NES #4: Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers

Here we have another game based on a cartoon from my youth. The game is alright, but it always bugs me when a games uses an 'n instead of the word and. Is that really necessary? I guess it does make it seem a little more hip, but I sure wish it was consistent. Sometimes we see that floating n with an apostrophe on both sides and sometimes there's no apostrophe at all.

So that's the kind of thought that was going through my head as I played this one. I guess from that you can tell how easy it is. Now I know that it's a game made for kids, but some of the Capcom kids games have a good level of difficulty. I'm sure even the youngest players wouldn't have too much trouble with it. I was a big fan of this one when I was younger and was a little surprised to find out that it's just an alright game. Probably the reason I loved it so much was because of the world map. There was just something about a game that showed all the levels on a screen. I just thought that they were somehow more advanced during a time when I craved more complex games. It might also be that it reminded me of my two favorite games at the time, Bionic Command and Mario 3. Either way, when I saw that blimp flying on that skinny path with a bunch of square letters to chose from I was hooked.

Of course twenty years is a long time and although I still love world maps, both in video games and real life, I only found this game to be mildly amusing. It's often the case that a game will be harder than I remember. This one, however, I was able to get through in about thirty minutes. I did get a game over once, but that was only because I forgot the controls and kept falling off the edge. One problem is that the world map allows you to skip almost half the levels. I guess the concept does have a dark side.

The one player mode allows you to chose between Chip or Dale, but since Chip is a pompous ass you'll probably want to use Dale. Gadget gives you some advice between levels, but it is not very useful and is quickly forgotten. It made me happy as a kid that if you saved Gadget as Dale you got to bring her flowers. I always wanted Gadget to end up with Dale instead of that jerk Chip, and I wonder if anyone else out there was taking the show so seriously. I also thought that Gonzo should end up with Miss Piggy on Muppet Babies, but he was probably better off without her.

It looks like I'm losing focus again. There's not really much to this game so it's easy for my mind to wander. It's a decent Capcom NES game that many of us have fond memories of, so I don't have any problems recommending it. Just be warned that it's super easy and not quite as good as you remember. If you're just now getting into NES than this isn't a bad starter title. However if you're like me and you've basically been playing video games every day for twenty years than it's not too impressive. It was easy enough to help me get past my NES fatigue though, so it did have an upside.