adaptation

Movie Night [Bat-Month]: Batman (1966)

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Since his first appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a pop culture icon. September celebrates “Batman Day”, the perfect excuse to celebrate this grim and broody vigilante.

Released: 30 July 1966
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Budget: $1.378 million
Box Office: $3.9 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 80% / 62%

Quick Facts:
Between 1966 and 1968, Batman took audiences by storm with its sardonic wit and camp action, cementing star Adam West as one of the most iconic versions of the character. Executive producer William Dozier wanted a feature film to hype the first season, using the increased budget to debut some fun new Bat-vehicles. Though Julie Newmar was replaced by Lee Meriwether and the show’s popularity eventually declined, this surprisingly faithful adaptation of the comics remains a celebrated cult classic.

The Review:
Released a mere two months into the first series, Batman (or Batman: The Movie) is a gloriously camp, ridiculously colourful and bonkers action/adventure that, rather than provide a definitive origin for Bruce Wayne/Batman (Adam West) and his youthful ward, Richard “Dick” Grayson/Robin (Burt Ward), is largely an excuse to use the heightened budget to film a bunch of stock footage for the television show. Although the classic Batman theme song is absent in the strictest sense, recycled for a traditional film score, and Catwoman (who takes the alias Kitanya “Kitka” Irenya Tatanya Karenska Alisoff/Miss Kitka) is portrayed by Lee Meriwether, Batman’s most colourful rogues are represented in all their madcap glory for easily their most ludicrous and ambitious plan yet. The Joker (Cesar Romero), Oswald Cobblepott/The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and Catwoman form the “United Underworld” of super criminals. Despite often bickering, jostling for authority, and seeking to one-up each other’s wacky schemes, they unite with two mutual goals: destroy Batman and Robin (preferably using one of the Penguin’s many exploding marine animals) and kidnap delegates from the United World Organization’s Security Council (including Albert Carrier, Gregory Gaye, Maurice Dallimore, and Teru Shimada) in a bid for world domination. Their plot to carry out this dastardly act is ridiculously simple: fool the Dynamic Duo with an elaborate holographic projection and kidnap Commodore Schmidlapp (Reginald Denny), keeping him placated so they can steal and repurpose his genius “Total Dehydrator”, a device which removes all moisture from a victim’s body, reducing them to dust and storing them as “light water” to be rehydrated later.

Death traps, nonsensical riddles, and mid-day traffic are easily overcome by the highly capable Dynamic Duo.

Initially, Batman, Robin, Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon (Neil Hamilton), and Police Chief O’Hara (Stafford Repp) are baffled by the methods used by the villains. Eventually, however, their worst fears come true when they realise that the four supervillains have joined forces. Yet, while Batman easily solves the the Riddler’s absurdly convoluted riddles, our heroes are often stumped by the quadruple threat. Rather than cause mass panic, Batman downplays the incident to the Gotham City press and investigates further, using outrageous leaps in logic to figure out how the villains fooled them and who their next target is. Batman is comically capable here, easily the smartest person in the room and yet continually encouraging others (especially Robin) to figure out clues for themselves to reach his bonkers conclusions. Batman and Robin are said to be “fully deputised members of the police” and regularly operate in the daytime and with the full cooperation of the police and the public, who regard them with reverence that borders on awe. Thus, Vice Admiral Fangschleister (Milton Frome) is initially elated to receive a phone call from Batman regarding the sale of a nuclear submarine and then disheartened to learn he was duped into selling it to “P. N. Guin”. Batman also has a bat-branded gadget or device for every occasion, easily fending off exploding sharks, deflecting missiles, and traversing the city by car, helicopter, or boat. In a world full of vibrant pantomime villains, Batman and Commissioner Gordon play things deathly straight. Adam West delivers every line with a grave undertone or exaggerated exuberance, chewing the scenery at every opportunity and helping the comedy to land even harder because he and Neil Hamilton take it so seriously. Even when Robin’s solving riddles with suggestions like “a sparrow with a machine gun”, they just nod along in complete agreement as if there was no other solution, and it’s a joy to see.

While Bruce is besotted by Miss Kitka, he’s supported by Alfred and the ever-enthusiastic Robin.

Interestingly, Bruce Wayne gets a fair bit of screen time here. While he’s mostly just running to and from the Batcave, he takes centre stage when the United Underground plot to kidnap the millionaire and hold him hostage, sure that Batman and Robin would race head-first into their death trap to rescue him. Thus, Miss Kitka (having already caught Batman’s eye at the press conference) easily bewitches Bruce with concerns of a threat from the villains, causing him to hatch an elaborate scheme to take Miss Kitka on a date and have Robin and their loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Alan Napier), follow in the Batmobile to intervene when the villains strike. However, Robin gets a bit uncomfortable watching Bruce and Miss Kitka play tonsil hockey and tunes out, meaning he’s too late to save Bruce from being kidnapped. Unaware that the beautiful Soviet reporter he’s falling for is secretly Catwoman, Bruce rages at the villains, threatening to kill them if they harm Miss Kitka, and giving them a beating before doing what he does best and outsmarting the evildoers and escaping. Robin is generally Batman’s echo chamber, there to enthusiastically shout encouragement or hit upon comical solutions, but he’s fiercely loyal to Batman and always has his back. He’s dismayed when it appears Batman’s been blown up by an absurdly oversized bomb, takes it for granted that the Batcopter would safely land on a convenient pile of foam, and is always on hand to offer suggestions, like commandeering a taxi, even if he often defers to Batman’s age and experience. There’s not much for Commissioner Gordon or Chief O’Hara to do except be Batman’s cheerleaders, but it was amusing seeing Alfred don a domino mask and drive Robin around as part of their scheme.

The bickering, colourful, outrageous villains steal every scene with their madcap personalities and plot.

As amazing as Batman is, however, even he’s intimidated at the thought of his greatest villains forming a cabal. Although the villains squabble, with each thinking they’re the leader and have the best goons or plans, they begrudgingly get on the same page to work towards a common goal. The goons are holed up in a seedy bar and utilise the Penguin’s repurposed nuclear submarine to plan and execute their scheme, which involves building a makeshift cabin to dupe Commodore Schmidlapp and boobytrap their headquarters with hopes to flinging Batman and Robin into an unseen exploding octopus. The villains eventually realise their best chance of success is to incorporate all their individual gimmicks and ideas, though the Riddler’s obsessive compulsion with bamboozling Batman with obtuse riddles often annoys his cohorts. Similarly, the Joker is initially annoyed at how bossy the Penguin is on his submarine and Catwoman is constantly berating the others for bungling their plot. When infiltrating the United World Headquarters, the Riddle is equally nonplussed about whether the Penguin succeeded in his separate ploy to infiltrate the Batcave in the guise of Commodore Schmidlapp. While Batman and Robin aren’t fooled by this in the slightest, they go along with the ruse to get an idea of the villain’s plot, only to be aghast when the Penguin’s rehydrated goons vanish into “antimatter” due to being reconstituted with “hard water”. As great as Batman and Robin are, the villains steal the show. The Joker is a cackling, moustachioed maniac, Catwoman is a sultry temptress, the Riddler is absolutely off his rocker, and the Penguin waddles about with manic glee. Romero and Gorshin are practically bouncing off the walls at times, while Meredith quacks through gritted teeth and postures with delusions of grandeur. Catwoman is easily the most level-headed, often cutting through their nonsense to get them on track, while the Penguin has all the fancy gadgets and goons, though the Joker and the Riddler’s machination see the Dynamic Duo faced with numerous hilarious near-death experiences.

The ridiculous camp is married with some impressive vehicles and interior sets in this colourful adventure.

You can definitely see the money on the screen in Batman. The show was famous for its elaborate and expensive sets and they really shine on the big screen, with the Batcave standing out as a fully stocked laboratory with every bat-themed device the plot requires. The villains’ skewed lair is a fun mirror of the Batcave, being much more lowkey but still filled with personalised areas and their individual gimmicks. They later transition to the Penguin’s submarine, which isn’t as interesting an interior, but I did like that each had a personalised station on the periscope and that every control console was clearly and obnoxiously labelled. As ever, the costumes are colourful and ripped right from the comic books. Batman and Robin are especially impressive, with both men filling out their spandex admirably, but the outrageous villains give them more than a run for their money. The Penguin stood out for me thanks to his hilariously mad impersonation of Commodore Schmidlapp, the cigarette holder permanently clamped between his teeth, and his ridiculous gas-filled umbrella. Most notably, Batman spends a lot of time having the Dynamic Duo hop between the Batmobile, Batcopter, Batcycle, and Batboat. Though obvious stunt doubles and rear projection are used in these sequences, it’s always a thrill seeing the 1960s Batmobile roar to life. I really enjoyed the Batcopter scenes, especially with Robin unnecessarily hanging upside down on the Batrope to deliver the Shark Repellent Batspray, and the Batboat scenes, both of which include some cinematic wide shots through the city and over the ocean. The Penguin’s personalised submarine was also a fun model, and I really enjoyed the big fight scene on the submarine (surprisingly the only use of the comic book sound effects in the film), which was shot on an elaborate water set.

After a bombastic submarine brawl, the Dynamic Duo (mostly) restore the World Security Council…

Despite all the comical nonsense, such as the villains being aggravated when Batman doesn’t come to rescue Bruce Wayne, Batman racing around the pier desperately trying to get rid of a bomb (one of the most amusing sequences of the film!), and the Riddler’s ridiculous riddles, the United Underworld successfully dehydrate and abduct the World Security Council. Hot on their trail, desperate the rescue the delegates and Miss Kitka, Batman and Robin force the Penguin’s submarine to surface after bombarding it was “Batcharges” and a furious fistfight breaks out on the deck that sees the Dynamic Duo tangle up the Penguin, the Joker, and Riddler and all their henchmen. When Catwoman flees into the sub, she trips and loses her disguise, leaving Batman briefly devastated when he realises she was Miss Kitka all along. Quickly shrugging off his heartbreak and returning to duty, Batman secures the dehydrated World Security Council, only for the confounded Commodore Schmidlapp to accidentally break the vials and scatter their powdered remains. Luckily, the Batcave has a “Super Molecular Dust Separator” that the Dynamic Dup use to filter the mingled dust particles. Though Robin suggests they “shuffle” the delegates’ personalities to encourage world peace, Batman advises against playing God lest they cause a catastrophe like the Penguin’s hard water minions. Thus, with Commissioner Gordon, President Lyndon B. Johnson (Van Williams), and the world watching, Batman and Robin successfully rehydrate the World Security Council. Amusingly, despite Batman’s meticulous efforts, the delegates have their personalities mixed up, leaving him to hope that the “strange mixing of minds” could benefit humanity. The Dynamic Duo then “discreetly” exit via a nearby window using their Batropes and dump the problem on someone else!

Final Thoughts:
This is my first time watching Batman in years, maybe even over a decade, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I watched it a lot as a kid and was really into it then, but I was glad to find my enjoyment wasn’t stifled despite me preferring a dark, gritter Batman. There’s an infectious charm to this interpretation of the Caped Crusader (which was actually far more comic accurate than people think) and I really liked that the show and its movie weren’t afraid of the ludicrous nature of the source material. Everyone is decked out in colourful costumes and giving it their all, with Batman playing things straight as an arrow and his villains chewing the scenery with their pantomime-like behaviour. I love how tongue-in-cheek everything is, from the ridiculous solutions to the Riddler’s puzzles to that damn bomb scene (!) and the villains’ outrageous plot. Adam West remains one of the quintessential benchmarks for Batman. I love how intelligent and capable his Batman is, and that he’s constantly mentoring and encouraging those around him. Robin is full of enthusiasm and energy and throws himself into everything, and I really liked how the city was so enamoured by the duo. The villains steal the show, however, with their rambunctious performances. There’s such manic energy to the men and a tangible sexuality to Catwoman that’s appealing even today. I really enjoyed how elaborate and overblown everything was and the fun vehicles and sight gags used throughout the film. My only complaints are that the Batman theme wasn’t used more and that the “Pow!”, “Biff!” sound effects only appear in the finale. Otherwise, Batman remains a rollicking good time. If you only like dark, moody, super serious Batman then you might dislike this film but you’d honestly be missing out as it’s a fantastic, vibrant piece of camp fun that’s as enjoyable to me now as it was thirty-odd years ago.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Do you also have a soft spot for the 1966 Batman movie? Were you a fan of the show back in the day or were you turned off by the camp nonsense? Which of the outrageous villains featured here was your favourite? Did you correctly guess the answers to the Riddler’s riddles? Would you have liked to see another feature film spin-off of the show? How are you celebrating Batman this month and which Batman movie is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on this version of Batman, leave a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to support the site.

Movie Night [MK Day]: Mortal Kombat II

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This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is mortalmonday.png

To celebrate the simultaneous worldwide release of Mortal Kombat (Midway, 1992) on home consoles, 13 September 1993 was dubbed “Mortal Monday”. Thus, it’s only fitting that to celebrate this influential fighting series every September 13th.

Released: 8 May 2026
Director: Simon McQuoid
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget: $80 million
Box Office: $75.2 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 65% / 89%

Quick Facts:
The success and controversy of Mortal Kombat saw producer Lawrence Kasanoff produce both cult hits and disappointing lows. After years in limbo, Mortal Kombat returned to the big screen with a lukewarm reboot that nonetheless saw cast and crew up for a sequel. Determined to address fan feedback, the filmmakers opted for a more faithful adaptation, though reviews remained mixed.

The Review:
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m biased towards the 1995 Mortal Kombat film (I did write about it for my PhD thesis, after all). However, I’m a big Mortal Kombat fan and was excited to see a new version of it after years of stop/start projects and small screen ventures. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very impressed with the 2021 reboot, mainly because the story was so choppy, the tournament was absent, and the characters weren’t as appealing as the 1995 version. To make matters worse, despite the franchise’s massive roster and already painting fan favourite Johnny Cage as the “Everyman” outsider in 1995, the 2021 film chose to craft a brand-new audience surrogate, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), an athletic but sadly bland character who could’ve easily been Johnny Cage with just a few script tweaks. Mortal Kombat II aimed to address these issues, and more, and you can tell it’s aiming to be closer to the source material right from the start as the intro and titles mimic the opening of its videogame namesake. More areas from the games are also recreated (though through jarringly obvious green screen), fights are occasionally presented in a way that apes the videogames, and series co-creator Ed Boon makes a gratuitous cameo as a bartender. Having stifled manipulative Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung’s (Chin Han) attempts to sabotage Earthrealm’s warriors in the last film, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) has moved his chosen fighters to his sky temple to prepare for the generational Mortal Kombat tournament that will determine the fate of humanity. However, also thanks to Shang Tsung, Raiden is one fighter down as Shaolin monk Kung Lao (Max Huang) died in the last film, so he and Lieutenant Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) head to Hollywood to recruit a new fighter.

Despite overshadowing all the returning fighters, even Cage is side-lined in favour of Kitana.

So, right away there’s some issues. Mortal Kombat ’21 ended with Cole heading to Hollywood to recruit Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), but this film opens with the tournament mere hours away and the washed-up action star still attending conventions rather than fighting. This means we must suffer through a janky, rushed, and frankly insulting first twenty minutes or so as Cage is brought up to speed with the plot. Considering Raiden and the others gave Sonya and Cole such a hard time in the last movie for not carrying the Elder God’s mark or being unprepared for the tournament, they’re oddly far more lenient on Cage, who’s wracked with self-doubt as his glory days are behind him and hilariously incredulous to Earthrealm’s plight. Once he learns that Mortal Kombat is a fight to the death, Cage bows out, only to be forced into fighting anyway because that’s apparently what happens now. While Karl Urban seems a better fight for Kano, he’s one of the few highlights of this film and perfectly captures Cage’s snarky attitude, prima donna arrogance, and bombastic scepticism. It was odd, however, seeing him go from reluctantly fighting Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) to literally running in fear of Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) and suddenly shift from being incapable of fighting to being very competent sometimes in the same fight. Despite being the focal point of the film’s marketing, Cage shares the main character role with Kitana, an Edenina princess forced to serve as tyrannical emperor Shao Kahn’s (Martyn Ford) daughter/assassin who has secretly been conspiring with Raiden to defat Outworld. Having witnessed her father, King Jerrod’s (Desmond Chiam) brutal slaughter and her mother, Queen Sindel’s (Ana Thu Nguyen) enslavement by Shao Kahn, Kitana has every reason to oppose the emperor, not least to liberate her people, which causes conflict between her and her loyal bodyguard, Jade (Tati Gabrielle). Between the two of them, Cage and Kitana present narrative arcs far more compelling than anyone else’s though it is strange that these new films shift the focus away from long-time franchise protagonist Liu Kang (Ludi Lin).

Sadly, returning characters aren’t given much screen time or depth and are killed for shock value.

Indeed, we’re two films in and we know very little about Liu Kang other than he was raised/trained by Raiden and is desperate to save his brother, Kung Lao’s corrupted soul. He’s a pure-hearted fighter and said to be the best of Earthrealm’s warriors, but he has no interaction with Kitana beyond a few respectful bows and glances, meaning his entire arc is centred on trying to help Kung Lao. Liu Kang has little personal rivalry with Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn beyond him wanting to save his realm and few meaningful interactions with Cage either, which is also true of Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs (Mehcad Brooks), Sonya, and Cole. These four only have superficial depth thanks to the previous film; we learn nothing new about them, and they accept Cage so easily that it makes the entire previous film’s plot redundant. Jax and Sonya remain fiercely loyal to each other and are even willing to spare Jade to maintain Raiden’s relationship with Kitana, but there’s no romantic sub-plot between Sonya and Cage. In fact, Liu Kang, Jax, and Sonya are more apt to mock Cage and his fighting skills, which amusingly bites them when Baraka is won over by Cage’s theatrical and unorthodox fighting style. Despite his role in the last movie and being the ancestor of legendary fighter Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), tough-skinned cage fighter Cole is pushed far into the background here. There’s a passing mention of his wife and daughter and he’s seen to be as committed to defending Earthrealm as the others, but the spotlight is so far off him it’s almost insulting. With him largely absent from the marketing and so reviled by fans, it’s no surprise that Cole is offed in the tournament, but the execution left a bitter taste in my mouth. For starters, Cole is matched up against the newly invincible Shao Kahn (who really shouldn’t be fighting in the tournament if you ask me). Cole’s unceremonious death is thus a foregone conclusion, but his so-called friends barely react to their loss and are laughing and joking about Cage soon after, with Cole quickly forgotten. And like yeah, I wasn’t a fan of his, but I think he deserved better than that!

Fan favourite characters steal the film but are also frustratingly side-lined.

Despite his garb being closer to his videogame counterpart, Tadanobu Asano continues to disappoint as Raiden. He lacks the stature, gravitas, and charisma of Christopher Lambert and feels like a very weak and ineffectual Thunder God. His character is noticeably and jarringly softened here, with him being much more amicable towards Cage than he was to Cole or Sonya, and the film adds a fatherly slant to his relationship with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Raiden’s placed in mortal danger here as Shao Kahn has necromancer Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) resurrect foul-mouthed mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) to acquire the amulet of the fallen Elder God, Shinnok. The corrupted Kung Lao then slices Raiden’s throat to empower the amulet, which gifts Shao Kahn near-immortality and ties Earthrealm’s fate directly to Raiden’s. Although he still doesn’t sport his bionic eye (despite Quan Chi saying they’ll “build him a new one”), Kano remains a highlight. As crude and quick-witted as ever, Kano relishes the chance to get back in the fight but quickly grows tired of Outworld’s desolate offerings and double-crosses the evildoers. Once Kano’s teamed with Johhny Cage, the fil really hits its stride (which sadly come sin the third act) as the two make for a fun duo, scouring the hellish Netherreealm in search of Hasashi and the resurrected Bi-Han (Joe Taslim), formally Sub-Zero (and never referred to as Noob Saibot despite obviously being him) who safeguards Shinnok’s amulet. Sadly, Kano comes in far too late to help with the film’s paper-thin plot or the elevate the frustratingly one-dimensional characters. Equally, the film decides to sideline Sindel, who starts as an avid defender of Edenia and is then seemingly corrupted (presumably by Quan Chi’s dark magic) into Shao Kahn’s bride before being abruptly killed by Sonya and then randomly reappearing so Shao Kahn can interrogate Kitana. Considering how important Sindel usually is to Shao Kahn’s plots and Kitana’s character, it’s bizarre to see her be an afterthought. Jade gets more screen time and relevance as she’s torn between her friendship with Kitana and her loyalty to Shao Kahn!

As unnecessary and underutilised as Shang Tsung and Quan Chi are, Shao Kahn is a force to be reckoned with!

While I wasn’t a fan of Chin Han’s Shang Tsung in the last film (he’s not even comparable to Bruce Locke, let alone the immortal Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), I was equally frustrated and disappointed to see him side-lined in the sequel. Shang Tsung faces no repercussions for his defeat and loses with little authority and menace he had as he’s reduced to the emperor’s underling. It doesn’t help that the movie brings in Quan Chi to resurrect and corrupt fallen fighters, a role that Shang Tsung probably could’ve filled without much issue. On the plus side, Shao Kahn is presented as a monstrous, intimidating figure of unimaginable power even before he gains Raiden’s God-like power. Constantly garbed in intimidating armour, a skull-like helmet, and wielding a devastating battle axe, Shao Kahn is a brutal and menacing villain made even more threatening by his loquacious demeanour. He’s not some mindless despot or a mewling man-child with daddy issues; he’s a cold, calculating villain who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Crucially, Shao Kahn is seen to be vulnerable despite his stature. He looks like he could easily crush anyone in his path but every fight he’s in is framed in a way that gives his opponent a chance to win as they score glancing blows or even kill shots, only for the emperor to either shrug it off or instantly heal thanks to Shinnok’s amulet. Sure, we don’t get any depth to him or backstory and he’s as simple a character as “big evil bad guy who wants to conquer everything”, but I liked that he wasn’t needlessly killing off his underlings, that he gave his opponents a fighting chance, and that he embodied the character so appropriately. Any time Shao Kahn appeared, you knew some shit was gonna go down and it was very effective seeing people cower and bow to his sheer might, while also sowing the seeds of dissension as Sahng Tsung clearly covets the emperor’s throne and power.

While the fights, gore, and fan service are top notch, they come at the expense of characters and story.

In keeping with the previous film, Mortal Kombat II places a greater focus on its fights and gore than the plot of the characters. On paper, this makes sense and is fine enough for certain audiences, but I miss the heart and the characters of the 1995 film, which also boasted some impressive martial arts. We get a sense of the kind of action star Cage was thanks to some footage of his dreadful action movies, which is fun, but again this is oddly translated into his fights as Cage is just as likely to cry foul and ask for a stunt man despite being a legitimate fighter. The tournament finally features here, with characters being teleported to recognisable locations like the spike-ladened bottom of the pit, the ominous portal bridge, and the acid pits for their fights. Weirdly, the film insults our intelligence by having magic flames go out when fighters are defeated and recycles many of the same locations (the ransacked Edenian town square, for example), but it makes up for this by going all-in with the characters’ special moves. Liu Kang’s tossing fireballs and flaming kicks, Sonya fires her rings, Jax is fully comfortable with his bionic arms, and Kano relishes blasting fools with his eye laser. Naturally, given her prominence, a lot of focus is placed on Kitana’s razor-sharp fans but Jade’s staff gets a lot of time in the spotlight, too. Since Cage repeats Cole’s arc from the last movie, he doesn’t gain his green aura until the finale, but he still punches Baraka in the dick and impresses with his unorthodox fighting. Sindel represents every pre-teen gamer by spamming her banshee scream, leading to Sonya impaling her on the pit’s spikes, and Shao Khan even darts in with his patented shoulder charge. Without a doubt, the film’s best fight sequence is the throwdown between Liu Kang and his revenant brother, with Kung Lao now tossing a gnarly buzzsaw hat that ultimately proves his bloody undoing. Still, before that, the two put on a hell of a physical spectacle as Li Kang desperately tries to reason with his brother before vowing to find a way to free him.

Thanks to a little help and a lot of sacrifices, Kitana avenges her father and ends Shao Kahn’s threat.

This fight’s closest competition come sin the finale, when Cage and Kano recruit Scorpion’s help and battle Bi-Han and his gooey double alongside the ninja-like spectre. It’s always great seeing Scorpion and Sub-Zero clash, though Bi-Han was given even less characterisation than before, sported all new shadow-based powers, and appeared far too late to be as relevant as he could be. While that fight’s going on, Liu Kang and Sonya fight Shao Kahn to rescue the strung-up Kitana, since Jax was also killed by the emperor. This fight also goes a bit south as Liu kang is surprisingly killed, though he accepts his fate as he realises his true destiny was to reunite with Kung Lao in the afterlife. With Sonya down and clearly no match for Shao Kahn, it’s left up to Kitana to oppose the emperor and avenge her father. Unfortunately, despite her obvious fighting talent, Kitana’s hindered by Shao Kahn’s newfound immortality, thus linking her fight to the Netherrealm clash. Luckily, with Scorpion and Jade’s help, Cage and Kano overcome Bi-Han and his double and destroy Shinnok’s amulet, right as Shang Tsung (who randomly pops up after a lengthy absence) is poised to killed Raiden. With the amulet destroyed, Raiden’s returned to full power and Shao Kahn is made mortal, allowing Kitana to disarm and subdue Shao Kahn, unmasking him before her subjugated people and ending him by slicing his head into pieces with her fans. Immediately hailed as Edenia’s queen, Kitana encourages her people to stand and relish their newfound freedom, with Cage later embellishes to impress Baraka and his clan. Having found a new purpose in life, Cage not only follows through on his promise to tutor the Tarkartans but joins Raiden and the others in beginning a new quest. With the captured Quan Chi in tow, Cage and the others set out to rescue their deceased friends, though Sonya vows to kill Kano (again…) once this goal is achieved.

Final Thoughts:
I went into Mortal Kombat II with low expectations. I recently rewatched the 2021 reboot before it and was surprised by how annoyed by it I was, with it’s awful pacing, poor character development, and focus on gore over story. Mortal Kombat II was always going to have an uphill battle because of that, and I really felt like it was weighed down by the reboot’s decisions. Unfortunately, rather than address these in a meaningful way, Mortal Kombat II throws Johnny Cage in our face like a play toy and shunts everyone, not just Cole, to the background, making the last film feel even more redundant as this is the movie that one should’ve been! Luckily, Karl Urban is great as the conceited Cage and I really enjoyed the focus on Kitana, who carried the emotional weight of the barebones plot. Kano also helped with this, but he appears far too late to help as much as he could, same with Scorpion (who I would’ve thought would’ve appeared after Cole’s death…) and Bi-Han. It was great to see Shao Kahn done justice on the big screen, and I did like seeing Quan Chi come back, as overused and unnecessary as he was, and of course the fights and gore were great…when they appeared. I honestly felt like the gore and Fatalities were underplayed this time, and that the tournament again felt very secondary. It lacked the scale seen in the 1995 movie, for one thing, even with the game-accurate locations, and the plot was more focused on Shinnok’s amulet (which Shao Kahn rally didn’t need as he was already unstoppable) rather than more interesting elements, like Sindel and her relationship with Kitana, or Shang Tsung’s aspirations, or the feud between Scorpion and Bi-Han. Ultimately, I give this film the edge over the last one as this is what I wanted to see from the 2021 reboot, but Mortal Kombat II was disappointing to me. it was far too rushed at the start, retread a lot of the same ground, side-lined or underdeveloped returning characters, and was so obviously trying to placate us with fan service that it became insulting.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy Mortal Kombat II? Were you also annoyed that Cole Young and the other fighters were side-lined? Did you enjoy Karl Urban’s performance as Johnny Cage? Were you surprised to see Kitana take the spotlight? Which of the fights was your favourite? Did you also find the film rushed and messy Wat are your hopes for a third film? How are you celebrating Mortal Kombat today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more Mortal Kombat content on the site.

Back Issues [Sonic CDay]: The Return of Chaotix / Return to the Miracle Planet

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Developed alongside the blockbuster Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992), Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Sonic Team, 1993) released on this day back in 1993 and introduced Metal Sonic (one of Sonic’s most popular and enduring rivals).

Story Title: “The Return of Chaotix” (Part 1 to 6)
Published: 9 December 1995 (cover-dated: 22 December 1995) to 17 of February 1996 (cover-dated: 1 March 1996)
Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Richard Elson

Story Title: “Return to the Miracle Planet”
Published: 25 May 1996 (cover-dated: 7 June 1996)
Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Roberto Corona

Quick Facts:
After Sonic the Hedgehog became a mainstream success, SEGA quickly capitalised with a slew of ancillary merchandise, like “Britain’s Official SEGA Comic”, Sonic the Comic (StC). StC quickly veered from the source material while still featuring loose adaptations of the videogames. When StC adapted Sonic CD, they reimagined Metal Sonic as “Metallix”, a robotic doppelgänger who reappeared alongside a “brotherhood” of the Badniks and tangled with the likes of Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix in numerous time travel plots.

The Review:
Although Sonic has every reason to frequently return to Never Lake since the last time he was there, his childhood friend and fellow Freedom Fighter, Porker Lewis, was trapped on the tiny planetoid known as the Miracle Planet when it disappeared from Mobius as it does every month. Instead, Sonic seems surprised when the Miracle Planet reappears, anchored to Mobius by a giant chain, and wary when some “dude” comes down that same chain. It’s an odd start considering I would’ve expected Sonic to be eagerly waiting the Miracle Planet’s return since Porker’s was trapped there after helping defeat the Brotherhood of Metallix and their gigantic emperor, though that’s largely inconsequential compared to Porker’s odd demeanour when Sonic rushes to meet him. Nearby, the Chaotix Crew – leader Vector the Crocodile, muscle Mighty the Armadillo, stealthy Espio the Chameleon, and aggravating Charmy Bee – make a rough landing at Never Lake courtesy of the Omni-Viewer, a sentient computer monitor capable of travelling across dimensions. As soon as they recover, the Chaotix Crew are attacked by Doctor Ivo Robotnik’s Troopers, including a formidable tank-like variant from the Special Badnik Service (SBS). Although the tank shrugs off Mighty’s hefty haymaker, Espio trashes a Trooper with his patented spinning top attack. Mighty then reduces the tank to scrap metal and the remaining Troopers are trashed by Sonic, whom the Chaotix Crew highly regard after hearing tales of him from the Omni-Viewer. Vector reveals that they’ve travelled from the Special Zone under the belief that the Brotherhood of Metallix are up to no good on the Miracle Planet, a suspicion the Omni-Viewer soon proves to be true, despite Sonic’s claims, when he reveals the usually lush and fertile planetoid has been conquered by the Metallix!

Sonic and the Chaotix Crew are horrified when the Metallix alter the past to conquer the present!

Although Porker claims ignorance of this drastic transformation, Sonic eagerly leads the Chaotix Crew to investigate, dismissing Mighty’s hopes for a plan. However, Sonic’s stunned when Porker turns out to be a Metallix variant! The Porkertallix knocks Sonic from the chain with its piston-like arm (though he’s saved by Charmy Bee), headbutts Mighty when he tries to wrestle with it, and gets a kick in the head when Espio sneaks up behind it. Taking to the sky, the Porkertallix charges a “death ray” only to be damaged by Sonic’s Spin Attack. With only seconds to spare before the robot blows up, Mighty and Vector bust out their “Link-Rings” and knock the Porkertallix away so it can explode harmlessly in the sky. Though aggravated by Sonic’s ego, the Chaotix Crew venture onto the polluted, mechanised hellscape of the Miracle Planet and discover the real Porker tied up as bait. While saving his friend, Sonic is confronted by the Emperor Metallix, its army, and its corrupted version of the Omni-Viewer and is horrified to see that the Metallix have travelled into the past and turned Mobius into an equally mechanical hellhole! Realising they’re outnumbered and outgunned, Vector urges the Chaotix Crew to escape via the Omni-Viewer with a reluctant Sonic, who’s so mad he initially tries to take on the entire Metallix army by himself. Teleporting to “Planet Metallix”, the team arrives in a world overrun by machinery and Metallixes, one very unlikely to have any organic life. Once again, Vector must stop Sonic when he tries to take his anger out on an army of nearby Metallix, though they’re led straight into a dead end by the foolish Charmy Bee. Luckily, a mysterious, hooded individual urges them to follow them into the sewers, fooling the Metallix with a holographic projection and then blowing them to smithereens with a bomb. Though grateful, Sonic’s eager to know who’s saved them and discovers that Mobius’s few survivors have taken refuge in the sewers under the leadership of Doctor Ovi Kintobor, the kindly scientist who was transformed into Dr. Robotnik by a laboratory accident!

Sonic’s distraught when he’s forced to create his most hated enemy!

Although Sonic’s overwhelmed at the state of the survivors and at seeing his old friend again, Vector boots up the Omni-Viewer to track the “chronotron trails” left behind by the Metallix’s time travelling and they hop into the screen for a jaunt to the past, taking Dr. Kintobor’s “Anti-Metallix” device with them. This comes in handy when the heroes are jumped by a group of Metallix guarding the timeline as even the combined abilities of Sonic and the Chaotix Crew struggle against the hedgehog’s dangerous doubles. Instead, Sonic slaps the device onto a Metallix and sends it haywire, causing it to attack its “brothers” and allowing our heroes to jump back into the Omni-Viewer, but not before Sonic finds that one of the Metallix was holding a strangely familiar rotten egg. Naturally, this means that the chronotron trail ends in a place Sonic’s all-to familiar with: Dr. Kintobor’s underground lab, back when he was helping a distinctly brown and far less cool-looking Sonic master his super speed. Watching from a doorway, the group witnesses past Sonic breaking the sound barrier, destroying the kinetic gyratoscope used to measure his speed and turning him into his cool, blue self. After reliving this literal blast from the past, Sonic realises with dread how the Metallix changed the past. Sure enough, Dr. Kintobor’s fridge is empty, meaning the rotten egg he found was taken by the robots. Although the Chaotix Crew are baffled as to why this is so important or why Sonic’s so reluctant to put a rotten egg into a fridge, a quick jump to twenty-four hours later clues them in as they watch Dr. Kintobor retrieve the egg for a light snack. Wanting to be absolutely sure, Sonic yanks on a nearby cable and forces his kindly friend to trip into the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor (R.O.C.C.), thus causing the accident that birthed Dr. Robotnik! Although devastated at having created the world’s most ruthless dictator, Sonic takes some comfort in Porker’s belief that Dr. Robotnik is obviously important to the Metallix’s survival.

Though the Metallix come close to victory, a last-second save by Sonic finally ends their threat.

When the Omni-Viewer returns them to the present, they’re relieved to see the Mobius has been restored. However, since the Miracle Planet is still corrupted by his robotic doppelgängers, Sonic has the Omni-Viewer transport them to Citadel Robotnik, though Dr. Robotnik dismisses their story as hogwash. Porker rightly questions why the Metallix would want to erase Dr. Robotnik from history as this would surely destroy them, since he created them. However, it turns out they were the brainchild of Dr. Robotnik’s long-suffering assistant, Grimer (though it’s not clear why he would create them without Dr. Robotnik’s influence…) When Grimer reveals that Dr. Robotnik installed a self-destruct mechanism into the machines, Sonic is livid since the tyrant risked his life sending him after the Metallixes about ten issues ago in the hopes the two would destroy each other. Sonic’s only stopped from bashing Dr. Robotnik by the fact that they need that self-destruct device to win and the approach of a swarm of Metallix so vast that they block out the sky! The Emperor Metallix and its thousand-strong hoard crash into the citadel and wreak havoc, easily overwhelming the heroes and leaving Porker a distraught, cowering mess from all the violence and stress. Just as Dr. Robotnik retrieves the self-destruct device, he’s snagged by the Emperor Metallix, who begins to crush it ahead of doing the same to its former master’s neck! Luckily, Sonic swipes the self-destruct device, deactivating the Metallix army. Sonic’s somewhat perplexed by this anti-climactic end, though Vector’s just grateful for it to be over since they barely survived the onslaught. Although Sonic tries to lecture Dr. Robotnik on his heinous actions, he gives up and leaves, clearly still rattled by the adventure. Still, Dr. Robotnik is left ruminating on how close they all came to death, but Grimer gleefully lifts his spirits by unveiling his plans for a new, more stable Metallix…one based on Knuckles the Echidna!

A brief rematch with a Metallix isn’t all it seems in this largely forgettable epilogue.

Although this Metallix variant and the original machine did appear again in StC, “The Return of Chaotix” effectively ended the comic’s ongoing adaptation of Sonic CD and Knuckles’ Chaotix (SEGA, 1995) save for one final epilogue a couple of months later, which I may as well include here. “Return to the Miracle Planet” sees Sonic and fellow Freedom Fighters Amy Rose and Johnny Lightfoot…return to the Miracle Planet (shocker!) in its first reappearance since “The Return of Chaotix”. Despite toppling the Brotherhood of Metallix, the Miracle Planet still bares their visage and is still a mechanised hellscape thanks to the Alpha Device, now a gigantic mechanical tower rather than a simple staff. Guided by the Kintobor Computer (a sentient artificial intelligence that’s essentially a copy of Dr. Kintobor’s personality), Johnny Lightfoot scales the Alpha Device tower looking for a port to plug in a cable, with the hope being that the Kintobor Computer can reverse the damage caused by the Alpha Device. Frustrated by the “techno babble”, Sonic races off to investigate some nearby movement, scrambling through the mechanised landscape until spotting the source of the movement: a red-tinted Metallix! Amazed that one of his robotic doppelgänger’s survived, Sonic immediately attacks, surprised when the machine flees rather than fighting. Naturally, Sonic quickly catches up to it and knocks it down, ready to impale the robot with a piece of scrap metal. However, Amy’s horrified when the Metallix blasts Sonic with its chest ray, only for Sonic to be relatively unscathed since the machine had its weapon on the lowest setting. The Metallix then reveals that it was a bird-like Mobian in disguise all along, a captive of the Brotherhood who disguised himself as one of them after escaping his cell and has been searching for a way home ever since. After quickly snatching Amy’s misguided crossbow bolt from the air, Sonic taunts his friend’s aim and offers to take the Mobian home, confident that the Miracle Planet will be back to normal when it returns in a month.

Final Thoughts: 
Although I naturally have more bias towards Sonic the Comic since I grew up reading it, I generally find that their art and storytelling was overall much better than those in the Archie Comics in the United States. Sonic the Comic had more variety and personality, being fun but also quite dark right from the start, whereas Archie’s Sonic comics took a while to drop the inane slapstick. Neither of them have a great track record when it comes to adapting specific videogames, however, and these two stories continue that trend as, rather than using this opportunity to showcase new areas of the Miracle Planet, both limit the planetoid-based action to a single, indistinct, mechanical area. This would’ve been a great opportunity to bring the Bad Futures of Stardust Speedway or Metallic Madness to life but, instead, there’s little to distinguish the mechanised Miracle Planet from any of Dr. Robotnik’s other facilities. Similarly, “The Return of Chaotix” features the only adaptation of Knuckles’ Chaotix’s “Combine Ring” mechanic and, like in Archie’s Sonic comics, it’s simply used to swing a character into a robot and never used again. On the plus side, “The Return of Chaotix” boasts gorgeous artwork from the unmatched Richard Elson, who masterfully renders Sonic and the Chaotix Crew in ways Archie’s Art Mawhinney and Ken Penders can only dream of. The Metallix especially benefits from this, with the story giving a few subtle background variants (which recall Silver Sonic and the Mecha-Metallix) and an all-new Porkertallix that’s both fearsome and formidable. I liked how rattled Sonic was by this robot and how dangerous a single Metallix was to the combined force of Sonic and the Chaotix Crew. Since his emotions are so high in this story, Sonic almost blunders into an unwinnable situation more than once, forcing Vector to restrain him and pull him away from getting himself killed, which leads to some interesting interactions between Sonic and the team.

Sonic’s time travel journey tests his mettle as his worst nightmares come to life.

Naturally, Sonic’s used to getting his own way with the Freedom Fighters and bossing them around, but the Chaotix Crew are a well-honed team who analyse situations and attack as a cohesive unit. This means they clash with Sonic’s more impulsive attitude but, ultimately, he begrudgingly agrees that discretion is better when faced with such a formidable foe. “The Return of Chaotix” largely re-treads much of and undoes the “Brotherhood of Metallix” story (Kitching, et al, 1995), with the Metallix dominating the Miracle Planet and Mobius thanks to time travel shenanigans. The sight of the Miracle Planet transformed into a giant Metallix head is harrowing, to say the least, but outdone when they do the same to Mobius and essentially turn it into Apokalips! It might’ve been fun to stretch this story out over a few more issues and backup stories, maybe spend a few weeks living on Planet Metallix and having Sonic reconnect with Dr. Kintobor, thereby making his decision to restore the timeline even more difficult. Instead, the story shifts to revisiting “The Origin of Sonic” (ibid, 1993) in the style of Back to the Future Part II (Zemeckis, 1989), with Sonic witnessing his origin as a bystander and manipulating events to cause Dr. Robotnik’s creation. As far as I remember, the guilt and self-loathing he feels about this are limited to this story, which is a shame as it adds an interesting dramatic wrinkle and extra personal beef to Sonic’s war against Dr. Robotnik. The time travel stuff does get a bit wonky here, though, as I alluded to. I guess we have to assume that Grimer was always destined to be a bad guy and create Metallix, which seems unlikely given his attitude towards Dr. Robotnik. Still, it’s fun revisiting Sonic’s past and seeing him so angered at having to birth his greatest enemy, and knowing that Dr. Robotnik could’ve stopped the Metallix at any time. However, it is also kind of strange that the Metallix never removed their self-destruct device, especially as they became autonomous and improved upon their original design.

The Metallix have never looked stronger ore deadlier than in their final, epic appearance.

“Return to the Miracle Planet” isn’t much of a coda to this story. It might’ve been better if we’d seen Sonic return alone to find the Miracle Planet restored, allowing him to explore somewhere like Tidal Tempest of Quartz Quadrant, or if the Metallix he encountered was the real deal, allowing for a recreation of their iconic Stardust Speedway race. Instead, it largely serves to tie up the loose end of returning the Miracle Planet to normal and leaves me wondering why the Metallix kidnapped and experimented on Mobians when they just wanted to exterminate all life in the most efficient (if convoluted) way possible (i.e. time travel). Still, “The Return of Chaotix” was an enjoyable end to this sprawling Metallix saga. I was disappointed that the Emperor Metallix didn’t do much, but it was shocking seeing it threaten to crush Dr. Robotnik’s neck and seeing how close its Brotherhood came to ultimate victory. I also liked how dangerous the Metallix were, with them easily holding their own against the Chaotix Crew, who were unexpectedly outmatched by the faster, deadlier machines. I love the idea of the Metallix being stationed across the timelines and manipulating the timestream to cheat their way to victory, so much so that I do think it would’ve been fun to marinate on this idea for a few weeks. “The Return of Chaotix” also led to a pivotal status quo change as Porker suffered a nervous breakdown and left the team, something Sonic initially struggled to deal with, and led to the creation of the Knuckles Metallix (though this wouldn’t be anywhere near as prevalent as its Sonic variants). While it is disappointing that StC never gave us a true Sonic CD adaptation or made the most of the source material and “Return to the Miracle Planet” is a largely forgettable coda, I really enjoyed the time travel plot in “The Return of Chaotix” and how it changes the perception of Sonic’s relationship with Dr. Robotnik.

“The Return of Chaotix” Rating:

“Return to the Miracle Planet” Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Could Be Better

Do you think “The Return of Chaotix” was a fitting end to StC’s loose adaptation of Sonic CD? How do you think StC’s Chaotix Crew compare to their Archie Comics counterparts? Did you enjoy the twist that Sonic created Dr. Robotnik? Were you also disappointed that we didn’t spend more time on Planet Metallix or see more areas from the game? Did you think “Return to the Miracle Planet” was a worthwhile story to tell? How are you celebrating Sonic CD’s anniversary today? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic CD, or StC in general, feel free to leave a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Sonic content.

Screen Time [Kirby Month]: Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (S1: E: 1-3)

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Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the disgustingly cute, ever-ravenous Kirby is one of Nintendo’s most popular characters. Accordingly, I’m dedicating most of July to celebrating the pink puff-ball.

Season One, Episodes One to Three

Directors: Mitsuo Kusakabe (1/2), Hiroyuki Yokoyama (3)

Air Dates: 6 October 2001 (Japan)/14 September 2002 (USA) to 20 October 2001 (Japan)/21 September 2002

Networks: CBC TV (Japan), Fox Box (USA), Pop (UK)

Quick Facts:
After spearheading Kirby’s illustrious videogame career, Masahiro Sakurai supervised this anime adaptation of the franchise, which aimed to appeal to viewers of all ages. Supervising director Sōji Yoshikawa faced challenges dealing with a mute protagonist in a fantasy world but believed in the concept, which was purposely edited for Western audiences and has a mixed reputation amongst critics.

The Review:
While the amusing earworm that accompanies the colourful, action-packed open titles helps set the scene for Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, the basic standard of the anime is established in “Kirby Comes to Cappy Town” (Kusakabe, 2001), which depicts Kirby (Amy Birnbaum) as a young “Star Warrior” sleeping soundly in his (literal) starship before being awakened when his ship detects a giant monster on Planet Popstar. I’ve played many Kirby videogames, and they pretty much never have a deeper plot than “Dream Land/Planet Popstar threatened by evil”, so it’s interesting to see the additional lore is tacked onto Kirby here. For example, Kirby isn’t from Planet Popstar; he’s a fledgling Star Warrior who crash lands and is stranded there in the first episode. Dream Land (if not the entire planet) is ruled by the bombastic King Dedede (Ted Lewis), a greedy, selfish monarch who craves power. He’s not an anti-hero or even a reluctant ally of Kirby’s here; he’s a bumbling bad guy, no question. However, while King Dedede is aided by underlings, his right-hand snail, Escargoon (Ted Lewis), and enjoys the loyalty and protection of the mysterious Meta Knight (Eric Stuart), he orders monsters from the shady N.M.E. organisation. When King Dedede wants to cause a ruckus or spawn an enemy to destroy Kirby, he calls N.M.E.’s customer services representative (Dan Green) and orders a familiar mini boss or big boss from the games to be the “Monster of the Week”, racking up quite a debt that N.M.E’s head (Andrew Rannells) is sure to want to cash in later. This quickly becomes the formulaic premise for the show: King Dedede orders a monster, the monster challenges Kirby, Kirby learns how to beat it (usually with a new copy ability), and everyone laughs about it afterwards.

Angered at Kirby’s presence, King Dedede conspires to destroy him to secure his rule over Dream Land.

Although there appears to be no organised resistance against King Dedede, the residents of Cappy Town – including Mayor Len Blustergas (Mike Pollock) and siblings Tiff (Kerry Williams) and Tuff (Kayzie Rogers) – strongly dislike the king. For one thing, they’re forced to work in his palace and cater to him; for another, King Dedede and Escargoon are notorious liars and manipulators. King Dedede swears blind that he’s not sending monsters into the neighbourhood to devour sheep or kill Kirby, yet he’s constantly rolling around in his tank and observing and commenting upon these events, barely even pretending to not be the cause. Cappy Town’s prayers for a hero are seemingly answered when the wise old Kabu (Jim Napolitano) foretells the arrival of a mighty Star Warrior, only for Tiff and Tuff to be disappointed that Kirby is little more than a “baby” barely capable of speech. Young and naïve, Kirby is an inquisitive and enthusiastic little puffball, but the Cappies are unconvinced of his abilities, especially after witnessing his incredible “inhale” power, voracious appetite, and when King Dedede sabotages his efforts to assist Chef Kawasaki (Maddie Blaustein) in “A Blockbuster Battle” (Kusakabe, 2001). While he’s untested and still has much to learn, Kirby is extremely formidable. His rubbery body helps make him durable (though his powers wane when separated from his “Warp Star”), he can puff himself up to float, he exhibits incredible strength, and he can copy the abilities of his enemies to change form. This occurs after being humbled by King Dedede’s latest monster or minion and Kirby undergoing training, either from Tiff and Tuff or receiving cryptic instructions from Meta Knight. While Cappy Town applauds his efforts and rallies behind him, they prefer Kirby to stay out of town due to his appetite and clumsy nature, eventually building him a house (one promptly claimed by Tokkori (Kevin Kolack), who trades Kirby his nest).

Kirby masters various copy abilities to defeat King Dedede’s rented monsters and prove himself a Star Warrior.

Although he’s also dismissive of Kirby, King Dedede immediately attacks and hates Kirby on sight, worried that even an immature Star Warrior threatens him. King Dedede initially sics Octagon on Kirby, surprised to find what was initially a small and unimpressive monster becomes a mindless kaiju that wrecks his castle. Thanks to Meta Knight, Tiff, and Tuff, Kirby recovers and becomes Fire Kirby, destroying the beast and causing King Dedede to total his starship and vow to destroy Kirby. He then ruins Kirby’s reputation in Cappy Town and orders a new monster from N.M.E. This turns out to be Blocky, a massive sumo wrestler-esque stone so dense that it’s immune to Kirby’s inhale ability. Blocky destroys Kirby’s treehouse home and seems unstoppable, until Meta Knight suggests using its weight and power against it. Thus, Kirby lures Blocky to an incline, turning into smaller duplicates that he promptly crushes with his Stone ability foiling King Dedede once more. In “Kirby’s Duel Role” (Yokoyama, 2001), King Dedede orders Meta Knight to challenge Kirby to a duel, something the mysterious conquistador is reluctant to pursue. However, he’s duty bound to follow the king’s orders and quickly proves Kirby’s superior. Meta Knight turns the duel into a training exercise, however, mentoring Kirby on finding his inner calm and strength and mastering the Sword ability, surreptitiously obeying his master while also aiding Kirby. This training comes in handy when King Dedede unleashes an expert swordsman, Bugzzy, to finish the job, only for it to be sliced in two by Kirby’s Sword Beam. Enraged, King Dedede tries to take matters into his own hands only to be toppled by Meta Knight, who refuses to elaborate on his true allegiance and seems destined to walk the line between enemy and ally.

This colourful, fun-packed show challenges Kirby to showcase the full extent of his potential.

I felt a little bad for Kirby, here. It’s interesting that the anime depicts him as immature when he’s always so forthright and proactive in the games. He still is here, to be fair, never backing down from a fight or a challenge, and he always triumphs thanks to encouragement, training, perseverance, and his copy abilities. It’s strange, then, that he’s depicted as a clumsy, disruptive child who Cappy Town finds annoying yet inspirational. I feel it might’ve been just the same, if not better, to depict him as childish and simple but still formidable and reliable, since he is all those things anyway. It’s a strange dichotomy as Kirby naturally rises to the occasion and isn’t really hampered by being awoken two-hundred years too early. It does create a bit of drama, though, as Kirby’s often on the backfoot or must use more than brute strength to win. “Kirby’s Duel Role” excellently shows that Kirby is outclassed against Meta Knight’s swordplay and it’s therefore more meaningful when he masters the Sword ability. Still, it was weird seeing people shun and doubt Kirby, especially as he’s always so friendly and so damn cute. While the episodes quickly adopt a recognisable formula, I never found myself bored, mainly because the animation is so good and it was fun seeing Kirby get into scrapes and learn new powers. N.M.E’s monsters are presented as intimidating obstacles for Kirby to overcome and I got a real sense that Dream Land has suffered under the whims of King Dedede, who seemed to previously unleash monsters just for a lark.

Final Thoughts:
The anime really captures the vibrant and surreal nature of the videogames, mixing traditional animation with CGI to bring Kirby and King Dedede to life. While it was a strange decision to have Kirby be an alien visitor and these episodes don’t pull any locations from the games except King Dedede’s castle and Planet Popstar, the visual appeal is undeniable as characters are very expressive. The CGI elements added a cinematic quality and emphasised how goofy Kirby and King Dedede are, which only made the cartoonish fun more enjoyable. I loved how the amine incorporates Kirby’s inhale and copy abilities, translating the former into his insatiable appetite and the latter into one-time power-ups that show his growth as a character. Kirby is adorable here, mimicking voices and taking pleasure in the simple things and always happy to help and stand against any enemy, no matter how big or skilled they are. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding him as a Star Warrior, which was only exacerbated by Meta Knight, who constantly talks in riddles, aura farms, and is presented as an elusive (and incredibly powerful) warrior. I loved Meta Knight’s Spanish accent and accompanying theme, elements I never imagined for him, but which really worked to give him some spice. Similarly, it was strange hearing King Dedede using a Southern accent, but it quickly grew on me and surprisingly suited his pompous character.

A couple of standout characters and vibrant, enjoyable visuals make this a fun time all around.

I loved how Kirby’s mere presence upset King Dedede, like he knows his rule is threatened by this seemingly harmless pink marshmallow and it’s driving him mad (and into debt) ordering monsters to get rid of him. I thought it was pretty funny how King Dedede is seen as a liar and a dick, yet people begrudgingly tolerated him because he’s their ruler. The Cappies seemed unable to do anything but complain about him before Kirby showed up and hardly rally behind him once he’s there due to his age. Tiff and Tuff were okay supporting characters but it’s Escargoon who stood out amongst the new characters. Unlike other animated underlings, he’s not an abused, spineless lackey. He offers his opinion, enforces King Dedede’s will, and even questions his king, being fiercely loyal while also recognising when things aren’t going there way. I’m biased but Meta Knight stole the show for me with his mysterious demeanour and undeniable screen presence, which are both backed up by his reputation as a master swordsman. I also enjoyed that the episodes used enemies from the videogames. That may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often adaptations don’t use characters and elements from the videogames. It was admittedly odd to have them teleported to King Dedede from N.M.E. but that aspect was a fun way to build that shadowy organisation up as a greater threat than King Dedede. Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with these episodes. They’ve bright, colourful, harmless fun that tweak the lore in interesting ways, depict Kirby’s abilities and enemies in entertaining ways, and the animation and visuals were top notch. I would definite be happy to watch more of this anime and would recommend it to fans of the character, or anyone needing a quirky anime to pass the time with.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!? What did you think to these first three episodes and the way the anime depicted Kirby? Did you like the formula of the anime or would you have preferred to see King Dedede be more proactive? Were you also a fan of Meta Knight’s portrayal? Which episodes were your favourite? Let me know your thoughts on Kirby: Right Back at Ya! in the comments and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want me to review more episodes of the anime.

Back Issues [Sonic Month]: Doomsday / The Final Victory

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

Story Title: “Doomsday” (Part 1 to 3)
Published: 5 February 1997 (cover dated: 18 February 1997) to 5 March 1997 (18 March 1997)
Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Richard Elson

Story Title: “The Final Victory” (Part 1 to 4)
Published: 18 March 1997 (cover-dated: 1 April 1997)
Writers: Nigel Kitching and Lew Stringer,
Artists: Richard Elson, Nigel Dobbyn, Roberto Corona, and Nigel Kitching

Quick Facts:
Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, Sonic briefly usurped Super Mario and his mainstream popularity saw him expand into comics. Sonic the Comic (StC) was published fortnightly in the United Kingdom, based its lore from the now defunct Mobius storyline, and boldly portrayed Sonic as an egotistical narcissist. Though eventually cancelled and survived by an online continuation, these four issues spelled the end of both an ongoing story arc and Doctor Ivo Robotnik’s dictatorship over planet Mobius.

The Review:
“Doomsday” and “The Final Victory” marked not just the historic 100th issue of StC, but also the culmination of a months-long story arc that saw pig-headed freedom fighter Sonic the Hedgehog trapped in the Special Zone. This happened after he went on a rampage as Super Sonic, his demonic, Chaos-powered alter ego. Using a Star Post, Sonic’s allies – namely Miles “Tails” Prower and Amy Rose – separated Sonic and Super Sonic into separate beings. Sonic then ventured into the Special Zone (a chaotic alternate dimension guarded by the Chaotix Crew) to keep his destructive alter ego from hurting anyone, eventually being stranded when Super Sonic was time locked within the Omni-Viewer, a benevolent, sentient television screen that was Sonic’s only way home. This meant Tails, Amy, and the other Freedom Fighters faced an uphill battle against Doctor Ivo Robotnik, who had conquered Mobius some years prior, without their point man and Sonic embarked on many strange adventures in the Special Zone trying to find a way home. This brought him into conflict with devious crime boss Lord Sidewinder and his gang, who seek to harness Super Sonic’s power for their own nefarious ends in part one of “Doomsday”. This story also sees Sonic and the Chaotix Crew (fresh off being framed as criminals) stopping Doctor Plague from unleashing a deadly virus upon New Tek City. Even when Dr. Plague launches a bunch of vials into the air, Sonic quickly retrieves them with a flourish. His gloating is interrupted by a desperate call from Porker Lewis, his neurotic childhood friend, and the sudden appearance of two suns in the sky. Super strong Mighty the Armadillo states such an occurrence is said to herald the end of the world, an event more likely than ever as the damaged and panicked Omni-Viewer soon appears.

Sonic is torn between battling his demonic double in the Special Zone or helping his friends on Mobius.

The Omni-Viewer reveals that he was unable to trap Super Sonic within his interdimensional vortex since the demon was far too powerful. Instead, he slowed time to a crawl, meaning it should’ve taken years for Super Sonic to escape. Instead, he somehow retained his consciousness and slowly built his power, turning the Black Asteroid he was imprisoned in into an electron bomb, hence the “second sun”. Although Sonic demands that the Omni-Viewer transport him back to Mobius to help Porker, team leader Vector the Crocodile begs him to stay to combat Super Sonic. It’s all moot anyway, though, as the Omni-Viewer is too weak to help and Lord Sidewinder’s mage, Lightmare, suddenly appears. Naturally, Sonic and the Chaotix Crew attack Lightmare before she can explain, forcing her to trap them in living nightmares using her Pandora’s box. After being surprised by Espio the Chameleon’s invisibility, Lightmare reveals she’s Lord Sidewinder’s daughter and begs them to stop to her father’s plot before it kills him and their gang. While Sonic and the others go to stop Lord Sidewinder, who loads himself and his gang into a rocket to head to the Black Asteroid, Vector stays behind to help the Omni-Viewer think up a plan to deal with Super Sonic. Vector restores the Omni-Viewer at the Equinox laboratory, where a scientist also reveals that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) will be generated when the Black Asteroid explodes, causing chaos as every computerised system will immediately fail. Apparently driven mad by his ambition, Lord Sidewinder scoffs at any danger posed by the Black Asteroid, causing the oafish Bio-Hazard and Mister Fry to question his sanity and logic. This, as much as the pressing threat, allows Sonic and Mighty to easily rough up Lord Sidewinder’s goons, though Sonic remains conflicted between his duty to protect Mobius and the imminent destruction of the Black Asteroid.

An EMP knocks out Dr. Robotnik’s machines, finally ending his rule over Mobius.

However, upon learning of the EMP, Sonic has a genius brainwave and demands that the Omni-Viewer transport the Black Asteroid into the skies above Mobius, where it promptly explodes. As Dr. Robotnik’s entire army and operation consists of or is run by machines, this effectively disables all his Badniks and systems, releasing all the woodland critters from their mechanical prisons, shutting down the biological computer Dr. Robontik hooked the Emerald Hill residents up to on the Floating Island, and disabling Vermin the Cybernik, thus saving Sonic’s allies and allowing Knuckles the Echidna to rescue the Emerald Hill folk. Naturally, the demonic Super Sonic immediately goes on a warpath, desperate to destroy Metropolis City and attacking Sonic right as he reunites with Tails, Amy, and Johnny Lightfoot. Initially toying with his prey, Super Sonic unleashes a barrage of energy beams, cackling maniacally and overwhelming his more benevolent doppelgänger. However, right as Super Sonic is poised to deliver the killing blow, his energy suddenly drains and he’s forced to flee, with the Omni-Viewer revealing that the explosion somehow changed Super Sonic’s biology. With no time to ponder this or celebrate, Sonic has the Omni-Viewer transport him to the Floating Island, where a confused and troubled Dr. Robotnik orders his ally, turncoat, semi-cybernetic echidna Doctor Zachary, to destroy Knuckles. Although Dr. Zachary can’t use the ancient Guardian robots due to the EMP, he’s somehow still able to use his cybernetic weapons, though he’s quickly blasted by Sonic right as Knuckles was playing possum and summarily trapped in a gorge courtesy of the super strong echidna. Despite the two realising they’ve been so distracted with their rivalry and battling Dr. Zachary that they’ve forgotten about Dr. Robotnik, they’re amazed to find Porker has apprehended the tyrant.

Sonic stops Dr. Robotnik’s attempts to get back online and finally liberates the planet from his rule.

While a confused, powerless, and amnesiac Super Sonic wanders Metropolis City and is taken in by a kindly resident, Sonic wastes no time in parading the fallen despot through the city, gleefully proclaiming the end of his rule to the cheering masses and delivering him to the city courthouse so he can be locked up and eventually tried for his crimes. Though humiliated, Dr. Robotnik remains defiant, even more so when his long-abused assistant, Grimer, suddenly shows up riding an antique, steam-powered robot and promptly rescues his master. Although Sonic easily smashes the machine, the confusion allows Grimer to get Dr. Robotnik to safety. As they know every inch of the city, the two promptly vanish, frustrating Sonic so much that he chastises Tails for distracting himself with Vermin. Prompted by Johnny, Sonic realises that Dr. Robotnik and Grimer must’ve fled back to their ominous citadel using the city’s sewer system and promptly gives chase, crashing in right as Dr. Robotnik is ordering Grimer to start up the clunky emergency generator. Desperate to keep Dr. Robotnik from getting his machines back online, Sonic knocks Grimer aside and speeds around the generator, which overloads the power core and causes the ostentatious citadel to dramatically explode. With the immediate threat ended and the symbol of Dr. Robotnik’s rule in flames, Sonic finally celebrates their victory alongside his friends and the liberated inhabitants of Metropolis City. However, Dr. Robotnik and Grimer escaped the explosion using the sewers and retreat to the outskirts of the city. Although Grimer wallows in despair, Dr. Robotnik is practically frothing at the mouth at the indignity and vows to take a terrible revenge upon his enemies for ousting him from power.

Final Thoughts: 
As an avid collector of Sonic the Comic back in the day, I was beyond hyped for these four issues and StC’s big 100th issue release. The months leading up to “Doomsday” had seen all the Sonic-related back-up stories deal with his exile to the Special Zone and Dr. Robotnik’s plot to use the Emerald Hill folk to power his giant supercomputer, meaning “The Final Victory” was the culmination of not just years of the dictator’s stranglehold over Mobius but months of semi-connected storytelling. It’s therefore fitting that “The Final Victory” takes up the entirety of issue 100 and showcases many of StC’s artists, though Richard Elson remains the gold standard and I do wish he’d illustrated the entire story as it’s very jarring to go from his beautiful, epic artwork to the comparatively basic and cartoonish illustrations of Nigel Kitching. Although you could argue that using an EMP was a contrived and convenient way to defeat Dr. Robotnik in one fell swoop, it was also the best and most efficient way. For years, Sonic and his friends settled for scoring minor victories, liberating the odd Zone or taking out garrisons, battleships, or Dr. Robotnik’s commanders, but were unable to strike a decisive blow against the tyrant. As Dr. Robotnik is all about machines and robots, an EMP is the perfect way to knock out his army and end his rule, ushering in a new age of StC as Sonic struggles to define his role in a world without war and conflict and Dr. Robotnik schemes to return to power. This story also saw the Emerald Hill folk return home after being given sanctuary on the Floating Island, Super Sonic have a few side adventures as a distinct character, and marked the beginning of Amy’s journey into an independent character.

A cathartic end and start of a new era that would’ve been made even better by Richard Elson.

The timeline of events are a bit strange, however. Super Sonic apparently frees himself, or the Omni-Viewer decides to abandon him to get help for the impending explosion, and is seemingly unable or unwilling to stop charging his power for his dramatic escape. Given how powerful Super Sonic is, it’s strange that he wouldn’t just burst free of the Black Asteroid as soon as possible. This threat is also subdued very quickly, which is a shame as it might’ve been fun to somehow involve him in Dr. Robotnik’s scheme to restart his systems (perhaps he could’ve taken Super Sonic’s unconscious body and used it as a battery?) Knuckles also gets a bit side-lined, though it’s clear his focus is on helping the Emerald Hill folk since Dr. Zachary’s been taken care of and Dr. Robotnik’s in custody. I liked that Sonic never broke character here: he still gives Tails shit, mocks Knuckles, and acts like a jackass even though he’s won the day. I also liked how conflicted he was between helping the Special Zone and getting back to Mobius. StC-Sonic might be an insufferable prick most of the time, but he’s dedication to defeating Dr. Robotnik and saving lives is never in question, even if he does alienate those closest to him. I also enjoyed seeing Dr. Robotnik humiliated and aggravated by Sonic’s taunting and the cheers of the Mobians, and that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve despite his machines being knocked out. I’m not sure why Dr. Zachary’s weapons were unaffected by the EMP, but the steam powered robot was a nice touch, so much so that I kind of wish Dr. Robotnik had hopped in a steam-powered mech for one more brutal fight with Sonic. Still, this as a satisfying conclusion to years and months of storylines. It was great to finally have Sonic back home and to see Dr. Robotnik so utterly defeated so quickly, and to finally give the good guys a decisive victory after years of simply chipping away at Dr. Robotnik’s rule.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Were you impressed by Sonic’s final victory over Dr. Robotnik? Were you a little confused about how Super Sonic escaped from the Omni-Viewer? Would you have liked to see Super Sonic play a greater role as a villain in the end? Do you agree that Richard Elson should’ve illustrated the entire final story? What are some of your favourite StC stories and how are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic the Comic, or Sonic in general, drop a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other Sonic comic stories for me to review.

Back Issues [Sonic Month]: Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

Writer: Ian Flynn – Artists: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and Tracy Yardley

Story Title: “Part One: In the Beginning…”
Published: 29 June 2011 (cover-dated: August 2011)

Story Title: “Part Two: Fate and Friends”
Published: 3 August 2011 (cover-dated: September 2011)

Story Title: “Part Three: Divide and Conquer”
Published: 31 August 2011 (cover-dated: October 2011)

Story Title: “Part Four: Reset”
Published: 5 October 2011 (cover-dated: November 2011)

Quick Facts:
SEGA quickly capitalised on Sonic’s mainstream popularity by commissioning two concurrent cartoons for their famous mascot. Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 to 1994), or “SatAM”, was the clear favourite compared to ita slapstick counterpart, though Archie Comics awkwardly mashed both together for a four-part miniseries. Unfortunately, the longest-running videogame comic book hit a road block when a former writer filed a ridiculous lawsuit that eventually saw the license acquired by IDW. Before then, Archie Comics scrambled to retool their continuity to bring it closer to the source material for Sonic’s 20th anniversary.

The Review:
This back-to-basics celebration of Sonic’s history arguably echoes the videogames closer than Archie’s previous efforts, which were always an odd amalgamation of the cartoons, videogames, and convoluted original lore. Accordingly, the event is kick-started by the startling revelation that Doctor Ivo Robotnik (initially a semi-cybernetic dictator but now a flesh-and-blood “Overlander” referred to as and physically resembling Doctor Eggman) has rebuilt his horrifying space station, the Death Egg. This leads to a temporary truce between the Knothole Freedom Fighters and bizarre mage Ixis Naugus and a desperate assault against the heavily fortified space station, which saw Sonic and fearless leader Princess Sally infiltrate the Death Egg. Unfortunately, Sonic gets distracted fighting a bigger, fiercer version of Silver Sonic and is both unable to save Sally from being gunned down or stop Dr. Eggman activating the “Genesis Wave”, a Chaos Emerald-powered, reality altering shockwave that creates a new timeline. Thus, Sonic finds himself racing through Green Hill Zone with no memory of his friends or previous complicated dramas and simply investigating recent disappearances. Accordingly, Sonic is surprised to find Green Hill Zone populated by Motobugs, bug-themed Badniks powered by the missing woodland critters. Sonic commandeers a nearby Newtron and orders it to take him to its leader, meeting not Dr. Eggman but his nephew, Snively, who’s fiercely loyal to his uncle’s dream of conquering the planet with machinery and technology. Snively attacks in the Egg Wrecker, succeeding only in damaging the natural environment with his giant wrecking ball as Sonic is too fast to hit. A couple of hits to Snively’s craft sends the little weasel packing and Sonic rescues a bunch of animals from the capsule Snively was defending, three of whom are well known to Archie’s readers but are just meeting Sonic for the first time.

Though Dr. Eggman resets reality, Sonic’s fated to fall in with his old friends and oppose his schemes.

Sally Acorn, Boomer Walrus, and Antoine Depardieu reveal they’ve been actively investigating both the mysterious earthquakes ravaging the land and Dr. Eggman, and have even pinpointed a direct route to his stronghold, convincing Sonic to join their efforts. Their first stop is the ruins of the Marble Zone, where Sonic is surprised when the name “Caterkiller” mysteriously comes to mind upon seeing the Badnik. Although Boomer trashes it, Antoine is so terrified that he disturbs a flock of Batbrains, leading Sonic to scoff when Sally praises Antoine for alerting them to an ambush. Boomer reprograms a smashed Buzz Bomber and Sally convinces a passing Flicky to power it, giving them some additional firepower as they traverse the hazardous ruins, which are wracked by an earthquake. Thanks to Sonic’s speed and the friendly Buzz Bomber, the group avoids falling into boiling hot magma, only to be confronted by Dr. Eggman (in his classic attire, no less). Eager to test his speed against this new foe, Sonic races off, deftly dodging fireballs from the Egg Scorcher and giving Sally the strangest sense of déjà vu. Distracted by breaking his turncoat Badnik, Dr. Eggman gets wrecked by Sonic and flees to prepare his master plan, though even he is unsure of what that is due to memory lapses. Victorious, Sonic leads the group into the flooded, cavernous Labyrinth Zone, where Sonic’s concerns about Sally’s relationship with Antoine are quickly superseded by his fear of water. Encouraged by Sally, Sonic dives in and even blasts them clear of an Orbinaut swarm, though an earthquake seemingly spells doom for Antoine. As they emerge in the Starlight Zone, Sonic’s amazed at how nonplussed his new friends are about Antoine’s death but agrees that something’s definitely not right as they keep sharing the same thoughts and feeling the same things. Determined to avenge Antoine, they quickly push past the Zone’s Badniks and hazards to reach the Scrap Brain Zone, though Sonic thinks “Robotropolis” sounds far better.

Although they all suffer from amnesia, the characters are naturally drawn into conflict with each other.

Zapped by electricity, Sonic is almost too slow to save Boomer from also plummeting to his death and the three stumble into another confrontation with Dr. Eggman, who states his hatred of that nickname and traps Sonic in a forcefield. Dr. Eggman then tries to fry and crush Sonic with the piston-like Egg Crusher, only to be surprised when Antoine comes flushing down his pipe and frantically swats Dr. Eggman, giving Sonic the opening to trash his machine. Sonic then busts Dr. Eggman’s craft and sends him packing, sure to return. Sonic then introduces his new friends to his little buddy, Miles “Tails” Prower, who immediately hits it off with the equally scientific and mechanically minded Boomer. Although Sally’s sceptical about Tails due to his age, Sonic vouches for him and the three set off to tackle Dr. Eggman’s Westside Island facilities, unaware that Dr. Eggman has already launched his Death Egg. Although neither Dr. Eggman or Snively remember firing the Genesis Wave, they console themselves with the knowledge that the seven Chaos Emeralds will soon recharge the Death Egg to robotize Mobius in one shot. While Snively thinks his uncle should focus more on the interdimensional disturbances ravaging Mobius, Dr. Eggman is obsessed with destroying his newfound foe, whose unpredictability represents a significant risk. Disgusted by the pollution pumped out by the maze-like Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic and Tails still find time to have fun racing around and through the pipes, though the threat of drowning in toxic mega muck sees them air lift their friends to safety. After flirting with Sally, Sonic’s hit by a distorted memory of her death while debating their next move and opts to split from the group with Tails to tackle the source of the problem while they shut down the facility.

Super Sonic’s climatic showdown with Dr. Eggman sees him resetting reality…for better or worse.

Sonic and Tails take the Tornado biplane to Metropolis Zone, where Sonic immediately regrets his decision when he sees how heavily guarded the mechanical hellhole is. Sally expresses similar regrets over not trying harder to convince Sonic to stick around as they’re attacked in the hazardous Oil Ocean Zone, where a near-death experience suddenly triggers brief memories of the old world, where her and Sonic were an item, before the trio successfully shut down the facility. After besting Dr. Eggman’s traps, Sonic faces the rotund madman in his Egg Bouncer craft. Sonic also experiences déjà vu when Dr. Eggman calls him “rodent”, though he easily bounces past the villain and hitches a ride on the Tornado, bypassing the Wing Fortress Zone to leap to Dr. Eggman’s shuttle and reach the Death Egg. There, Sonic sees the devastating extent of the earthquakes and learns they’re caused by reality trying to force itself back together. When Dr. Eggman boasts that his roboticizer will cement the dimensional shift and ensure his victory, Sonic’s again bombarded by vague memories of their past conflicts and rushes to stop him, only to be attacked by the gigantic Death Egg Robot. As Sonic desperately dodges the mech’s detachable, spiked arms and stomps, Dr. Eggman reveals that he’s remembered enough to know that he reshaped reality to try and keep Sonic from interfering with his plans and lets slip that the Chaos Emeralds power the battle station. This allows Sonic to power-up into Super Sonic, much to Dr. Eggman’s disbelief, and he easily overpowers the mech. After overhearing from Snively that their battle is making the situation worse for Mobius, Sonic desperately initiates Chaos Control, another reality-altering shockwave that restores the world and everyone’s memories. However, while this allows Sonic to rescue Sally and bring down the Death Egg, it does result in Sally being roboticized.

Final Thoughts: 
Despite part three this arc featuring a beautiful recreation of the North American box art of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA, 1994), no elements from this videogame or its add-on are featured here and Knuckles the Echidna is entirely absent. Instead, “Genesis” is more of a homage to and recreation of the first two games and does what I’ve longed hoped for from Archie Comics, which is to stick closer to the action-packed adventure of the source material rather than short-changing recognisable locations and elements. “Genesis” also impresses by featuring gorgeous artwork from Spaz and Tracy Yardley, Archie’s best artists by a country mile, whose work shines in this much more focused, back-to-basics story. While I admit sticking closely to the plot of the videogames isn’t sustainable for hundreds of issues, there’s something to be said about the simplicity of avoiding all the interpersonal drama, slapstick, and dark and gritty atmosphere for a fun, action-packed story. “Genesis” still includes humorous moments, mainly involving Antoine or Sonic and Tails having fun, and has reasonably high stakes as Dr. Eggman is polluting the world, enslaving its inhabitants, and threatens to cement his rule once more with the Death Egg. There’s also the greater concern of the earthquakes rocking Mobius, which split apart the Marble Zone and almost kill Antoine. These are the direct result of Dr. Eggman’s Genesis Wave, which alters reality to create an all-new world much closer to the videogames but one that’s unstable and desperately trying to return to normal. This also alters everyone’s memories and even returns Rotor to his original name, causing even Dr. Eggman to have no idea what he did to the world, just that he must fire the Death Egg again to be victorious.

The soft reboot gives us a chance to refamiliarise ourselves with these characters and their relationships.

I really enjoyed seeing Sonic bashing Badniks, rescuing critters, and racing through recognisable Zones from the first two games. In many ways, “Genesis” reminds me of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (Unknown, 1991) in how it quickly blasts through the hazards, Badniks, and bosses of the first game, uniquely replacing Dr. Eggman with Snively for the Egg Wrecker encounter and having Sally and the others accompany Sonic to Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone, where various pitfalls await. Boomer’s side plot where he reprograms a Buzz Bomber was a fun way to show his mechanical prowess, though it didn’t really lead to much beyond this and showing that Sally can speak “Flicky”. Antoine doesn’t get much to do either and is reduced back to being a snivelling little coward and French stereotype, but I did like him having a much closer relationship with Sally, to the point where Sonic’s jealous of their connection and she must clarify that they’re just “close friends”. More of a nuisance than anything, Antoine is the butt of Sonic’s pranks and ridicule but his apparent death hits Sonic so hard that he’s baffled that his newfound friends aren’t more upset. This was an odd moment. I think the implication was supposed to be that Sally and Boomer sensed the death wasn’t real or permanent, implying that Antoine would come back if the world returned to normal, or perhaps it was a metacommentary on how characters never (or rarely) die. Either way, it was a strange moment rendered completely moot as Antoine shows up alive anyway. It was fun seeing the characters be confused by their déjà vu and remembering events from past issues, though it might’ve been nice to see these solidified across the story to more explicitly change their interactions. Sure, Boomer and Tails immediately click and Sonic and Sally naturally flirt and Dr. Eggman is immediately incensed by Sonic, but they’re all largely acting on blind instinct rather than piecing their true personalities together across the four issues.

The back-to-basics approach does wonders for the action and is a fitting homage to the videogames.

Still, the artwork is impeccable here and it was fun seeing this alternative first meeting between Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. I liked that Sonic just goes where he pleases and rescues the critters because it’s the right thing to do, but was convinced to team with Sally and the others since they’ve already made headway in tracking Dr. Eggman and because he feels he knows them. The relationship between Sonic and Tails was also super adorable, with Tails being closer to how he appears in the videogames while still being a capable pilot and avid mechanic. I loved seeing Dr. Eggman in his classic outfit and the classic Egg-O-Matics being put to use, and watching Sonic and the others deal with familiar hazards like spikes, pits, and crumbling platforms in locations lifted directly from the games to fit this world rather than being magically created, temporary Zones that make little narrative sense. I really enjoyed seeing how the Zones fitted together in a coherent way and that they group split up to tackle Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone separately, with each lamenting the decision since it feels right for them to be together. It’s a shame that Wing Fortress Zone got shafted but it was a neat touch bookending the arc with battles against Silver Sonic and finally seeing Sonic battle the Death Egg Robot (which I don’t think had appeared in Archie’s comics). I also liked the twist that the battle between Super Sonic and the Death Egg Robot was exacerbating the threat to Mobius and that Sonic took a gamble on Chaos Control to set things right, though it might’ve been nice to spread this arc out over a few more issues just to help usher in the new era. Overall, though, “Genesis” was a perfect soft reset to attract new readers and a fun way to reset Archie’s convoluted lore into a narrative that is closer to the videogames, recontextualising characters and elements to make them accessible while also being a fitting homage to the Blue Blur’s storied career.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy the “Genesis” arc? Were you happy to see a more back-to-basics approach for a change or did you enjoy all the drama of Archie’s comics? Do you think Archie should’ve gone all-in and just rebooted the comics here? Which of Archie’s original characters was your favourite and what did you think to their award-winning run? How are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Share your memories of Archie’s Sonic comics below and donate to my Ko-Fi and suggest more Archie Sonic stories for me to review.

Back Issues: Aliens vs. Predator: Duel

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Story Titles: “Duel: Book One” and “Duel: Book One”
Published: March 1995 to April 1995

Writer: Randy Stradley
Artist: Javier Saltares

Quick Facts:
As Dark Horse Comics achieved mainstream success with licensed adaptations of horror and science-fiction films, it made sense to pit the Alien (Various, 1977 to present) and Predator (Various, 1987 to present) franchises against each other. The initial mini series spawned numerous follow-ups and eventually debuted the Xenomorph/Alien “Predalien” hybrid in this two-part story.

The Review:
“Duel” is a follow-up to the five-issue “Aliens vs. Predator” story arc that followed the first three-issue clash between the two species and set the foundation for the sub-franchise that followed. Like in that story, “Duel” is set on the planet Ryushi, a desolate wasteland where Xenomorphs roam freely amongst the remains of Prosperity Wells and other outposts. The story begins thirty-odd hours after a squad of United States Marine Corps (USMC) respond to a distress beacon, only to be caught between the Aliens and Predators, who slaughter anyone who either crosses their path or interferes with the sanctity of the “hunt”. There’s some uncertainty when the only human inhabitant of the planet, Colony Administrator Machiko Noguchi, doesn’t respond to their communication attempts and the planet, formally controlled by the Chigusa Corporation, is a known dead zone (though the USMC aren’t privy to the slaughter that occurred there). Led by Captain Glass, the Marines explore the abandoned settlement and conclude that Noguchi is a “write-off”. It’s revealed that Weyland-Yutani were forced to share information about the Aliens for their own protection, meaning the Marines are far more knowledgeable than their Aliens (Cameron, 1986) counterparts and they’re understandably stunned when the alien craft they stumble upon is nothing like the Engineer’s crescent ship they expected. Unaware they’re being watched and sweltering in the intense heat, they instinctively open fire upon a monstrous Briar Wolf, a native of Ryushi, when it attacks.

While investigating Ryushi, a group of Marines are attacked by Aliens, Predator, and a monstrous hybrid!

As the Marines explore, they find an unconscious Yautja warrior. After making preparations to transport the bizarre creature back to their ship, the Marines find a chained-up Xenomorph Queen. Though they arrogantly believe she’s dead, Lieutenant Sali is splattered by the bitch’s extendable mouth when she suddenly revives and attacks, leading the Marines to blast her to corrosive chunks. As the Marines carry the Predator outside, they’re suddenly ambushed by Alien drones, who leap from the sands and quickly surround them. When a group of semi-cloaked Yautja appear to join the fray, Captain Glass orders his men to stand down, identifying the creatures as “survivors” from the wreckage, though he later notes that this was a mistake, despite the Predators seemingly helping them by dicing the Xenomorphs with axe-like spears. While the aliens renew their rivalry, the Marines race to their All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), where they’re confronted by one-armed Predator veteran “Light-Stepper”, who appeared in previous Dark Horse publications. Though apprehensive, the Marines attempt to make contact, only for Private Cogeletti to get speared through the chest! Naturally, the Marines open fire and, though Light-Stepper easily evades them, one of his cohorts isn’t so lucky and the Marines learn that, despite the Predator’s technology, they are as vulnerable as any other creature. The Marines quickly prepare to evacuate, with Captain Glass insisting they keep their survivor alive so the species can be further studied, a decision that also backfires when the Yautja violently spasms and births a particularly gruesome Chestburster! Although the Marines try to blast the scurrying little hybrid, it’s too quick and Sergeant Lesser is picked off by a Predator’s plasma cannon during the fracas. Spooked and sure that the Yautja have them surrounded, the Marines lay down crossfire against their invisible foes, though their hopes are quickly raised when they see their pilot, Murphy, flying in to pick them up in a “Cheyenne” class Utility Dropship.

With his squad dead, Captain Glass is forced to help Light-Stepper defeat the Predalien.

However, just as they’re scrambling to reach the rendezvous point, the Marines are stunned when Light-Stepper hefts a massive shoulder cannon and blows the dropship to smithereens! With no choice but to flee and try to think of an alternative escape plan, the Marines frantically race off in the ATV, shredding another Yautja with the vehicle’s blaster cannons and desperately trying to keep from being overwhelmed by their need for revenge. Spotting the remains of Prosperity Wells, Captain Glass heads to the ruins and has the Marines set up defenses to fend off their assailants. As night falls and his men take turns resting, Captain Glass remains vigilant, determined to make the creatures pay for murdering his troops, though they’re caught completely off-guard when the fully grown Predalien sneaks in and massacres two of his men! Bigger, more aggressive and uglier than either species, easily capable of crushing heads with one malformed claw, Captain Glass theorises that the Predators are pursuing them for allowing such an abomination to be born. After the Predalien gives them the slip and another plasma cannon shot offs one of his squad, Captain Glass detonates the mines they placed around the perimeter and kills two Predators, eventually leaving himself and Light-Stepper the only survivors. Thus, an unlikely alliance is forged when the Predalien reappears, with Captain Glass distracting the abomination long enough for his one-armed ally to cut the creature’s throat and stab it to death. With both warriors exhausted, neither has the strength or will to fight, with Captain Glass hypothesising that they’ve developed a mutual respect. Thus, the two simply sit and wait and are left to wonder which of their allies will arrive first, and what will happen when they do.

Final Thoughts:
“Aliens vs. Predator: Duel” was a decent enough continuation of the dual narrative first thought up by Dark Horse Comics in 1990, and certainly influenced both franchises, but I was left a bit disappointed by the overall presentation. While some lauded the artwork, I found things were overly simplistic, with the environment barely standing out and the Marines being largely interchangeable. I had a hard time telling who was who or even caring about them since none of them receive any characterisation beyond being “Oorah!” meatheads except for Captain Glass, a man so bland and forgettable that he pales in comparison to even the most one-dimensional Marines from Cameron’s sci-fi classic. Ryushi has never made for a compelling location, being mostly a barren wasteland, and it’s even more difficult to connect with it now that the few bastions of civilisation have been abandoned or destroyed. Thus, I’m glad “Duel” was only a two-part tale as it could jump into the action a lot faster, but it does feel oddly paced despite its short length. There is barely any conventional Alien action here and, when the Xenomorphs do appear, they’re slaughtered like “bugs” and don’t even factor into the finale. Captain Glass theorises that the Predalien is some kind of affront to the Yautja, but we never see how the Aliens react to it. Would they obey it as a superior creature or turn against it? Either scenario would’ve added to the gore, action, and intrigue but, instead, the Aliens disappear from the narrative, despite the presence of a prisoner Queen indicating that Ryushi should probably be overrun by them. Returning to the artwork, Javier Saltares seems to be going for a stylised, minimalist approach but it comes across as amateurish to me. Aliens, Predators, and Marines alike lack detail, most of the gore is obscured in shadows, and it’s difficult to make out what’s happening in some panels.

A disappointing debut for the Predalien that doesn’t live up to its full potential.

Captain Glass is defined as the quintessential Marine. A tough, no-nonsense leader who’s simply following orders but is very protective of his troops, meaning he takes it very personally when they’re killed and actively organises them to dig in and fight back against their aggressive alien enemies. He admittedly makes numerous mistakes throughout, ultimately hedging his bets on aiding Light-Stepper simply to try and survive. Light-Stepper (who should be familiar to long-time Dark Horse Comics readers) is depicted as a wily and hostile Yautja, one far more experienced, durable, and capable than his peers despite only having one arm. He seems to have a personal, perhaps even religious obsession with slaughtering the Marines after they take the infected body of one of his kin, leading to him systematically picking off Captain Glass’s troops to recover the body and contain the situation. That being, of course, the Predalien, which is honestly the only saving grace of this story and, even then, it’s so poorly brought to life that, at first, I mistook it for a regular Xenomorph! The Predalien is a bastardised hybrid of the two species, sporting the iconic Yautja dreadlocks and greater bulk, and showcases augmented strength and speed, but is otherwise indistinguishable from a drone. The battle between it and Light-Stepper is short and violent and the creature is killed with relative ease, with Captain Glass barely contributing. This is a shame as it would’ve been cool to see a long, violent battle between the three, with man and Yautja setting aside their differences against a common enemy to showcase what makes the Predalien truly unique. Instead, it’s a few indistinct panels and then that’s it, with Light-Stepper not even injured by the abomination’s acidic blood. So, yeah, “Duel” may be important to the Aliens vs. Predator canon, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of its visuals, narrative, and action. I would’ve preferred to see the Predalien already fully grown, perhaps having slaughtered a hive and battling a Queen for dominance, and to see the Predators actively hunting it, with the Marines caught in the crossfire. Instead, I was left with a bit of a mess that didn’t quite live up to its potential.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read “Aliens vs. Predator: Duel”? If so, what did you think to it and how it continued this spin-off canon? Were you also disappointed by the artwork and the narrative or were you impressed by the fidelity to the source material? What did you think the this batch of Marines, specifically Captain Glass, and their lack of characterisation? Were you impressed by the Predalien or do you agree that it should’ve had a bigger role in the story? Which of the Aliens vs. Predator stories or adaptations was your favourite and how are you celebrating the Predator franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Aliens vs. Predator, drop a comment down below, send me some love on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Predator (and Aliens) content.

Screen Time [Ghostbusters Day]: The Real Ghostbusters: “Citizen Ghost” (S1: E11)

Dr. K3 Comments

June 8th is “Ghostbusters Day”! Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) was first released on this day back in 1984 and, since then, has become a major pop culture franchise.

Season One, Episode Eleven: “Citizen Ghost”

Director: Richard Raynis
Air Date: 22 November 1986

Original Network: ABC
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 100%/ 88%

Quick Facts:
Produced following the universal success of Ghostbusters and retitled to avoid a potential lawsuit, the beloved Real Ghostbusters was a cultural phenomenon for a time. After initially mirroring their film counterparts, the characters were redesigned, with Ernie Hudson famously failing to reprise his role. Though later irrevocably damaged by studio interference, The Real Ghostbusters spawned a wave of merchandise and remains one of the defining cartoons of its era.

The Review:
While it may seem odd to review the eleventh episode of the first series of this classic cartoon, there are a few good reasons for it. Firstly, “Citizen Ghost” acts as a direct follow-up to Ghostbusters, with the main plot a flashback narrated by Doctor Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) to reporter Cynthia Crawford (Julie Bennett). Secondly, the episode explains how and why the Ghostbusters adopted the ravenous, mischievous ghost Slimer (Frank Welker). Thirdly, it explains why the Ghostbusters wear distinctly “toyetic” uniforms. And, finally, it explains why they refer to themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters, so there’s a lot of important stuff here. “Citizen Ghost” sees Cynthia navigating the bizarre day-to-day operations of the Ghostbusters’ firehouse to interview Peter regarding the team, who are still quite a mystery to New York City. Eager to understand more about them, and why they keep a ghost as a pet despite dedicating their lives to bustin’ spirits and trapping them within their ecto containment unit, Cynthia presses the besotted Peter and he happily tells her about what happened right after they defeated Gozer the Gozerian and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The exhausted Ghostbusters returned to find their firehouse a shambles from the containment unit breach and their uniforms splattered in psychokinetic energy from the destroyed Mister Stay Puft. While Doctor Egon Spengler (Maurice La Marche), Doctor Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Frank Welker), and Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall) rebuild the fire station and the ecto containment unit, Peter is given the simple task of disposing of the contaminated uniforms. However, he’s too tired and lazy to do so and leaves them by the ecto containment unit, unaware that they’re dosed in spirit energy leaking from the storage facility.

When spirits possess the Ghostbusters’ uniforms, Slimer helps the team to win them over.

Once the firehouse is fixed up, the team celebrates with Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer), only for the ravenous Slimer to burst in and steal their meal. Recognising the “little spud” as the one who slimed him in the Sedgewick Hotel, Peter leads the Ghostbusters in pursuing the ghost, only to be frustrated by failure. Over the next few days, Slimer reappeared again and again and each of the team reacted differently to him: Egon attempted to study Slimer, Winston was friendly to him, and Ray tried to teach him tricks. Peter, however, attacked Slimer on sight, leading the others to shelter the ghost and unofficially adopt him to annoy Peter. Peter’s issues with Slimer take a backseat, however, when the excess spirit energy brings the Ghostbusters’ old uniforms to life, birthing “spectral” doppelgängers made of ectoplasm who immediately try to replace their originals. The spectral Ghostbusters vanish for several days, then attack as the Ghostbusters are working in the city, firing blasts of ectoplasm from their warped proton packs and forcing the Ghostbusters to race back to base. Theorising that the spectres will be weakened if they can be tricked into firing more than necessary, the Ghostbusters attempt to defeat their doppelgängers, only to have their equipment stolen when their ghostly counterparts boost Ecto-1. With only one spare proton pack, Ray prepares to potentially sacrifice himself to distract the spectres but Slimer, having grown fond of Ray, eagerly swoops in to take his place. Cheered on by the Ghostbusters, Slimer flies rings around the spectres, goading them into literally blowing their loads, weakening them so the Ghostbusters can reclaim their proton packs, entrap the spectres, and assert themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters. Impressed by Slimer’s bravery, Peter begrudgingly accepted him onto the team, though he was left mildly annoyed when Cynthia turned her news report into an exposé on Slimer rather than him.

Final Thoughts:
Despite being a big fan of the films, I was only a fair-weather fan of The Real Ghostbusters. I had a lot of the comics, a handful of toys, and maybe one VHS tape but that was about it. I don’t really remember watching it on television at the time, but I’ve always enjoyed what I have seen. I find “Citizen Ghost” fascinating as it’s one of the few episodes to explicitly reference the movie, thereby establishing the cartoon as a direct spin-off from the films (or, at least, an animated alternative). There’s something really enjoyable about seeing the Real Ghostbusters wearing the film uniforms, covered in residual goo from Mr. Stay Puft, and repairing the damage caused by Walter Peck (William Atherton). Considering the cartoon didn’t follow a serial format, meaning it was perfect for syndication, it makes sense that “Citizen Ghost” (or a version of it) wasn’t used as the pilot or first episode of the cartoon and the flashback framing narrative means you can watch it at any point and it makes perfect sense. While the animation can be a bit wonky and cheap, The Real Ghostbusters has always been a colourful and visually engaging show. We don’t see many wacky ghosts in this episode but the spectral Ghostbusters were impressive enough and fittingly spooky, with their wispy heads and distorted voices and violent desire to displace their organic counterparts.

An important episode that ties directly into the first movie and establishes the style for the cartoon.

“Citizen Ghost” is a great episode at showing just how arrogant, self-absorbed, and lazy Peter is. The spectral Ghostbusters only appear because he’s too lazy to burn the uniforms and he routinely avoids taking responsibility for his mistakes. He also spins the entire narrative into a heroic moment for him, so it’s fun seeing him be denied the spotlight by the end. As would become increasingly evident, this is a Slimer-centric episode that shows how Slimer was adopted by the Ghostbusters. Clearly lonely and eager for company, Slimer is a mischievous and troublesome spirit, but one who’s good-natured and just wants to help and be accepted. He gladly goes along with Egon’s experiments (even if his breath is too much for the curious scientist) and happily helps Ray fix Ecto-1 but is relentlessly hounded by Peter despite showing great affection for him (and the others). It’s this appreciation for the Ghostbusters that drives Slimer to risk his existence against their ghostly doubles and sees him hurt by their ectoplasmic blasts. Surprisingly, even Peter rallies behind Slimer in this moment, showing that he does begrudgingly care for the little spud, which becomes a running joke throughout the cartoon. Ultimately, while you can’t really go wrong with most episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, especially in the first series, “Citizen Ghost” is a great one for those (like me) who were curious to see how the film versions transitioned to their animated counterparts.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Is “Citizen Ghost” one of your favourite episodes of The Real Ghostbusters? Were you an avid fan of the show as a kid? Did you like seeing how Slimer was adopted by the team? What did you think to the spectral Ghostbusters and the way the episode follows on from the movie? Which Ghostbuster was your favourite and how are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Ghostbusters, share them below and donate to my Ko-Fi to fund other Ghostbusters reviews on the site.

Game Corner: [Dinosaur Day]: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Xbox Series X)

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Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. These massive beasts existed for about 180 million years before a cataclysmic event left them mere fossils. Fittingly, “Dinosaur Day” gives dino fans an ample opportunity to pay homage to these near-mythical titans.

Released: 28 February 2021
Originally Released: 4 March 1997
Developer: Nightdive Studios
Original Developer: Iguana Entertainment

Metacritic Scores: 85 / 8.0
Also Available For: Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Original Release); Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Remaster)


Quick Facts:
Based on the Valiant Comics revival of Dell Comics’ Turok, Son of Stone, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter came about after Acclaim Entertainment purchased Valiant in 1994. The fifteen-person team developed Turok as a first-person shooter (FPS) to showcase the power of the Nintendo 64. A critical and commercial success, Turok impressed at the time and spawned sequels and spin-offs of varying quality before being remastered for modern consoles to largely positive reviews.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is an early FPS title for the generation-defining Nintendo 64, actually the first FPS game developed for the system and, as such, set the bar for future FPS games released for the console (to the point where Turok’s control scheme was often a default or alternative for other shooters). Naturally, Turok takes a lot of inspiration from Doom (id Software, 1993) for its gameplay and controls, with  players assuming control of Tal’Set, the titular Turok (despite the original Nintendo 64 version depicting his successor, Joshua Fireseed), and journeying across eight levels (nine, if you include the hub world) to oppose the mysterious Campaigner’s plot to tear apart reality with his techno-organic army of dinosaurs and other minions. The game’s controls are entirely customisable, and I’d recommend tweaking them to your liking. For example, I set the “bindings” to have the Right Trigger attack with Turok’s current weapon, A to jump, and the Left and Right Bumpers switch weapons. I had X toggle between ammo types (where available), Y bring up the surprisingly useful wireframe map, and set the run toggle to the right directional pad. There’s no reloading in Turok, though you can tweak the settings to set whether or not you automatically switch weapons upon acquiring new ones, change the colour of the blood, toggle Turok’s head bob, and toggle various sound and graphic effects (such as draw distance and fog). Turok offers a “Training” mode for you to get accustomed to the gameplay, which mainly sees you exploring levels cutting down respawning enemies, collecting various keys, and tackling one of the worst affronts to FPS gameplay ever conceived: first-person platforming! Although this is a remaster of the classic Nintendo 64 game, Nightdive Studios haven’t implemented modern quality of life features like save states or rewinds, so you’ll still be relying on extra lives (acquired by collecting 100 Life Force points) and rare checkpoints and manual save points scattered across each level.

Shoot, jump, and explore to track down elusive keys in the classic but clunky FPS title.

Turok’s reasonably durable and can partially or fully recover his health with various pickups and can even permanently extend it by collecting “Mortal Wounds” that randomly drop when you kill enemies with your knife or basic arrows. “Spiritual Invincibility” temporarily makes you invincible and slows enemies, “Tek Armour” grant additional armour points, and backpacks increase how much ammo you can carry. Turok can (awkwardly) swim and climb vine walls and ladders; while he doesn’t take fall damage, he will be hurt by lava or boiling tar pits, and you lose a life if you plummet down a pit. This respawns you from your last checkpoint, though any collectibles and non-respawning enemies helpfully stay gone. Turok utilises a wide array of weapons, starting with a simple knife and a bow that fires regular and “Tek Arrows” that explode on contact. You quickly grab a pistol, a shotgun, and a fairly useless assault rifle. The automatic shotgun later became my default weapon, especially when you acquire explosive shells, while the minigun is great for shredding larger enemies. The rapid-fire pulse rifle is a far better alternative to the assault rifle, the grenade launcher is decent for blowing up enemies from a distance, and you even get a heavy-duty quad rocket launcher that’s best saved for bosses. Search around enough and you’ll find an alien weapon that fires explosive energy bursts, a shockwave cannon, and the ridiculously powerful particle cannon, though these all have very limited ammunition. Every level also hides part of the legendary “Chronoscepter”, the ultimate weapon that you’ll only complete right before the final boss and which decimates anything caught in its blast radius. Although ammo is plentiful, it’s usually best not to kill most enemies as they quickly respawn and most can just be avoided. However, there are times when you’re forced to defeat all enemies in a given area to lower barriers or raise platforms. It’s also worth noting that hazards like falls, falling boulders, and even some enemy attacks hurt your enemies, and also that some areas are rigged with flame bursts, spike pits and traps, wall lasers, and heavy cannons.

As if hazards and tough enemies weren’t bad enough, platforming becomes challenging as you progress.

Although things start fairly linear, later levels become much larger or more maze-like, which can leave you running in circles frantically searching for the right path. The map helps but it can be difficult following it when dealing with the respawning enemies. Each level contains several keys that must be found to unlock levels from the hub and these can be easily missed, meaning you must replay previous levels to hunt them down. The pause menu tracks which ones you’re missing and they’re fairly easy to spot, either being out in the open, across short jumps, or accessed via obvious alternative paths. Teleporters transport you across levels, pressure switches lower gates, raise paths, or open doors, and you must occasionally race from a switch to a door before it closes. Turok is littered with aggravating platforming challenges that start relatively safe (you’ll drop to water or a lower level if you fall and must climb back up to try again) but quickly become very tricky as you’re jumping to moving or extremely narrow platforms over lava or bottomless pits. The longer you hold the jump button, the further Turok jumps, and it can help to look down before you jump, but these platforms and columns eventually become so small that it’s very anxiety-inducing jumping to them. When on the Ruins level, you must jump to ledges so narrow they’re barely distinguishable from the rest of the environment or you must take running jumps from tiny platforms and will be frustrated by failure. The Lost Land sees you hopping to stone columns that rise and fall, making jumps difficult to judge while the Ancient City are more labyrinthine, offering higher paths and tunnels to goodies or shortcuts, and containing various doors and narrow corridors where enemies skulk around every corner. Blue portals also spawn all over, transporting you to relatively safe bonus areas where you must hop to or cross various platforms to stock up on ammo or Life Force points, though these are entirely optional.

Presentation:
I remember the original Turok. I think everyone had a copy on Nintendo 64 back in the day. It was a foggy mess whose environments popped in from the murk and your vision was largely obscured when underwater. Thankfully, this remaster fixes most of that but there’s still a lot of fog. The Treetop Village employs it as a gameplay mechanic, however, as you’re high up in villages built around giant trees, watching as gigantic Brontosauruses stomp around you. Fog also obscures much of the Ruins level to make jumps to narrow ledges or wooden platforms even more troublesome and there’s a murky haze in the Lost Land that’s explained by the volcanic activity. Surprisingly, and disappointingly, there’s no story in Turok, not even some text setting the stage. You get no in-game context behind anything, no ending beyond watching Tal’Set escape the Campaigner’s exploding citadel, and no introductory sequence beyond Tal’Set dramatically shooting an arrow at the title screen. Even the old instruction manual was light on context, which is a shame as even Doom had some text to set the scene. You rarely see Tal’Set during gameplay unless you mess up, then you’re treated to various fun death animations (if enabled), but you do hear him grunt and scream when attacked and loudly proclaim “I am Turok!” when you earn an extra life. Turok’s music is a largely forgettable mixture of tribal sounds, ambient noises, and thumping bass. I did like the growls and screeches of unseen animals lurking in the jungle and appreciated the sounds of enemies teleporting in, which kept me moving at a steady (if often frantic) pace. You’ll often see wild boar, deer, and monkeys wandering levels that can be attacked for extra health, fish in the water, and blood will splatter with each attack. Enemies have some fun death animations, like slowly choking to death as arterial spray juts from the necks or blowing to pieces when you fire grenades at their bodies.

Sadly, the lack of story and visual variety drags the game down and the visuals remain as murky as ever.

Sadly, there’s not much visual variety to Turok. You start in the hub, which is a dense, linear jungle area consisting of various crumbling ruins, water pools, narrow canyons, and bottomless spits. This leads directly into the first level, the Jungle, which is mostly the same and establishes that you must find keys, press switches, and defeat waves of respawning enemies. The Jungle introduces log bridges, abandoned settlements, and that the Tek Arrows can blow up certain areas. You’ll venture into narrow, twisting caverns, wade or dive into water, and hop across some simple gaps as a taste for things to come. The Ancient City takes the jungle assets and muddies them up, placing more emphasis on vaguely Aztec ruins, temples, and structures made from dilapidated stone. The Ruins up the emphasis on platform as the level is based almost entirely around a cliffside area, with twisting log platforms winding around stone columns, narrow rope bridges threaten to drop you to your death, a maze of pillars, and various waterfalls and flooded areas. When in the Catacombs, things become more restrictive and maze-like as you avoid boiling tar and press switches to open various doors, dodging blade gears, raiding tombs, and being surprised when the brutish Pur-Lins burst through the stone walls. This ancient tomb also sees stone panels breathe fire at you, has you climbing blocky walls, and sees you pressing a specific switch to drain water and open a new area. The Treetop Village was surprisingly impressive, despite the fog, as you’re suspended high above, fighting past wooden huts, making numerous jumps to narrow cliff ledges, and battling waves of enemies against a thunderstorm backdrop. The Lost Land is a largely barren hellscape full of volcanos, lava pits, and the Campaigner’s heavily guarded, futuristic citadel. This level features some of the trickiest platforming as you hop to floating platforms and to extremely narrow columns, and narrow corridors within the highly advanced citadel that represents the game’s busiest location. It all gets a bit samey, however, as the same jungle environments, caverns, cliffsides, and ruins and recycled across each area, meaning many levels lack a strong visual identity.

Enemies and Bosses:
The Campaigner’s forces are many and varied, ranging from humanoid to dinosaur to alien warriors. You’ll encounter aggressive natives who wield knifes, pistols, spears, and shotguns, with some tossing grenades or unloading with assault rifles. These are upgraded to cyborgs in the Final Confrontation, with their shotgun-wielding commanders being notably durable. Demonic humanoids also appear, with their priests being particularly annoying as they launch fireballs and lightning and can take a lot of shots to put down, while their skeleton-painted minions spit darts. Acid-spitting, man-eating plants later appear, extremely annoying beetles and gremlin-like Lurkers hop around the various caverns, and giant prehistoric dragonflies flitter about in the skies of the Lost Land. You’ll also encounter giant grabs in the fetid sewers of the Campaigner’s citadel, giant burrowing sandworms, and heavily armoured battle robots who boast minigun arms and quad rocket launchers. The hulking Pur-Lins are smartly positioned like mini bosses, dropping in to guard keys, switches, or gates. They also produce a shockwave, launch fireballs, and tumble into you when downed so it’s best to keep your distance, especially if you’re near a pit. Various cybernetically enhanced, frog-like aliens also appear, firing plasma shots, flying with a jetpack, and occasionally initiating a self-destruct. You’ll also encounter voracious Utahraptors who bite, swipe, and jump kick you, slower Dimetrodons wander about snapping at your heels, and enemies will ride Triceratopses in the Lost Land. Like later Dimetrodons and Utahraptors, these are cybernetically enhanced, boasting miniguns and grenade launchers, which can make these usually simple (if annoying) enemies much more formidable as they’re packing serious heat!

The gigantic and powerful bosses are impressive but sadly in short number.

Although Turok boasts eight levels, there are only five bosses to contend with so the battle robots, Pur-Lins, and Triceratopses often act as mid- or end guardians. When you do fight bosses, they boast a health bar and you respawn in the boss arena if you die, which is super helpful. You may encounter some bosses out of order depending on what keys you have, but you’ll most likely fight the Longhunter first. This is a two-stage battle that first sees you attacked by two Humvees that race around firing machine guns and rockets and ram into you if you get too close. Once they’re gone, the Longhunter rolls about firing plasma shots and tossing a boomerang-like razor blade that’s tricky to avoid. Oddly, the gigantic Mantis was a far easier fight despite it being much larger and having better attacks. The Mantis leaps about, destroying walls and spitting corrosive acid that lingers for a short time. It also swipes with its bladed arms and eventually flies about dropping gunk or scrambling about on the ceiling and firing explosive shots, though I did pretty good with the minigun and pulse rifle. After clearing out the aliens, cyborgs, and hulking robots littered throughout the Campaigner’s futuristic citadel, players area teleported to a circular arena and fight a titanic, cybernetically enhanced Tyrannosaurs rex named “Thunder”. A fast, huge enemy, Thunder quickly stomps towards you and will decimate your health if it bites you. If you stay back, Thunder produces a shockwave off a leap and breathes fire, eventually sweeping the arena with is laser eye as your attacks destroy its mechanical parts. Thankfully, you’re given a save point and loads of gear prior to battling the Campaigner, who frantically teleports about, hides behind an energy shield, and unleashes a barrage of enemy projectiles. He also attacks with an axe-like club and can restrict your more powerful weapons if they’re used, though the Chronoscepter drains huge chunk of his help if you have it and if you can get a clear shot.

Additional Features:
There are a paltry ten Achievements up for grabs in this remaster of Turok, with one being awarded each time you defeat a boss and when you complete the game on any difficulty. You’ll get another if you collect enough Mortal Wounds, another for killing three enemies at once with the knife (I recommended doing this against the beetles), and another for clearing the “Training” mode and assembling the Chronoscepter. Although the game has four difficulty modes, you’re better off sticking to “Easy” unless you really need a greater challenge, and there’s little point in jumping into the blue bonus portals unless you’re really low on resources. There are a bunch of secret areas to discover, which generally yield additional health or weapons, and finding them all grants you another Achievement. Though there’s no multiplayer option, there is a time trial mode that gifts another Achievement if you beat it fast enough. You can input a bunch of cheat codes to gain infinite lives, all weapons and keys, big head mode, invincibility, and more, however they disable the Achievements.

Final Thoughts:
Like I said, it seemed as though everyone owned Turok: Dinosaur Hunter back in the day, and that includes me. However, this is the first time I’ve ever legitimately beaten the game much less played through it from start to finish. I used to just mess around with cheats, blowing enemies up with the Chronoscepter and skipping to the bosses, so it was nice to finally sit down and play it. Sadly, Turok hasn’t aged well, despite the graphical and performance enhancements made to this remaster. It’s a very barebones FPS, even with the emphasis on exploration to find all the keys and Chronoscepter pieces. You’ll mostly see the same enemies in every level, the same assets recycled into tougher challenges, and repeat the same gameplay loop of shooting, pressing switches, and teleporting about until you reach the end. The game is disappointingly light on story, even for an FPS title or an early Nintendo 64 release, and I found myself holding back from using most of the heavier weapons as I wanted to save them for the bosses, only for bosses to be extremely rare and such bullet sponges that you quickly exhaust your best ammo. I really liked the cybernetic dinosaurs and wish these had been more prominent, with less humanoid enemies and more prehistoric or alien enemies to lean into the game’s unique setting. The environments also really needed more visual variety. The jungle setting and Aztec ruins are fine for the first two levels, and I loved the atmosphere of the Treetop Village, but the futuristic, alien aesthetic should’ve been incorporated more prominently, perhaps with crashed alien craft or outposts set up by the Campaigner in each area. The lack of multiplayer is a surprising omission given how popular “Deathmatches” were back then and the focus on FPS platforming really drags Turok down. It’s a fairly unique gimmick, for sure, but FPS platforming is never fun and some of the jumps are ridiculously finnicky and frustrating. Therefore, while Turok: Dinosaur Hunter may be a Nintendo 64 classic and have a place in the history books, it’s largely inferior to other FPS titles from yesteryear even with its bizarre enemies and setting.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Did you own Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64 back in the day or was this your first time discovering it? Did you ever read the Valiant comics? Were you also annoyed by the finnicky, first-person platforming? Did you also find the levels lacking in visual variety? Did you ever construct the Chronoscepter and defeat the Campaigner? Which Turok videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating Dinosaur Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and dinosaurs in general, leave them below and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more Turok content.

Game Corner [Turtle Tuesday]: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed (Xbox Series X)

Dr. K1 Comment

Since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) first appeared in May 1984, they’ve achieved worldwide success thanks to many influential cartoons, videogames, and action figures.

Released: 18 October 2024
Developer: Aheartfulofgames
Metacritic Scores: 66 / 4.6

Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S

Quick Facts:
Following Michael Bay’s monstrous reimaginings, Nickelodeon partnered with Seth Rogan and Jeff Rowe on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Rowe, 2023), a visually impressive box office success. Mutant Mayhem was accompanied by this tie-in videogame, which was marketed as a direct follow-up and bolstered by downloadable content (DLC). While the visuals and writing were praised, the game’s performance was heavily criticised.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed is a direct follow-up to the surprisingly energetic and entertaining 2023 animated movie of a similar name and directly follows the events of that film, with mutants like the TMNT living freely in New York City. However, when the malevolent Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI) sends mutants into a frenzy with a pheromone harvested from anthropomorphic chameleon Cammy, players must journey through the sewers, subways, and rooftops to subdue the threat and find a cure. Unlike most TMNT videogames, Mutants Unleashed only offers single or two-player co-op and, as far as I can see, there are no team-based attacks on offer (though you can compete for letter grades). The TMNT all share the same basic controls and are somewhat differentiated by their weapons and gameplay. Raphael, for example, seems slower and has a shorter reach, Michelangelo seems much faster, Donatello has great reach, and Leonardo seems like an all-rounder. Combat is extremely simple, with players unleashing basic combos by tapping X (or holding it for a stronger attack) and performing a stronger dash attack with Y. You can string these buttons together for more elaborate combos, but mashing X or Y generally does the job. Players jump with A, double jumping by pressing it twice, and run by holding the Right Trigger. This allows you to wall run, hop to pipes to skate across gaps or areas, and perform additional attacks. You hold B to block or tap it when indicated to dodge roll from enemy attacks, unleashing a powerful counter with either X or Y (though these can leave you vulnerable). As ever, pizza restores your health, though you must restart the mission if you fall in battle as there’s only ever a checkpoint before a boss battle, which can get aggravating.

Mindless combat, aggravating controls, and frustrating hit detection drag this game down.

Pizza and other temporary power-ups, like fizzy drinks that increase your attack power, are dropped by enemies or found in destructible objects. You can hit explosive barrels to damage enemies (though these also blow up in your face!), knock them off rooftops and into water (both of which damage you as the TMNT can’t swim!), and use environmental hazards like speeding subway trains to hurt enemies. As you complete missions and collect VHS tapes, you’ll earn experience points (XP) to spend upgrading characters in their sewer lair, adding additional moves to their arsenal. You can also increase their maximum health, their damage, and how fast and long the assist gauge raises by finding hidden ooze canisters. You can also find arcade tokens to spend on single-use items that, for example, refill your health when it’s drained but, to get the most out of each character, you must chat to various non-playable characters (NPCs) to offer encouragement, guest star on podcasts, and complete combat and time trial missions for additional XP and rewards. As you dish out damage, the assist gauge fills and allows you to call in another character to assist you using the Left Bumper, either by attacking enemies or spawning pizza and fizzy drinks. I found these extremely temperamental as most have a short range, cutscenes cancel them out, and you must smash crates to get the power-ups rather than them just appearing. Donnie, Mikey, and Raph also have unique special abilities: Donnie stuns enemies with a camera flash, Mikey automatically twirls his nunchaku, and Raph briefly enters “Rage Mode” after a successful dodge and counterattack. Again, I had trouble with these, and they weren’t as intuitive as I’d like. The game is also extremely finnicky with its lock-on and camera, which makes platforming a chore, combat a hectic mess at times, and often sees you taking a plummet or being bashed about and forced to frantically mash B to get up before you’re stun locked.

Alongside the endless combat, you’ll be exploring the same locations helping NPCs with their troubles.

Mutants Unleashed uses an odd time-based mechanic where some missions must be completed within a certain number of days. Time passes as you chat with NPCs and complete tasks, like running obstacles courses to deliver pizzas for Bebop, Rocksteady, and Ray Fillet, battling enemy waves as part of Splinter’s training regime, and hunting down “contagious” enemies. I’m not sure what the penalty is if you miss the deadline for a mission as I completed them all on time, but it was frustrating being limited by this mechanic. Most of these sub-missions involve revisiting the same areas and battling the same enemies but in different configurations and contexts, though you do unlock additional apps for your smartphone, such as a monster finding game and fun stickers to virtually place on people’s heads! When in story-based missions, you quickly see everything Mutants Unleashed has to offer as you visit the same locations over and over, sometimes at night or in reverse, with little variation beyond tougher enemies. You can make enemies more manageable by passing time on the world map and even run past most of them unless you’re forced into a fight. Environmental hazards like electrical pylons and live wires, giant fans, sticky oil, and moving or bouncy platforms can really mess up your combat especially as it’s easy to get snagged on the environment. Occasionally, the mindless action is broken up by the odd zip wire or autoscrolling section, with you often battling through (and on the roof of) subway trains or hopping to various vehicles on a busy highway (extra dangerous given the janky camera and controls!) You’ll hop to submerged shipping containers (some of which sink), run across collapsible wooden planks, jump to rooftops and giant fans over dangerous sewer water, and occasionally chase the TMNT’s infected mutant allies (though this is merely a ploy to lead you to the same platforming and combat sections). Mutants Unleashed can be surprisingly frustrating even when you’re at full power. The TMNT can be pummelled to death quite easily if you’re not careful and the lack of checkpoints gets especially frustrating in the late game, where enemies are naturally more formidable.

Presentation:
Mutants Unleashed does a fantastic job of mirroring the art style and action of Mutant Mayhem, a fact helped by the four leads being voiced by the same teenage voice actors from the movie. The graphics adopt a sketchbook-like, cel-shaded style that mimics the unique presentation of the film and adds some interesting touches to the action, such as scribbles for shadows and character outlines when they’re obscured. This comes to a head in the endgame when Cammy riles the “Mewbies” into a mob, with the rioting crowd represented by shifting, distorted, potentially 2D art, which is a nice touch. Comic book style sound effects and cutaways add to the combat, though the voice samples do get quite repetitive. I did like that the TMNT chat with each other and their allies to progress the plot, though I wasn’t expecting the game to focus so heavily on NPC interaction. Each character has an NPC they interact with alongside the team helping their other allies in various ways. Leo gets leadership and self-confidence pointers from shifty influencer Toby, Raph helps a disabled swimmer get back on form, Mikey guests on a podcast, and Donnie helps a young, drone enthusiast. You also snap pictures of graffiti and learn about art from Mondo Gecko, help budding reporter April O’Neil chase leads, watch movies with Splinter, and play dance rhythm games (in cutscenes…) with Wingnut. Each area changes as you progress and explore, with different NPCs in the background or changing entirely, such as scientist Sai Modi being forced from his laboratory and Bebop and the others temporarily relocating their pizza business. The TMNT have some fun banter with each other, with Raph surprising the others with his knowledge of various animals after binge-watching nature documentaries and the others mocking Leo for his crush on April. Mutants Unleashed is surprisingly long, too, with a lot of cutscenes to sit through (which you can thankfully skip), which is very unusual for a videogame tie-in to a movie.

Although the game captures the aesthetic of the movie, its locations are extremely repetitive.

Sadly, as good as the presentation is, it’s very visually repetitive. Between missions, you wander about the TMNT’s cramped sewer lair, upgrading characters or engaging with Splinter, before choosing your next mission from the world map. Almost every mission has you venturing to the city streets from either the sewers or the subway, hopping across various rooftops, or visiting the docks. These areas have many variations, with the subways tunnels sometimes being active, flooded, or you fighting through moving trains and the rooftops being at different times of the day, but it all gets very old very quickly. Sometimes, you revisit an area backwards (meaning you start at where you exited before and head right instead of left) or at different times of the day, or tougher enemies and new hazards appear. These are usually giant fans that blow you into the water, bouncing washing lines, or more water and bottomless pits. Areas are pretty well detailed, for the most part, with the city streets being an obvious standout. You’ll see businesses, graffiti, alleyways, overground trains, and sewer pipes all around and it can be fun veering off the painfully linear path to explore or wasting time in the skate park. Some missions see you stuck in claustrophobic interiors, such as the abandoned movie theatre, the cramped shopping mall, or the hazardous TCRI facility, where pistons threaten to crush you or push you into spiked walls. Other times, you’re attacking generators to briefly disable electrical hazards around construction sites, desperately avoiding the rushing tarmac on the highway, or clambering to piles of shipping containers or disused boats. Mutants Unleashed eventually adds a bit more variety, such as snow or you battling across the wreckage of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the endgame, you venture into TCRI airships, grinding around the wings and smashing consoles inside, before storming their main facility, battling hordes of the game’s worst enemies and smashing power nodes to stop them pumping out the madness-inducing pheromone.

Enemies and Bosses:
Mutants Unleashed has you striking down waves of Mewbies, bizarre anthropomorphic animals driven crazy by TCRI’s pheromone. While you are forced to fight waves of them, as indicated by the anime-like cutaways and annoying focus on nearby groups, others can simply be avoided (which I would recommend). Although the same Mewbies pop up all throughout the game, each has different variants and they’re all aggravating in different ways. Crabapults are the most common, weakest enemy and even they can protect against your attacks by hiding in the bins strapped to their backs and toss rubbish from a distance that always seems to hit! Later, defeating them sees a smaller variant linger about, which was very frustrating as they also always seemed to do damage. Rumblebees are also very common and can be tricky to hit with your mid-air attacks. They swoop at you, attack with their boxing gloves, and later swing chainsaws or emit a damaging gas cloud and even explode upon defeat! The luchador-like El Hippo takes quite a pounding before going down and charges up a punch or especially annoying charge that send you flying, or performs a belly drop that homes in on you to make dodging it even more frustrating. Fin Harris attack with tridents, charging a dash and sometimes protecting themselves with an electrical field, while the bulky Eel-A-Watts also employ a body slam alongside a devastating laser cannon! Zebrakens can be ridiculously annoying as they can snag you with their extendable, crab-like pincer; Rock N Moles pop up from below, sometimes sporting drill-like noses or unleashing a soundwave; and Roller Blade mantises quickly dash about on roller skates. I found the worst enemies were the Roaster Fish and Maul Tusks. Roaster Fish weild flamethrower-like blowtorches and nail guns that constantly knocked me out of the air, sent me flying, or hit no matter where I was; and they teleport, too! Maul Tusks are mutant snails that swing massive mallets to decimate your health bar or unleash a barrage of rockets, sometimes being protected by forcefields and fought in small areas where you either can’t dodge or get snagged on the environment!

Bosses can be an uphill battle thanks to some odd perspectives and cheap exploits.

Despite Mutants Unleashed featuring a world map and many side missions, the story follows a linear path, and you battle the TMNT’s crazed mutant friends in a set order, often after chasing them or cleaning up their messes. As is common in TMNT videogames, your first boss battle is against the duo of Bebop and Rocksteady, who take it in turns battling you in a mosh pit. Rocksteady tries to gore you, though gets stunned if you trick him into running into the walls, as Bebop tosses grenades from the DJ deck, while Bebop fires a laser from his ghetto blaster and tosses those same grenades as Rocksteady fires flames. After besting both, they attack together, which can be a tough fight even with pizzas being flung into the arena (I recommend focusing on Rocksteady first). The first fight against Genghis Frog is merely a teaser as he quickly flees after a short battle. When you fight him in the water treatment facility, his axe game is much improved, with him swinging it wildly and in an overhead arc. When he hops to the background, you must trick him into snagging explosive barrels with his tongue and pummel him when he’s stunned. Leatherhead was a much trickier boss as you must sneak around her lair from a quasi-overhead perspective, avoiding making noise or being spotted or she basically immediately kills you with her shotgun. Instead, you must follow glowing cables to a generator that must be attacked to temporarily blind her, and then do this again but without visual indicators. When you finally confront Wingnut at the cinema, she’s fought on a 2.5D plane before the movie screen and attacks from above, swooping low before landing and firing energy waves both high and low. After enough hits, she adds a bombardment of flaming projectiles to her arsenal, but her attacks are easily telegraphed so she’s not too difficult to beat if you time your jumps properly.

Turbo Cammy represents the game’s toughest, cheapest boss challenge due to some awful mechanics.

When Mikey also turns feral, he’s temporarily removed from the playable roster and you must track him to the city streets. Although he’s fast and seems to boast all his regular attacks, Mikey was the easiest boss battle and went down in no time. At first, this is true for Cammy, who you fight a few times amidst the rioting Mewbies. Each time, I hit her enough for her to flee and tag in her minions, so I never saw her use a single attack. After she joins the TMNT in opposing TCRI, Cammy’s mutated into the far more monstrous and formidable “Turbo Cammy”, who’s fought in three phases (with no checkpoints). Turbo Cammy first attacks with claw swipes, a big stomp, and turns invisible, which is pretty manageable. She then uses her extendable tongue, adds a charge attack, and leaps across the wrecked bridge to crush you. Finally, she spews ooze, spitting at you, and adds faster combos to her arsenal. Luckily, your allies toss pizza to help, but this was a gruelling boss battle as I kept getting stun locked, caught on the environment, or tossed about due to the dodgy lock-on gimmick! After Cammy seemingly dies, Leo’s ally Toby is revealed to be a traitor and is fought in a giant, distinctly Krang-like mech aboard a TCRI airship. This was a much easier boss battle as it’s ridiculously easy to avoid his missile barrage, sweeping lasers, and jet powered drop. Even when Toby regenerates his health for the second phase and adds more lasers, a flying attack, and a punch combo, it’s super easy to get behind him and pummel him into submission, especially if your TMNT are fully upgraded.

Additional Features:
Twenty-seven Achievements are up for grabs in Mutants Unleashed, with one awarded every time you defeat a boss, upgrade a character, or reach maximum friendship with each NPC. You’ll snag another if you find all the “DigiMutants” using the smartphone app, photograph every piece of graffiti, and locate all the ooze cannisters to max out your health, damage, and assist gauge. Even playing casually, you should manage to complete all these Achievements on a single playthrough, though it was surprising to not see extra Achievements for playing with a friend or defeating thousands of enemies. Beating the game unlocks “New Game+”, which carries over all your skills and makes the enemies even tougher, though I wouldn’t recommend playing this game more than once (specially as there’s no Achievement for clearing New Game+). By inputting codes into the TMNT’s computer, you unlock additional skins that see the characters transformed into action figures or wear their casual clothes, and extra skins can be bought as DLC to turn them into Metalheads or their counterparts from the 1980s cartoon and original comics. The “Fresh Meat Mission Pack” offers additional missions, featuring three new enemies, a “Horde Mode”, and a new boss battle against Scumbug, though there also aren’t any Achievements tied to the DLC so you’re probably better off saving your cash.

Final Thoughts:
I was expecting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed to be another arcade-style beat-‘em-up that simply saw one to four players battling waves of mutants through the sewers and streets of New York City. Instead, the mission-based narrative and focus on side missions and upgrading the TMNT has more in common with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (PlatinumGames, 2016) than the simple, mindless simplicity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Konami, 1991). On the one hand, the game is thus far longer and more involved than I would expect from a videogame based on a movie, cramming in so much story and so many character interactions that it starts to become tedious. It feels unfair to criticise this as it’s clearly not a cheap cash-in like other tie-in videogames, but Mutants Unleashed wears out its welcome very quickly. The basic combat is fine, but it’s thrown all out of whack when you sprinkle in platforming or precarious environments to fight in. It’s especially aggravating that the TMNT take damage when they fall in water, that they can easily get caught on the environment and pummelled by enemy hordes, and that the game’s so stingy with checkpoints. I didn’t mind the NPC side missions, but most are just cutscenes or reskinned areas you’ve already visited a dozen times. The deadline gimmick seemed an arbitrary way to extend the game’s life, as was forcing you to repeatedly do the same tasks for basically the same rewards. While the game faithfully captures the look, humour, and atmosphere of the movie, I felt no sense of accomplishment from upgrading the characters, barely cared about the NPCs, and was extremely disappointed that the 16-bit titles have more variety in their environments. The bosses could be fun but were also extremely cheap at times due to the dodgy controls, janky camera, and awful collision detection. With little incentive to replay the game and no collectibles or unlockables worth shouting about, I’d definitely say you’re better off avoiding Mutants Unleashed and sticking to the classic TMNT videogames as they might be short, but at last they’re fun!

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Were you also disappointed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed despite how long the story mode was? Did you enjoy how it mimicked the presentation and continued the story of the movie? How invested were you in the NPC’s problems? Which of the bosses was your favourite? Did you also get frustrated by the controls and collision detection? Which TMNT videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating the TMNT this month? Tell me what you think in the comments and go donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest another TMNT videogame for me to review.