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  • Claymates (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Claymates is a side-scrolling platformer developed by Visual Concepts and published by Interplay in 1993 exclusively for the Super NES. The was by far the most popular genre of gaming in the 8 and 16-bit era so this one probably got lost in the crowd a little. The most unique thing about this game is its claymation style animation similar to what the same company did in ClayFighter which was released around the same time. ClayFighter had pretty big success and judging from the three page ad layout in EGM, Interplay must of thought they had a big hit on their hands with Claymates as well. Honestly though, I didn’t remember this game at all so I’m not sure it was as popular as they hoped…but maybe it was just me.

    This game follows the same general formula as most other side-scrolling platform games of the time. Run and jump avoiding obstacles and defeating or avoiding enemies along the way. The unique play mechanic in this game is the fact that the main characters is a ball of clay that can transform into one of four animals. These include Muckster the Cat, Doh-Doh the Duck, Oozy the Mouse, Goopy the Guppy, and Globmeister the Chipmunk. The ad here features Goopy the Guppy leaving me to wonder if there were ads for all of the animals. In any case, each animal has its own special abilities that will help you in different situations.

    This game has a fair amount of variety. As you work your way through different levels you will progress through places such as your back yard, the Pacific, Japan, Africa, and even outer space. The story doesn’t really matter much but you are basically trying to rescue your father from the bad guy that stole his transformation serum and turned you into a clay ball.

    The graphics are kind of a mixed bag. On one had, the backgrounds are nice and the claymation effect is very unique. On the other hand, these clay animated figures, though well done, don’t necessarily look as good as the sharp and colorful looking sprites found in most games. I guess it’s a personal preference thing. There’s also nothing to complain about with the sound and music.

    This game was generally reviewed well. If I were playing a side-scroller like this at the time, other than Mario, I would have been more into sci-fi themed games so I would probably have passed this one by. A pin-up of Goopy the Guppy sure wouldn’t have made me want to play it, lol. However, if you are a fan of the genre and the SNES, then this is definitely a decent one to pick up. This would seem to be a case of not wanting to judge a book by its cover.

    There are a couple of interesting development notes. Development initially started on the NES but moved to the Super NES early on. There was also a Genesis version planned but for some reason never completed. I’m not really sure why. It doesn’t seem like it would have been a particularly difficult port but perhaps the sales weren’t what they were expecting and they chose not to pursue additional ports. I’m just speculating but Clayfighter had a number of sequels and I don’t think there were any sequels to this game.

    Claymates was added to the Nintendo Classics service in 2021. If you have a Nintendo Switch or a Switch 2 then that is an easy way to play this game. Otherwise, you will have to track down an original copy for your Super NES or use emulation. As far as I know, there haven’t been any other releases of this game.

    The ad above is from the March 1994 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.


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  • Mario Is Missing! (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Mario Is Missing is an educational adventure game that was released for the Super NES in 1993. The Super NES had been released in 1991 so this was still pretty early in its life. It was unique in a variety of ways including being a relatively rare game that stars Luigi, being an educational game on a console, and being a Mario/Luigi game that was also released on other platforms.

    The plot of this game is that Mario has been kidnapped by Bowser and you, as Luigi, must find him. There’s also an evil plot by Bowser that must be stopped. He plans to melt Antarctica by using hairdryers.

    In order to rescue Mario, Luigi must travel the world solving geography based puzzles. You must return stolen artifacts by answering questions about local landmarks and history. Bowser is trying to sell these artifacts to pay for the hairdryers. Seems like it would be easier just to steal the hairdryers… Locations include such places as Cairo, Paris, New York, Mexico City, and Tokyo among others.

    This is essentially a point-and-click adventure game with an educational emphasis. The goal is to teach basic geography and history to a younger audience and is an early example of “edutainment”. It was meant as competition for games like Carmen Sandiego.

    Those expecting anything resembling a traditional Mario game will be disappointed. As an educational game it’s just ok. There isn’t a whole lot of fun mixed in with the pointing, clicking, and answering questions.

    This history of this game is somewhat interesting though. Nintendo did not develop this game but instead licensed the characters to The Software Toolworks who originally created this game for DOS based computers. Shortly after, it was ported to the Super NES and NES and then later on the Macintosh and Windows.

    As a game for younger players it isn’t bad but the Carmen Sandiego games are better. There isn’t much in the way of replayability and it really isn’t something adults today would find very interesting, even for nostalgia. Younger kids today could still enjoy it though…at least for one play through.

    Images above are from the Super NES version of the game with the ad being from the October 1993 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.


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  • Donkey Kong Country (Super NES)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Donkey Kong Country was released in 1994 by Rare for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In terms of graphics, sound, and game play, this game really represents the peak of 2D side-scrolling platform gaming in the 16-bit era. This game was also a major revival for the Donkey Kong franchise which really hadn’t seen a major new releases since the Atari 2600 era arcade ports.

    At a high level, Donkey Kong Country is a traditional platformer like many others. It is just particularly well executed. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong and his sidekick, the newly introduced Diddy Kong, as they seek to recover their stolen bananas from the evil King K. Rool and his various minions. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking but the plot in a game like this is hardly the most important thing.

    The most important aspect of Donkey Kong Country is the excellent game play. The controls are among the best for such games leaving you no reason to be frustrated on that front. You can control either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses. Donkey Kong is larger and stronger and can more easily defeat stronger enemies. However, Diddy Kong is smaller and faster. These differences add a bit of a strategic element to the game when it comes to choosing the appropriate character for a given situation.

    The levels feature a ton of variety which is always important in this kind of game (or any game really). Each level has a multitude of challenges, hidden secrets, and items to collect. The environments are also quite varied featuring locals such as industrial factories, jungles, ice caves, etc. Each of these of course has new obstacles to overcome.

    One of the more unique aspects of Donkey Kong Country is the ability to summon animal companions. Various animals can be summoned to assist you including Rambi the Rhinoceros (who can charge through enemies), Expresso the Ostrich (who provides increased speed and height), and others.

    Donkey Kong Country also broke new ground when it came to graphics on 16-bit systems. Rare used a method of creating pre-rendered 3D models (using SGI Challenge workstations) and then turning them into 2D sprites. At the time it came out, nothing else looked remotely like Donkey Kong Country. All aspects of the graphics were pretty amazing including the character models, character animations, and the detailed environments and backgrounds. The soundtrack and sound effects were equally well done. Creating the score was a major project in itself with theme music appropriate to each level.

    If all of that weren’t enough, Donkey Kong Country offers tons of replayability and an excellent difficulty curve. The game starts off pretty easy with difficulty ramping up as you progress through the levels. It never gets so hard as to be frustrating. For more advanced players, the true difficulty and replayability of the game comes from completing levels 100% by exploring all areas, collecting all necessary items and completing all challenges.

    Donkey Kong Country was a huge success for Rare and was the game that really brought them into the spotlight. It was a huge influence of future platformers, not the least of which are its own sequels including Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble.

    There have been a variety of ports and re-releases over the years. There was a port of this game on the Game Boy Color in 2000 that was a pretty faithful conversion. There was another release on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 which was nearly identical to the Super NES original. There were also a few releases of the original Super NES version on the Virtual Console for the Wii, 3DS and Wii-U. The most recent re-releases have been as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017 and via Nintendo Switch Online in 2020.

    If you are a platform game fan then this game is a game you don’t want to miss and if you enjoy this one, you’ll probably enjoy the two sequels mentioned above as well. There have been additional sequels and spinoffs over the years but the original is still something special. Perhaps more than any other game, Donkey Kong Country was responsible for keeping the Super NES relevant in the face of the impending PlayStation and Saturn releases (the N64 wouldn’t be released until a couple of years later) and in claiming ultimate victory in the 16-bit wars.


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