Marvel Land

"One of my all time favorite games"

Have you ever had a game that you've searched and searched for, only to be ecstatic when you find it? I first rented this game from Blockbuster, and fell in love. But, I couldn't find it in stores. Eventually, I found it in a mall about 2000 miles from my house, at the tender age of 7.

This game is unique in many ways, even making a cliched storyline and characters seem fresh. You take the role of the winged Prince Talbit, awoken one day to find that the fairy princesses and the Princess have been kidnapped by the Evil King Mole. What sets this game aside is that it is set in a giant amusement park ''Marvel Land''. Each level in the game is a different section of park, ranging from mundane running, to roller coasters and ferris wheels. It's elements are such that I've not seen them in the main aspects of another game.

Now, onto the sections, in no particular order.

Graphics: 9/10

For Genesis graphics, these are good. Bright colors abound, and the character sprites are detailed, as are the backgrounds. Everything is crisp and clean, and just easy on the eyes. I've got no complaints in this department.

Music: 8/10

Standard Genesis fare, by no means bad. Many of the tunes played are catchy, if a bit redundant at times. The sound effects seem to have been done nicely, from the swish as you swing your ''weapons'', the flapping as you gently glide down using your wings, to the sounds that take place as you interact with your enviroment.

Plot/Story: 7/10

It uses every cliche in the book, as you probably gathered from my introduction. But it somehow works in this game. A bit more originality would have been nice, but anything too complicated would have ruined it.

Gameplay: 9/10

Classic side scrolling goodness. The controls are responsive - when you hit the jump button, you jump. If you're jumping off a high spot, you can fly somewhat to extend your air time. From time to time you get what appears to be a trail of spirits, which you spin to kill enemies rather than jumping on them. Too easy, you say? Challenge is added by removing a spirit after attacks. Boss battles are a refreshing change from the generic ones. In this game, most of them are a game of ''rock, paper, scissors'', and seem to be very hard to lose. My only complaint in the gameplay department is that our dear Prince Talbit can't swim. You touch water, you die.

Level Design/Variations: 8/10

Levels range widely, as one would expect in a game set in an amusement park. Once again, I've somewhat covered this point in my introduction. Some of the levels were boring, and some were frustrating. Where this game really shines are the roller coaster and ferris wheel levels (I found myself using level selects many times to do the roller coaster levels time and time again). The designers got creative in this game, and that effort paid off greatly.

Replay Value: 6.5/10
It's a straightforward game, therefore the replay value is lower. The only thing that makes it worth playing through again (other than just liking the game) is the multiple difficulty levels.

Rent or Buy:

It all depends. I rented this game first, only because I was a little kid when it came out. Now, though, my answer would be ''buy'' - if you can find this game. I've seen one copy in the years since I bought mine. If you found it now, regardless of the rarity, a reputable store that sells used games shouldn't be selling it too costly, and it defiantly is worth picking up if you like - at all - side scrolling action games.

Overall Score (this is not an average, but the total enjoyment I've gotten out of the game) : 10

Play it and you'll see why.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/29/03, Updated 03/29/03