Have you ever had someone look at you in shock and say “I can’t believe you never played ___!”? That’s what this column is about. I’m an old fart gamer experiencing some of the classic retro games for the first time – and rather than having something profound or meaningful to say about it, I’m just going to share my initial thoughts upon playing a game most others have already deemed a classic. Hope you enjoy my newcomer insight – and ignorance – to games I should have played by now!
This week, I’m covering Bucky O’Hare, the SNES game that probably caused a lot of children to break their SNES.
My first reaction: “Oh my goodness, I forgot how slow text can be in older games.” As much as I normally love plot in video games, it’s hard not to speed up the text, especially with the upbeat, fast paced music in the introductory cut scene.
The expository information is appreciated, but most of my questions remain unanswered: Where did these creatures come from? Why were they in the seemingly evil Toad’s property to begin with? Also, why is Bucky green? Perhaps O’Hare is just a surname, and he’s not actually a bunny. I mean, it would make sense; neither agility nor hopping speed are what I’d expect of a hare protagonist. Of course, it’s entirely possible these questions were answered in the cut scene – I couldn’t tell because I kept wanting to blast through the text.
Gameplay-wise, this one takes you back immediately with the classic feel of only being able to shoot three of something at a time, with exception to being close to the edge of the screen. The controls, while simple, are difficult to master, and brutally challenging for beginners. There’s a level at the very beginning where I was having trouble platforming my way up a tree – only to discover that the beehives I have been shooting down on the way up will regenerate if I take too long to make my way up the tree. I can only imagine how many small children lost their marbles over this game when it was in its prime. Additionally, it’s nothing new to video games to have trajectory completely undermined by taking damage, and in this game that concept can be infuriating when falling at the end of a long stretch – in particular right before a new check point.
The graphics are pretty, and a good use of the colors they had available. This isn’t like some games, where platforms that do different things will look slightly differently, however - at least not in the early levels. After learning tree branch platforms break, I panicked and instinctively ran through all of the platforms in a hurry, only to lose multiple lives and later learn some tree branches don’t care how long you stand on them. This was also an issue when I discovered some logs will sink when you’re on them, while others swing back and forth, causing me to fearfully jump hastily on the second batch, missing the jump several times. Of course, there are also logs that carry you across water that look completely different – I learned the hard way it’s not a good idea to jump instinctively with these ones either, given that even the most shallow water will inexplicably cost a life upon contact.
After being obliterated countless times on the green planet, I figured I’d try my luck starting on some of the other ones. Maybe, I thought to myself, the green planet was the hardest one, and the others would be easier. That must be it. Right? Right?
I really hope some nostalgic gamer will see this screenshot in particular and understand the rage I just experienced.
Nope, they’re all monsters.
For those who haven’t played this game, the above is an early part of the yellow planet – where, after narrowly surviving several screens of people following you and shooting you from every direction, you must scale up the backs of ships that will not only shoot at you as you try but continuously move, making it nearly impossible for someone to scale it without falling at least a few times. Oh yeah, and meteors will come at you and also ruin trajectory. Also, there’s no way to die from below and each hit does one point of that giant life meter, so if you get frustrated and wish to play a new level you can’t even kill yourself the way you want to.
There’s also a blue planet that has ice and plenty of water in which to accidentally drown, and a red planet with volcanoes in the background that erupt and interrupt jumps across pits. Whatever this alien green rabbit thing is, it sure doesn’t like any specific element in particular.
This game is ideal for someone who wants the thrill of a game that will put them to work. The only way to describe a game like this to a newcomer is that it will leave you delightfully full of rage – it’s the game phrases like “just one more try!” were made for.