No jump height control
Repeated beeping while low on health
Trial & error (various cheap attacks)
Can't attack upwards or downwards (not with the throwable objects either besides with the stars used for one boss fight only which fly at a slight upwards angle) - various flying enemies
Some slowdown at times
Needed more weapon variety and being able to become noticeably stronger (upgrading your range a bit isn't enough and the chain attack only helps vs enemies - not bosses)
Some difficulty spikes (vertical tree climbing segment, some later bosses)
Pretty easy final boss (default difficulty)
Notes:
-Based on the Little Nemo JP cartoon/anime movie