DecapAttack

"Magical Hat: So much more fun than losing your head."

So, Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure, or DeCap Attack in the west. That says it all really, doesn't it? Two versions of the same game, one a staid psuedo-horror adventure, the other a colourful kaleidoscope of oriental eccentricity.

Okay, so, first of all, Magical Hat isn't that great looking a game. In fact, apart from the protagonist's animation (particularly the 'you're about to fall off a ledge' animation), the graphics are decidedly 8-bit.

Fortunately, in these enlightened times, we realise that gameplay is the raison d'etre of the videogame, and that 3D graphics whores can safely be consigned to the bargain bucket of videogame-history. It's the game that counts. And this game is...quite good.

I've got to state this now, straight off. If you find this game difficult... just give up on videogames. It's not that there aren't any tricky bits in the game, there are a couple, it's just that never, ever, in my 25 years of videogaming, has there ever been a game so intent on the awardage of extra lives. If you haven't hit the 99-life mark by the 4th level, you've not been playing the game right. This, and this mainly, is the game's flaw. With 99 lives, a not-particularly-well-trained-monkey could finish it. Mind you, if the game is fun, that's not so much a problem. There's always high-scores to introduce challenge...

The plot to the game is... in Japanese. Dunno. However the drama is introduced, you are cast as a turban-wearing, wide mouthed adventurer, hoping to defeat someone for some reason (it may be obvious around now that I can't speak Japanese). Whatever your man's motivation, side-scrolling platform action is about to ensue.

This is where the game scores. The standard jumpy-bouncy gameplay is enhanced by a weapon mechanic, a sentient egg that can be thrown and retrieved. This adds a degree of strategy to the Mario-esque action, particularly as, after being thrown, the egg remains stationary for a short time, great for multiple hits on bosses intent on walking through your little yolker.

Inbetween levels, a collect-currency-throughout-the-level system is used to allow the player to gamble for items. This is quite fun, as the slot-machine used can be judged, and the maze game alternative is random enough to provide a frisson of excitement. Give it a few goes, and you'll be expecting an extra five lives every time...

The items found during these levels, and during the game proper, can be kinda cool. Laser blasts, speed boosts, etcetera, they all pale in comparison to the ultimate power up - the red and yellow 'Mecha Monkey Pill' (copyright Graymalkin 2003) turns you into an invulnerable power-rangers-esque Simian slaughterhouse (or a robot Gorilla, if you'd rather). A help through the more challenging (i.e. not incredibly easy) bosses, or the trickier (i.e. not tricky at all) parts of the levels.

Ah, the levels. Deriviative, obvious, trite and hackneyed. All words that could easily be applied to levels much more original than these. Desert. Forest. Lava. Ice. ...... you get the idea.... There are some cool ideas, and some nice touches, but this is, on the whole, entirely generic platform fare.

So, it's too easy, the levels are too deriviative... why the six score (six meaning above average, non-Edge readers)? Charm. The game is fun. It doesn't attempt to take itself seriously. It has a graphical style, a sense of humour, and an attention to detail that (as well as the vastly superior box and manual art) lift it above the tired Western conversion. The West gets an average platform game. The East gets an average platfrom game with bags of style and charm. It's fun, it's lighthearted, and, at times, it's seriously wierd. It's not the best MegaDrive platformer, but by no means is it the worst. It may not delight you, but there's no way it'll offend you. It's good. Not great, but good. And don't let anyone tell you that DecapAttack's better. That's like comparing Robotech to Macross....

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/03, Updated 02/10/03