Video Game Review: Taz-Mania

Taz-Mania

Sega Genesis

The year: 1992. I was ten years old when Taz-Mania hit the shelves. This was a game that I really, really wanted and would stop at nothing to get. It looked super cool, super fun. The graphics looked amazing. Plus I had always really loved the character of the Tasmanian Devil. It seemed natural that this would be a game I would be excited about.

My mom took me to Funco Land where you get to try a game before you buy it. I didn't even need to play it five minutes to know that I was going to love the game. I took it home, and played it obsessively for weeks on end. I mastered this game. I made it my bitch.

But eventually I moved on from this game. Over the years I ended up giving away or trading in most of my Genesis games. Now here we stand in 2017. This game has been out for 25 years now. This makes me feel very old. But nostalgic, too. I have been on a kick lately of playing older games from my childhood and then posting my thoughts about them on this blog. So when I got my hands on a copy of Taz-Mania (one of many Genesis games currently loaned to me from my cousin Ryan) of course I was going to want to play it and review it here.

My initial thought was that I was going to breeze through the game in one try and have my review up by the end of the day. Boy was I wrong about that. This game is much more difficult than I remember it being. The problem is not that the game is consistently difficult. In fact, many of the levels are quite easy. But there are a few particularly difficult and annoying stages that make you want to throw your controller at the television in anger. But of course, we don't do that because we're better than that. Right?

Before we talk about the stages I have in mind, I will fill you in on the basic premise of the game. Remember Taz, the Tasmanian Devil from the cartoon? Well, Taz's father is telling his kids about an ancient land with giant eggs that could feed a family for an entire month. Or maybe it was a year? Something like that. I forget the exact amount of time, but you get the picture. Taz of course immediately runs off in excitement to search for one of these eggs.

The game begins. The first thing you notice: Taz-Mania is a 2D side scroller. If you have ever played a game like Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog, you know what that means. And if you don't, I don't know what to say to the likes of you.

Controlling Taz, you must work your way through each level. You will notice between stages a map screen of the progress you are making. Ancient, giant mystical eggs, here we come!

Taz jumps. He spins. He eats. He can pick things up and throw things. He consumes chili peppers which allow him to spit fire. These are your basic actions in the game. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the game's controls. Moving and jumping can feel a bit stiff. I got the hang of it relatively quickly, but I still had to burn a continue on the game's very first level. LOL. That never happens to me. I almost reset the game but my lazy ass couldn't be moved from the couch to hit the button.

So I kept on. I actually ended up doing okay until I hit something I had long forgotten about. The dreaded mine cart level. I don't know why game makers always have to torment us with overly difficult mine cart levels. As soon as I jumped in that thing and crashed into a barricade, all these horrible memories came rushing back to me.

This level is a departure from all of its preceding levels. You begin it on foot, as usual. But less than 10 seconds into the stage you are forced to jump into a mine cart. And it is off to the races. There are barricades along the way you must avoid. You do this by pulling a switch that raises the cart high off the tracks. But then you have to make sure you lower yourself or you will hit the ceiling. There are also gaps in the tracks. You either have to go super fast or slow down to make it over the gaps safely.

The whole level moves really, really fast. And there is no margin for error. Prepare to die while playing this. Many, many times. The whole thing is trial and error. There is a pattern but you must memorize it. And the only way to memorize it is to keep trying again and again and again and again....

Eventually after about 4 or 5 complete game play-throughs I finally did it. I thought I could rest easy because the rest of the game would be a cakewalk compared to that. Nope.

The next level is just as hard. You are still underground, still in the mines. You must navigate a maze of tunnels using an old elevator system. The problem is - some of these elevators give out and fall, plunging you toward your death with little to no warning.

And there are also some of the hardest jumps in platform gaming history here in this stage. Having to jump from swinging cage to swinging cage at high speeds is extremely nerve wracking. There are several death defying jumps in this stage. One mistake and back to the checkpoint you go. I failed miserably on several more complete game play-throughs.

Finally, something clicked and I finally was able to squeak through the stage. I nearly had a heart attack about 8 times with all the dangerous jumps I had to complete, but I did it. The rest of the game from there was easy-peasy.

This is a pretty fun and imaginative platforming game. I loved it as a kid. I enjoyed playing it as an adult as well. Overall the game is a decent challenge, although most of the challenge came from the mine levels. But it has great sound, great graphics. Its funny. Some of the levels are an absolute blast too. I was always partial to the stages where you have to jump from log to log in the river. And the stage where your spin move takes out an entire tribe of those pink creature things. I always loved doing that and I don't know why.

As much as I liked it way back when, and as much as I enjoyed playing it now, I realize that the game is no all time classic. It is fun and all, but it has flaws. Its not easy to pick up and play immediately and get the hang of. Some of the levels are a little unfairly challenging. It is short.

It just doesn't have "it". Whatever it is that certain classics like Ducktales and Super Mario Bros have. It is fun and all, but ultimately a tad forgettable. I liked it and I will give it a decent score. But now that I am done playing I will likely never pick it up again.

Good game? Yes. Great game? No.

Overall:

B