Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck - SEGA Master System

     Son of Chuck has vastly improved from its first game on the Master System. There is stage music, the gameplay mechanics are understandable, and the level designs are coherent. And unfortunately, that’s where the compliments end. Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck is very, VERY Bland. It is as basic as it comes for mascot platformers. Chuck Jr. is not even that appealing to be honest. Sure, he’s a baby on a quest to rescue his dad, but his sprite is kinda ugly. I guess they were going for the whole gross is cool thing they had in the American 90’s. Who really knows? Still, even if he was more appealing, the gameplay is still boring. Not even the boss fights are exciting to beat. You just stand there waiting for the dinosaurs to attack and then you counterattack. It’s very tedious and they have a lot of hit points. Yawnnnnn…. 

 

     This game is a Big Meh. Better than the first, but not really fun or challenging to play. You can try it, if you’re curious. It’s only six levels, but they’re six levels of boring. I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping this one. 

Anticipation - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

     Anticipation is an original virtual board game developed by RARE for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Yes, an exclusive board game for the NES. I Googled it to make sure. This is a solely made to be played on the Nintendo Entertainment System. And what do you know? It’s not a bad game at all. It’s developed by RARE, so it was in good hands. Pretty simple and that is the key to its charm. You pick a token, roll the game’s dice, collect squares by winning the guessing game of that square. The player that collects all the colored squares advances to the next level board. It’s a race to get to the top. And each player has a chance to steal squares, if you’ve not guessed correctly. It’s really well balanced out, so no worries about falling behind the lead. The game can turn around on one miss of a player. 

     Just know, that you only need to press a button once to stop the drawing to guess. You don’t control the drawing, you are only signaling you know the answer to guess as fast as you can. You can lose your chance at guessing, by not pressing the button in time before the drawing is complete. It’s best to guess as soon as possible, because the timer to guess is always ticking from the start. 

     I had a lot of fun playing this. I did struggle a bit, because English is my second language, but I managed to still beat the computer opponent on the Easy mode. I absolutely recommend this game. Get your friends and family together, and have a great time. Even challenge it alone with the highest difficulty, with max three computer opponents. It’s fun and easy to get into.  Another win from the original development team of RARE. 

Chuck Rock - SEGA Master System

     I'm not gonna lie. This game is weird, very bland and bad. The only good things I can say about it is the controls are tight and the title music is nice. Too many flaws make this game unenjoyable. The character itself, Chuck Rock, is just not appealing at all. His belly attack is gross, but at least the enemy hit boxes are not broken. There are many mechanics and controls not obvious to understand. Why are arrows pointing at an alligator that does nothing? Why can't I reach items from high platforms? I guess you need the instructions for this game for those answers. There is no game music. Only the title song. That's it. This game is really, really, underdeveloped. 

     Chuck Rock is a short-lived mascot character. I can see why. You can pass on this game. So many flaws and no appeal. it's a wonder why it even exists.   

American Gladiators - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

     American Gladiators for the Nintendo Entertainment System is a surprise that subverted my expectations. At first glance, it look like another American licensed franchised low quality game. There is a verity of stages for you to select from at start. Rest assure, these are not throw away mini-games. This is a freaking Gauntlet! Four intense stages that will make the average Marvel Rivals player cry and throw the whole game away. This game is not for the weak. Every stage is a trial of precision, endurance and skill. It took me a hour to master the climbing stage alone. Thankfully, the game throws you some mercy, by letting you have a stage with no losses. You have to dunk a ball into goals, that are super overly guarded by very aggressive muscle men. If you manage to dunk into every goal, you can get a 1up. I don't know too much about this tv show. I am currently 23 and Japanese born, after all. Every stage is a resemblance of one of the games these gladiators participated in this show. All I can say is, Wow. I manage to beat all but one stage in my stream. It took a lot of grit to nail it down. Like I said, this game is not for the weak.       

     To summarize American Gladiators for the NES: GIT GUD. I highly recommend this title, if you're into overcoming difficult challenges. See if you can beat all the stages and get the highest score. It is also 2-players, so bring a friend over to play.