So...I just beat Back to the Future without even really trying...
So, BttF was a game I used to own as a kid. I played it occasionally and always liked it well enough, though my brother and I used to make fun of the music and Marty's hilarious walk-cycle.
In modern retro circles, the game tends to get flak both for generally poor quality of design...but also, apparently, for its difficulty(?!). I do recall that some of the upper stages gave me trouble as a kid.
That in mind, I just recently reacquired a copy and, after cleaning it up, I plugged it into my NES to test it today. It was just going to be a "make sure the cart works properly" run, not really an attempted playthrough. Three minutes tops. I haven't played the game even once (not even on emulation) since I last owned it in the mid-90's. I had my nostalgia and basic sense of how to play but that's it. So, after a couple of minutes, I sort of find myself in a groove and since there was nothing else pressing me for time, I decided I'd just play to see how far I could get. I got all the way to the final street stages before the DeLorean run before I lost my first life (the bees get really aggressive in that final stretch). But other than 2 lost lives in those final streets, I was able to finish the game on my first "dry-run" attempt and actually found most of the game to be almost laughably easy. All this on a game that I haven't played in about 20 years.
This just had me curious if anyone else has had particular difficulty plaything through this game, or if perhaps the rumors of it's difficulty are exaggerated.
Despite its current reputation thanks to folks like the Nerd, I still think it's a decent game. It's not "great" by any standard and it certainly represent a very big missed opportunity for a licensed tie-in. If anything, I'd say the games biggest downfall is simply that it feels like a "lazy" design. Only two music tracks (and no movie theme...are you kidding me?), bland graphics and animation. The final race with the DeLorean does also represent a "d*ck move" of the worst kind (fail once and it's Game Over). Even so, it does provide enough stimulation to keep the player going and a few of the stages are actually kind of creative.
So, anybody else have particular issues playing through this title?
In modern retro circles, the game tends to get flak both for generally poor quality of design...but also, apparently, for its difficulty(?!). I do recall that some of the upper stages gave me trouble as a kid.
That in mind, I just recently reacquired a copy and, after cleaning it up, I plugged it into my NES to test it today. It was just going to be a "make sure the cart works properly" run, not really an attempted playthrough. Three minutes tops. I haven't played the game even once (not even on emulation) since I last owned it in the mid-90's. I had my nostalgia and basic sense of how to play but that's it. So, after a couple of minutes, I sort of find myself in a groove and since there was nothing else pressing me for time, I decided I'd just play to see how far I could get. I got all the way to the final street stages before the DeLorean run before I lost my first life (the bees get really aggressive in that final stretch). But other than 2 lost lives in those final streets, I was able to finish the game on my first "dry-run" attempt and actually found most of the game to be almost laughably easy. All this on a game that I haven't played in about 20 years.
This just had me curious if anyone else has had particular difficulty plaything through this game, or if perhaps the rumors of it's difficulty are exaggerated.
Despite its current reputation thanks to folks like the Nerd, I still think it's a decent game. It's not "great" by any standard and it certainly represent a very big missed opportunity for a licensed tie-in. If anything, I'd say the games biggest downfall is simply that it feels like a "lazy" design. Only two music tracks (and no movie theme...are you kidding me?), bland graphics and animation. The final race with the DeLorean does also represent a "d*ck move" of the worst kind (fail once and it's Game Over). Even so, it does provide enough stimulation to keep the player going and a few of the stages are actually kind of creative.
So, anybody else have particular issues playing through this title?
Comments
I think a lot of the games that appeared on the early AVGN videos weren't necessarily bad games (TMNT, Friday the 13th, etc.) Whether James actually thought they were, or if he was just going for the laughs, I think some people have latched onto them as gospel.
Awesome story though, OP. That's awesome!
It's not a game I particularly care for, but I don't think it deserves its relatively recent reputation.
I think a lot of the games that appeared on the early AVGN videos weren't necessarily bad games (TMNT, Friday the 13th, etc.) Whether James actually thought they were, or if he was just going for the laughs, I think some people have latched onto them as gospel.
James said himself that he chooses games based on how funny he can make a video for it. It doesn't necessarily have to be a terrible game. Just bad enough that it's funny. They played Friday the 13th again for their let's play series and he said going back to it, it's not that bad. I watch his videos for entertainment, not for a legitimate review.
Other than the BS last stage, it's actually a fairly fun game, and DOES NOT deserve the hate.