Growl
Arcade
Nostalgia Factor:
I have no nostalgia attached to this game. In fact, I didn't even know of this game's existence until just a few days ago. I saw some screenshots of it and thought "whoa, this looks awesome", so I decided to check it out.
Growl came out in 1990, when I was eight years old. I would have absolutely loved this game when I was eight. How did it manage to fly under my radar for 33 whole years? No idea, but let's go ahead and dive into my full review.
Story:
I'm not sure it ever specifies where this game takes place, but judging by the clothing of some characters I am going to say India? Don't quote me on that. You play as one of four different characters. The main character is an Indiana Jones lookalike. The others look like they could have been wrestlers or extras in a Crocodile Dundee movie. Even though this game came out in 1990, it definitely has a very 80s feel to it.
Your ragtag band of roughnecks is called into action to take down an evil group of poachers who are killing and capturing all the exotic wildlife in your vicinity. Lions, monkeys, birds, elephants, even deer. You have to beat the poachers up and free the animals from their cages. Sometimes they'll even join you in battle after you have freed them.
At the end of the game you defeat the poacher king, a weird Penguin-looking guy with Wolverine claws. After you beat him, he morphs into his final form - a giant snake. Beat the snake and you beat the game. Take that, you rotten poachers and your, um, uh... snake morphing leader guy!
Gameplay:
This is really no different from many other beat 'em ups I've played over the years. You walk left to right. You can move up and down on a 3D plane. You fight through waves of enemies by punching them. You can jump. You can jump and kick. You can string together combos. You can pick up things in the environment like barrels and boxes and throw them. All very basic stuff.
This game is a little bit more weapon-oriented than most beat 'em ups. You can pick up machine guns and rocket launchers that will defeat your enemy in a matter of seconds. There are other, more standard weapons like knives, swords, and baseball bats. My favorite was the whip. It's slow, but it is powerful. And because you swing the rope over your head, it hits enemies behind you as well as in front of you. It's quite OP. If you see a whip, you are going to want to grab one.
Action is pretty much the same from beginning to end. Fight through a level, beat the boss. Fight through another level, beat the boss. There is one stage near the end that functions as a 2D platformer of sorts, but it still has that 3D beat 'em up plane of movement. It's weird. I died a bunch of times on this level. I like that they tried something different, although it didn't really work too well. Not that it wrecked the game for me or anything.
Since this is an arcade game, it is designed to keep you pumping quarters into the machine. I don't think the game was particularly difficult until the end. There was that 2D platform level that I just mentioned. The final boss of the game is a major drag as well. There's almost no strategy or rhyme or reason to it. Just mash the attack button and hope you are hitting the right spot on the snake's head. You are going to die quite often. Luckily, I emulated this game, so I didn't have to worry about putting a ton of quarters into the machine. Although the game is relatively short (20 to 25 minutes), you are going to find yourself running out of lives and having to "put a quarter in" pretty regularly.
Graphics:
This is a very fun-looking game. It's not even that the graphics are too outstanding or anything. They look like your average beat 'em up graphics. It's the theme that makes this game special. The Indiana Jones meets WWF meets Crocodile Dundee characters, the jungle setting, the diverse enemy types, the crazy bosses, the animals that fight alongside you in battle. It's just all so fun to look at. I like the old school Batman-ish text that pops up when there is an explosion or something chaotic happening onscreen. Bam, pow, shbroom!!!!
Sound:
I'm a game reviewer. Every game I play, I know I'm going to have to talk about the game's sound. You'd think I would have learned to pay attention to it by now. But I haven't.
I remember nothing, and I mean nothing about this game's music or sound effects, and I just played through it last night. That's either a good thing, meaning it fit in so well with the gameplay and the graphics that I didn't even notice it, or it is a bad thing, meaning it was so forgettable I don't remember a single thing about it.
I'll let you decide which one is the truth.
Overall:
Growl is a fun beat 'em up. Nothing more, nothing less. If you like this type of game, you'll have a good time with it. If you don't, this game will do nothing to change your mind on the genre.
I think it is worth it, if only for the fun theme, the various weapons, and the overall absurdity of the game's story. I mean, how many games have you joining forces with a stampeding herd of deer as you fight hookers and enemies that look like they walked straight out of the Temple of Doom? Not many. Gameplay wise, Growl doesn't do much to elevate it past other beat 'em ups of this era, like Final Fight, Double Dragon, or the TMNT games. It sure does try, though.
I want to rate the game higher on its wackiness alone, but due to its short length and its "been there, done that" gameplay, I'll have to settle on a B-.
THE GRADE:
B-
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