12 Days of NESmas: Donkey Kong 3, Popeye, Spy Hunter and Burger Time (#10)

Game: Donkey Kong 3
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1986

Donkey Kong 3 is an arcade style NES game with very little content for a title of its time. Players control Stanley the gardener as he looks to take care of some plants, with only a giant ape and swarms of insects in his way. The game plays like a mix between a platformer and a shoot 'em up, with players able to move Stanley around the level and shoot upwards only.

The goal of each level is to force Donkey Kong up to the top of the vines he's hanging off before he comes down to attack Stanley. If any insects make it to the bottom of the screen, they can change one of the flowers into a flying enemy. The insects must be avoided whilst this is going on, and there's a shot power-up which makes Stanley's shots significantly more powerful. There's a few level layouts which repeat endlessly until players lose, as the speed of the game increases.

Graphically the game is simple but stylistically enjoyable. It's easy to tell that the game is set in a garden, but some insect sprites, and Stanley's own sprite aren't very detailed. There's music resembling Flight Of The Bumblebees at one point, but it's fairly standard for the NES. The sound effects can be a somewhat repetitive, as can the game as a whole, but each play session tends to be fairly short so it's not too much of an issue.

Overall Donkey Kong 3 seems to be a bit of a cop out when compared to the original Donkey Kong and especially when compared to later Donkey Kong games. Even its arcade style can't can't excuse the short length of the game; it's lack of content would be more highly criticised in any other franchise.

Rating: 34/100
Grade: E

Game: Popeye
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 1986

Cartoons which got their own NES games are often unlucky in that during the NES era it was difficult to make a game which truly featured the events and concepts of the cartoon. Platformers were common in that it was easy to include characters from the series, and work with the simple concept of getting to the other side of the screen. Popeye however, is an arcade style game set on a single screen for each level.

Players attempt to collect various items dropped by Olive Oyl, whilst avoiding Bluto unless a spinach can has been collected, allowing Popeye to punch and stun him momentarily. Once all of Olive's items have been collected, the level ends and the game moves on. Moving around isn't particularly easy; there are stairs at the edges of most levels, which can't simply be climbed by pressing a directional button; easily trapping players if they're not careful.

Graphically the game doesn't look particularly inspired by the Popeye cartoon. Despite having the characters, the levels aren't based on any locations from the cartoon and are generally simple. A platformer might have been a better option for inclusion of more recognisible items. The music is very simple and bassy, with dissonant sound effects when items are collected.

Overall Popeye is a particularly average game which needn't have really featured the characters from the Popeye cartoon. The concept is generic, and the audio and visuals are fairly uninteresting and so as such the game becomes of interest only to hardcore Popeye and NES fans, who want to experience everything their chosen medium has to offer.

Rating: 54/100
Grade: D

Game: Spy Hunter
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Sunsoft
Release Date: 1987

It's no big secret that I'm not a big fan of the Spy Hunter games. I gave the arcade version of Spy Hunter II a score of 8/100, but what about the original game on the NES? The concept of Spy Hunter has been seen in many other games and it's hard to say which game first featured the "drive fast and avoid cars coming towards you" formula, but there's certainly better examples. Granted that in Spy Hunter you can shoot at cars that are in your way, but one hit won't clear them from your path, and some are even indestructible.

The main problems with the game are that the car moves way too fast onscreen with any application of the accelerator. The only alternative to this is to let off the gas and move at a snail's pace which is hardly exciting. The other cars on the road are divided between non-aggressive traffic, indestructible enemies who'll try and force you off the road and a variety of trucks, most of which have no effect, but some of which players can enter for a bonus.

Graphically the game is pretty average; the car sprites are fairly tiny and with the speed the game moves it, it's as good as impossible to tell what's actually going on. Soundwise there's not much to enjoy either, as turns don't tend to last particularly long, and there's very little in the way of music or good sound effects.

Overall Spy Hunter is a poor example of it's game type, with Road Fighter and Action Fighter being far better examples of the concept. Although the game was popular and well regarded in its time, it's aged pretty badly and can be consigned to the group of NES games that are more disappointing with each passing year.

Rating: 40/100
Grade: E

Game: Burger Time
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: SAS Sakata
Release Date: 1987

The concept of Burger Time is a good one; you're a chef traversing platforming levels, knocking the components of burgers down a floor each time you pass over them. Enemies run about the level too, who can be stunned with a quick shake of pepper, or beaten by trapping them underneath an ingredient. There are 6 levels in total, and a level is won when all burgers are completed at the bottom of the screen.

Unfortunately the game suffers from a few big issues; firstly getting on and off ladders can be very tricky; sometimes it'll look as if you're at the right level to dismount a ladder, only to get stuck and lose a life as an enemy makes contact. Secondly there's way too many enemies running about the levels; at one point I was being pursued by 8 enemies on level 1, and there's really nowhere to hide on any of the levels. Lastly the pinches of pepper used to stun enemies are finite and run out after a certain number of uses, leaving players effectively defenceless.

Graphically the game is pretty boring and definitely has a home computer feel to it, rather than the exciting look of a dedicated games console. I understand that the game came from home computers, but with the added power of the NES, something could have been done to spice things up a bit. Soundwise the game is decidedly average, there's no classic theme to keep players enticed or anything that'd make the game stand out.

Overall Burger Time could have been so much better as a game, despite having a solid and original concept. The difficulty level ends up being far too high as players are chased by many enemies from the outset, and the levels are set up in such a way that there's little room for error. It's a shame that these flaws drag down a game with such potential, but they clearly get in the way of player enjoyment.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D