Mr. Nutz: Hoppin’ Mad
| Developer: Neon | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Ocean | Sound: |
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| Year: 1994 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Platformer | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
The table above refers to the Amiga version, of course. But this page serves as an excuse for me to talk about console games. Yes, that’s how it is.
I shall begin by telling you about the original version, developed for the Super Nintendo (by two French guys), released in 1993, and then ported to the Sega Genesis and Game Boy.
From my humble perspective as a jaded gamer, it fits my definition of a pure commercial game: all about the visuals, little imagination. You put in a squirrel because it’s cute. You take a bit of Sonic, a bit of Mario, shake it up, and you get a “beautiful product” that will sell well.
Not that the game is sloppy, far from it. I just don’t find it entertaining.
First, you’re looking for enemies to kill. They are uninspired, go back and forth endlessly, and it quickly becomes repetitive throwing acorns at their faces. Then, you occupy yourself by revealing secret passages (there are many). The problem is that you derive no gratification from them. You always find the same bonuses: coins (which serve no purpose), lives, and acorns, meh. You eventually tire of this and focus on finding the exit as fast as possible to reach the level’s boss. Unfortunately, even the bosses provoke boredom. If there were a hit parade of the most pathetic bosses, the clown from level 5 would have my vote.
I discovered Mr. Nutz on Game Boy a long time ago and cannot help but compare it to another platform game I was playing during the same period: Kirby’s Dream Land, which, without being a model of level design, was tremendously creative and fun. Certainly, the budget must have been different, and besides, it was the Japanese who created it, but … good grief! A good game is first and foremost about good ideas!
Alright, on the page of a future Amiga game, I’ll tell you about Kirby…
The following year, a German studio gave Ocean’s mascot another chance on Amiga. The game has nothing to do with the original version. Right from the intro screen, our furry friend flashes a smug grin, signaling that the title no longer plays on the cute squirrel gathering acorns in the forest and is leaning more towards unbridled cartoon (Screwball Squirrel from Tex Avery, you see?).
Immediately, the feel is different because of the soundtrack: this game has atmosphere! I also really liked the fact that the music lowers in volume when the character dives into water. And in the manner of Super Mario World (Super Nintendo, 1990), level entry is done from a world map where you can interact in a basic way with the environment (opening chests, blowing up walls, talking to local creatures). It is also a means of returning to already completed levels.
There are also some fun ideas, like the health points bouncing all over the playing area when you get hit and have to catch them, flowers reacting as you pass by, releasing bonuses, the ability to glide/fly, once again borrowed from Super Mario World (an exercise quite perilous but gratifying once mastered). It’s also amusing to watch chickens play leapfrog and project eggs. However, I must admit I struggled a bit with the bonus level in 3D…
In summary, on consoles, you have a sumptuous empty shell, and on Amiga, a creative and exuberant game. I’ve made my choice.
Update:
Eleven years later (2021), I less readily stand by this article. It gives the impression that I was reproaching the console version of Mr. Nutz for having been a great success, which is slightly unfair (the reproach, not the success).
To amend, but at the risk of adding another layer, I find the console version of Mr. Nutz very polished, very well-executed but desperately flat and conformist. It was a torment to replay it (on a Super Nintendo emulator), not because it is difficult, but because I was bored to tears from start to finish.
Conversely, I find Mr. Nutz: Hoppin’ Mad horrifying at times, clumsy in applying some ideas (the bonus levels, unnecessary dialogues) but surprising, engaging, memorable. I always retain a better image of a game that irritates me than a game that bores me.
As an anecdote, Mr. Nutz: Hoppin’ Mad was slapped with a “license” at the last minute, as was often the case at the time (Krusty’s Fun House, Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, Super Mario Bros. 2, and many others). The hero was originally called Timet, a flying squirrel fighting space chickens (we missed a fine opportunity for a featuring with Alfred). The title was therefore opportunely “reconditioned” to serve as a sequel to Mr. Nutz and thus profit at little cost from the popularity of the first instalment.
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