It's time for yet another trip to Acme Acres with another Tiny Toons video game. Can this one break from the middling mold of Babs' Big Break, or is it destined to strike out? Let's hit the court with Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports.
Year of Release: 1994
Publisher: Konami
Platform: Game Boy
By 1994, Tiny Toon Adventures as a series was wrapped up with most of the crew moving to Animaniacs. There were a couple specials that followed, but the show itself was basically done. Oddly, Tiny Toons as a video game franchise lived on, though by 1994, Konami was about wrapped up with the show too, developing three more games for three consoles. Sega's ACME All-Stars, SNES' Wacky Sports Challenge, and in between those releases, Wacky Sports for Game Boy. All three sharing a similar theme of sports mini games.
There isn't really a plot to Wacky Sports, other than Gogo Dodo is holding a sports contest and you choose between Buster Bunny and Babs Bunny (no relation) to compete in five minigames. Neither Buster not Babs have any difference in ability, it's mostly a cosmetic choice. Though at least it's a Tiny Toons game where Babs is playable, earning it some much needed bonus points there. You'd think with the game being Wacky sports, you'd be playing in WackyLand but nope. It's a relatively tame take on Acme Acres. The game is split into three difficulties, easy medium and hard, and there are two standalone minigames as well, but we'll get to them shortly. So, five minigames within the contest. Shouldn't be too hard. And then you realize, this is Konami and they're going to ruin your life.
And it starts with Baseball. The object is to hit the ball into one of the numbered spots to take a base or get a home run. Gent more than Dizzy Devil's score to qualify to the next challenge. There are also spots where you can get struck out. Sounds simple, but it's not as simple as you'd hope. The object is to time your bat strike at the correct time to hit the ball in one of the desired spots. Early strikes veer left, while later strikes veer right. It can take a bit to get the hang of, but of the minigames, this one is one of the more doable.
Next is football and it's probably the easiest of the bunch. It's a redo of the football level from Buster Busts Loose in that you have to carry your football from one end of the field to the other, avoiding players to score a touchdown to qualify. The challenge involves pattern recognition which can be easy to follow. Of all the games in the package, you'll have the least issues there. And then, there's Tennis where all hope goes to die. You have to hit a certain amount of targets before the time limit. A for forehand and B for backhand. The downside is your swing can often easily miss and it's tricky to get the hang of. It's where most runs will go to die. And I do mean that as this game has no continues, meaning that if you get far just to fail, you'll have to start all over again. Thankfully, the Konami Code is there if you're struggling and want to see what else the game has in store.
Next is Soccer. Object here is to move your cursor just right in hopes that you can get your soccer ball past the goalie. This one feels like the most RNG dependent of the bunch as it feels like a crap shoot if you'll succeed or the AI will catch the ball regardless. Basketball is next and it's not as bad. You have to control your speed and timing again to land a dunk over Plucky. Start by stopping the speed meter, then when you get close enough to the net and Plucky, press A or B to time the speed of your jump. It's actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it. And then there's honestly the best part of the entire game, the mini-golf course. Complete a series of courses while avoiding the obstacles. It's probably the easiest part of the entire game. Do all six in a row and you'll complete the challenge.
There are two other games in the collection as well. A pair of endless games. One is a shooting gallery, while the other is sort of a take on the Game and Watch title Oil Panic. You have to collect the water drops to keep the pipe above you from coming lower and lower. They're fun distractions, and do keep with that Tony Toons look and feel, but are handled better in other games. Although, when I see the name "Fifi's Squirting Challenge" my mind is going to go to dark places. I blame being on the internet for way too long.
So, as a mini-game compilation, does Wacky Sports succeed? I'd say there's definitely an attempt at a fun challenge in the different events. The downside is that the difficulty can be a major turnoff, even in the easiest setting, which by all rights should usually be the practice mode of a video game in terms of difficulty. But while the gameplay is middling, the presentation is top notch with the best graphical representations of the Tiny Toons in any of the original Game Boy games. Audio is also really solid as well with some fun tracks. I like that the football level starts with the "charge" music you'd hear in some other Konami sports games like Blades of Steel.
In the end, I'd say Wacky Sports is just okay. I feel Konami definitely could have eased the difficulty and fine tuned some of the controls to make for a better game experience. As a use of the Tiny Toons license, it's solid, still maintaining the fun and wacky nature of the animated series. It's not an essential title, and there are far better minigame compilations on the portable (Game and Watch Gallery for example), but this is one that's worth breaking out every now and then. I think it's a bit better than Babs' Big Break, but suffers in other places, ultimately leaving it with the same rating as the first Game Boy Tiny Toon game. And I still have one more Tiny Toons game to cover, but that will be for another time. As for Wacky Sports, It's tiny, it's toony, it'll probably drive you loony, but you might find some fun out of it. B-.
No comments:
Post a Comment