Game Review- Bucky O'Hare (NES)

Bucky O’Hare

Episode 1 of the cartoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgpfoobDjQU

When I was a kid I lived on a farm and had peasant vision for TV, so only 2 channels.  So I didn’t really see the cartoon until I went to a friends house and saw an episode.  Since I didn’t really know what it was I never bugged my parents to get the game.  Fast forward like 5 years and I was reminded of Bucky when I played Jazz Jackrabbit for my computer, a green rabbit wasn’t the most common thing to see.  So once I started collecting Nintendo games again I made sure to track this title down.

The animated series only ran from September 1991 – December of 1991, so only 13 episodes were made (I’m sure you can find them all on youTube)

In 1992 Konami made the decision to make a game based on this cartoon.  It’s immediately a good thing when you see Konami’s name attached to it.  They had so many great games for the NES and Famicom you know this is going to be a quality title.

Captain Bucky O'Hare and his loyal crew - Blinky, Deadeye, Jenny and Willy – are battling against the Toad Armada to save the Aniverse. Until one day the transport carrying Bucky's and his crew is attacked and each member taken prisoner. Each of the crew members is taken to a different planet, Blinky the Robot is on the Green Planet, Deadeye the Red Planet, Jenny at the Blue and Willy is on the Yellow Planet.  Now our green bunny is on his own, and must fight the toads on his own to rescue his comrades from the four hostile planets and save the Aniverse.

GRAPHICS 9/10

Super bright colors and nice looking graphics, characters look just like the ones in the cartoon.  Once again Konami keeps its reputation for great looking NES games with this title.  I never had problems with not being able to see enemies, everything is easily visible so if you die it’s not because of it being to dark or hard to see!

SOUND 8/10

The music in this game sounds very good and there is a variety of music so you don’t have to worry about the same track constantly looping which can get annoying very fast!  The sound effects fit well with the music and aren’t too over the top or too cheesy like you might expect from a game based on a cartoon.

GAMEPLAY 8.5/10

The game starts you off at a game select screen, not totally unlike Mega Man.  But that makes sense since Capcom did make this game.  It has all four of the planets your friends are trapped on and you can choose what order you would like to tackle them in.

As you rescue your crew mates the games lets you switch between the rescue teammates at any time during the level to help Bucky get past the tricky obstacles that you will come across during the game as each one has their own special ability.

This game is a side scrolling action platformer, which reminds me of Mega Man.  Bucky is automatically equipped with his blaster gun which can also be charged but unlike Mega Man Bucky can shoot up, and down, he’s not only restricted to left and right.  Luckily this games controls are very good and tight just like the ones in Mega Man so when you die at least you don’t feel like it was due to bad controls!

Despite being based on a cartoon, the gameplay is definitely not only for little kids.  It’s very challenging, so it will definitely give you a fight for your money.  You aren’t going to blow through it in a couple hours.  Luckily it has a password system so you don’t have to start right from the beginning whenever you get a game over.

On the bottom of your screen you see how many lives are remaining, your life/hit point meter and weapon power meter.  So you don’t have to pause the game to see all this information.

REPLAY 9/10

This game looks great, controls great and is a lot of fun.  With your choice of levels it feels like you can go where you want and it’s great being able to switch character whenever you want during the level to get past obstacles.  Plus with the password system you won’t always have to start from the beginning!  The difficulty level is just right, hard but not impossible so it keeps you coming back for more.

......BOTTOM LINE 9/10

If you were a fan of this cartoon, or even a fan of side scrolling platforming games this is a must play.  It may be a little frustrating at parts, but it’s really fun and totally worth any frustration you may have from playing it.  Besides what’s cooler than playing as a green rabbit who is in a war against toads and has a blaster?  Plus the chance to play as the other characters is a nice addition and really adds replay value to this game, you can always try beating the game with just Bucky, or one of the other characters and really switch it up.

From the games I’ve played based on tv shows and movies or really any games on the NES, I would consider this game to be one of the best!