Video Game Review #550: Santa Claus Junior

Santa Claus Junior

Game Boy Color

Before playing:

This is a somewhat odd choice for me to play through and review. Truth be told, I had never so much as heard of this game until just a few days ago. I saw a screenshot of the game, and it crossed my mind that maybe I could play it for the holidays. I don't play too many Christmas themed games so I thought why not?

So I set aside some time and I played through it. How would I feel about the game? That's what we are here to find out.

Story:

This game does not do a good job of telling you what's going on. You turn on the game. There's no text. There's just some random images floating across the screen. Looks like Santa Claus is shot down by a witch and then stuffed into a bottle. Your character, an unassuming kid playing a handheld video game, puts on a red suit vaguely resembling a Santa suit. And then bam, you are 2D platforming.

It's your job to right through the levels until you get to the end of the game, where you defeat the witch and save Santa.

Gameplay:

This is an extraordinarily basic 2D platformer. You must make it through a series of stages, collecting items and jumping on your enemies' heads until you reach the level exit. There is no attack button, just a jump button. So all you do is move and jump. Most of the game revolves around precision platforming and not falling into bottomless pits. Combat is a small part of the formula. There are enemies to fight, yes, but they can almost all be defeated by simply jumping on their heads. You will take a lot of damage because some of them act erratically. Luckily, the game is pretty forgiving with both the health items and the extra lives. 

Once you make it through about 25 or so platforming stages, you fight your only boss battle of the game against the witch - the game's final foe. She moves around the screen quickly and fires projectiles at you as she goes. You have to jump on her head a certain number of times until she is defeated. In a game that is not too overly challenging, she was one of the most difficult things about the game.

I'm going to struggle to post too much about this game. Because truth be told, it really is not that interesting. I've seen and played through dozens of platformers better than this in my lifetime. It brings almost nothing to the table. It's not a bad game, it is just so incredibly basic. The Christmas theme could not even keep me interested, because the game is barely Christmasy at all. The password screens and the fact that you collect candy canes are really the only Christmasy things about the game.

I suppose there are some things to like here, such as the abundance of hidden areas and many opportunities to collect items and bonuses. I just find it really hard to get excited about anything this game does.

Graphics:

This game does nothing special visually. It's all very basic looking. Your character and many of the enemies are very generic. I suppose it is nice watching the Christmas theme get darker and darker the closer you get to the end of the game. The levels leading up to the witch get magical, dark, and a little trippy. That said, the highlight of the game visually is probably the cutscenes. They look decent. 

Sound:

For a Christmas themed game, I expected more Christmas music. You hear a little bit at the end, but almost nothing as you are playing. The stage music is okay, I guess, but just as generic as the game's visual presentation. The music that plays during the intro is "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star." Would it hurt them to get some Christmas music in the game?

Overall:

I don't hate this game, but I will never play it again. It does nothing I haven't seen or experienced a hundred times before. And it doesn't do anything special. Maybe if they had pushed the Christmas theme harder with more Christmas music and Christmas themed stages and characters, it would have made the experience a bit more memorable.

If you have never played this game, I can't give it a recommend. It takes about an hour and a half of your time that you can spend elsewhere. Not to say the game is bad, it just brings NOTHING to the table. It's almost admirable how dedicated to mediocrity it is.

As much as I wanted to like it, Santa Claus Junior comes in at below average for me. Not terrible and not completely failing, but undoubtedly below average. 

THE GRADE:

D+

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

Re-Review #18: Resident Evil 4 (remake)

Resident Evil 4

PlayStation 4

For the original review, click here!

I don't re-review games too often. In fact, I have not re-reviewed a game since I played through Uncharted 2 about ten months ago. But I have been in a gaming rut lately. I haven't been "feeling" anything I've been playing. Titles like Yooka-Laylee, Breath of Fire, and Syphon Filter just have not been able to snag my full attention. So I thought I'd put those games on hold and take a quick detour and play through the Resident Evil 4 remake again. Maybe it will get me out of that rut and back into the swing of things again.

When I first played this game, I enjoyed it. I even gave it an A-, which is a pretty good score coming from me. But I also indicated in my review that the game was sort of stuck in limbo between being a faithful remake of the original RE4 and being its own separate identity. When Capcom remade Resident Evil 2 and 3, each game was like an all new experience. But this one closely follows the original in some parts, while doing its own thing in others. I personally would have preferred a ground up remake instead of a compromise between the two. As a result, it often made this remake feel completely unnecessary as I was playing through it. That said, RE4 is still a fantastic game and one of my all time favorite titles of all time. So I was not complaining too much.

Coming back to it over a year later, I still feel almost exactly the same way. It's a good game. I enjoyed playing it. Is it as good as the original? No. Why did Capcom feel this remake was necessary when there are titles like Code Veronica and RE:0 just sitting there waiting to be remade? I don't know.

I'm not going to knock the game too much, because it is fun. But if they are going to remake a classic like this, they need to one-up it in every way. And that didn't happen.

Would I recommend this game to people who have not played Resident Evil 4 before? Yeah. I sure would. I'm not sure I can recommend it to people who have played the original though. It just doesn't do enough to set it apart from that game. Give me the original any day of the week.

Again, it is not a bad game. It's just a completely unnecessary game. I feel like I am running out of stuff to say and just repeating myself over and over again. That's okay. This is a re-review. I don't put much thought into these. I'm just going to go ahead and give this game its final score. Again, it will get an A-, which is a great score. It may feel like I'm hating on this game, but I truly do enjoy it.

All right, I am going to log off now. I've reviewed and re-reviewed the original RE4 and now I've done the same to its remake. I am RE4'd out for the foreseeable future. I've basically played the same game four times now since I started this blog. If I feel like playing this game again anytime soon, someone please stop me.

THE GRADE:

A-

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

2024 Movie Rankings: November

I watched ten movies in the month of November. As always, I will briefly run down my experience with each of these movies and pick which five of them will advance to my ultimate year end movie ranking. Four movies this month were Saw movies. Just one left and I will have seen them all.

Here are the ten movies:

Prey

Saw V

Star Trek The Motion Picture

Sleeping with the Enemy

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

A Quiet Place: Day One

As Above, So Below

Saw VI

Saw: The Final Chapter

Jigsaw

Not Moving On:

A Quiet Place: Day One

I've liked the Quiet Place movies in the past, but this one really missed the mark. I found it to be incredibly dull compared to the more tightly paced original movies. Got to wonder what they were thinking here.

Prey

I've watched this movie twice now in my life, and both times it has failed to resonate with me. I know people like this movie but for some reason it just doesn't seem to do anything for me.

Saw V, VI, and The Final Chapter

Bye bye to these Saw movies. I enjoyed all these movies individually, and I am enjoying the series as a whole, but looking back on them, I could not tell you which one was which, or what happened in which movie. They all sort of blend together after a while.

Moving On:

Jigsaw

This is the one Saw movie that moves on this month. I like how it was a reboot of the series after a long absence. It felt a bit more fresh. The big twist that Jigsaw was back kind of blew my mind for a while. I was like HOW could he possibly be alive? Turns out it was a twist I should have seem coming a mile away, but I didn't. Anyway, at least this Saw movie has an identity and stands out from the others.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan

As big of a Trekkie as I am, I am very unfamiliar with the movies based on the Original Series. I've seen all of them, but it has been a long time since I have. I decided to start rewatching them this year. Oddly, I enjoyed The Motion Picture a tiny bit more than Wrath of Khan. I've always found this movie to be a bit overrated in my opinion. But it is still very good. The Motion Picture is slow and deliberate, but it gave me a Dune vibe at times. I liked it.

Sleeping with the Enemy

I remember watching this movie with an ex of mine, and she loved it. It was one of her favorite movies. I haven't seen it since me and her were together - which was over 20 years ago. It was a fun movie to revisit, even if I knew what was going to happen in advance. I've never been a big Julia Roberts fan, but I liked her in this. Her evil husband really knocks it out of the park in this role, too. 

As Above, So Below

This was probably my favorite movie I watched this month. I had never heard of this movie before, but then it suddenly showed up on my Netflix queue as a recommendation. I almost watched it one night, but then decided to pass last minute. The next day, I fired up the next Staff Picks episode in my downloads, and it was about this movie - which I thought was a crazy coincidence. The episode really sold me on it, and I decided to watch it immediately afterwards. And you know what? I thought the movie was great. I'll dive into more detail about it when I do my year end ranking, but this is a serious contender to finish in my top 10.

With these 5 movies advancing, here is a look at the top 55. 11 months down, 1 to go! At the end, we'll have 60 movies - 5 from each month that move on. And then I will rank them from worst to best and determine my favorite. In no particular order, here are the 55 that have moved on so far:

Last Night

The Help

The Greatest Night in Pop

Doctor Sleep

A Star is Born

Mystic River

Stephen King's IT miniseries

Stand By Me

Dune (1984)

Dune: Part One

Dune: Part Two

Legends of the Fall

Cloverfield

Grave of the Fireflies

As Above, So Below

Glass

The Shape of Water

The Menendez Brothers

Milo and Otis

Gerald's Game

Dr. Giggles

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition

Ghost

Milk

Forrest Gump

Platoon

Sleeping with the Enemy

Fried Green Tomatoes

The Four Falls of Buffalo

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Open Water

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Old

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

Bone Tomahawk

Deadpool & Wolverine

Grizzly Man

Manhunter

The Purge

Dumb and Dumber

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The Skeleton Key

The Illusionist

The Prestige

Trauma (2017)

Rear Window

Martyrs (2008)

Jigsaw

Transformers

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition

The Disaster Artist

Eden Lake

Saw

Halloween

Past 2024 rankings:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

2024 Things: November

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024

June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

September 2024

October 2024

11.01: Listened to 2 episodes of Carrier (ep 5 and ep 6). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (ep 47 pt 1). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.07).

11.02: Listened to 1 episode of Carrier (ep 7). Watched 2 episodes of The Amazing Race (13.05 and 13.06). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: The Vigil). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.02). Watched movie: Prey. Watched 1 episode of The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (ep 1). 

11.03: Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (Snatcher). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (As Above, So Below). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 220). Watched movie (As Above, So Below). 

11.04: Listened to 2 episodes of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 413 and 414). Finished video game: Jersey Devil. Listened to 2 episodes of Arcade Attack (ep 184 and 185). Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde podcast (Banjo-Kazooie). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 3). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Parasite Eve). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.03).

11.05: Watched 2 episodes of The Amazing Race (13.07 and 13.08). Watched 1 episode of This is the Zodiac Speaking (1.03). Watched 2 episodes of Big Brother Canada (10.03 and 10.04). 

11.06: Watched movie: Saw V. Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.06). Watched 3 episodes of The Amazing Race (13.09, 13.10, and 13.11). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 221). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.05). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Where's Alicia?).

11.07: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #78). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.5.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.06). Watched movie: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.08). Watched 1 episode of Homicide: Los Angeles (2.01).

11.08: Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.07). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 415). Watched 1 episode of Homicide: Los Angeles (2.02). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: Call of Duty Black Ops 6). Watched 1 episode of The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (ep 2). 

11.09: Watched 1 episode of Homicide: Los Angeles (2.03). Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde podcast (Wario's Woods). Listened to 2 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.7 and 11.8.24 episodes). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.08). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E06). Watched 1 episode of The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox (ep 3). 

11.10: Finished video game: Lego Indiana Jones The Original Adventures. Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping the Stand: The Walk). Watched movie: Star Trek The Motion Picture. Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner 7). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke). Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde podcast (Batman Returns SNES). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Who Can Kill a Child?). Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (T7R#252). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 222). Listened to 1 episode of I Finally Watched (ep 3). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 4). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 186). 

11.11: Watched movie: A Quiet Place Day One. Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.04). Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (The Thing 2002). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 187). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Blood & Oil). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 44). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping the Stand: The Stand). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.11.24 episode). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 5). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.01). Finished video game: Heavy Barrel.

11.12: Watched movie: Sleeping with the Enemy. Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.02). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (3.01). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Silent Witness).

11.13: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.03). Watched 2 episodes of Homicide: Los Angeles (2.04 and 2.05). Watched 3 episodes of Big Brother Canada (10.09, 10.10, and 10.11). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (ep 52).

11.14: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.04). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Ep 48 Part 1). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 2). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Top 5 Favorite Cinema Snob Episodes + Bloodsucking Freaks Review). Watched 1 episode of Worst Ex Ever (1.01). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.12).

11.15: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.09). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.12.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of Cobra Kai (6.06). Finished video game: Shining Force II. Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.05). 

11.16: Watched 2 episodes of Big Brother Canada (10.13 and 10.14). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping the Stand: The Circle Closes). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Fantasy Football - UTH (11.11.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of Cobra Kai (6.07). Listened to 1 episode of Post Show Recaps: The White Lotus (Post Show Recaps Rewatches Season 1). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.06). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.13.24 episode).

11.17: Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #79). Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde podcast (Tetris for Gameboy). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 188). Listened to 1 episode of Retroblast (Super Punch-Out!!). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Street Fighter 1994).  Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Benjamin Cavell on landing Stephen King's Stand coda). 

11.18: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.07). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E07). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (BONUS PRGE 2022 Panel - Why You Should Own A Sega Saturn). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Deadly Intruders). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.05).

11.19: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge Argentina (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Intruder 1989). Watched 1 episode of Worst Ex Ever (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.15). 

11.20: Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 223). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge Argentina (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.08). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.17). Finished video game: Parasite Eve. Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 416). 

11.21: Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 189). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.10). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #80). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.18). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.19.24 episode). 

11.22: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #81). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 6). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.19). Watched 1 episode of Cobra Kai (6.08). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge Argentina (1.03). Watched movie: Saw VI.

11.23: Watched 2 episodes of Cobra Kai (6.09 and 6.10). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E08). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.20). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.06).

11.24: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.09). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E09). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 45). Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (T7R #253). Listened to 1 episode of Retrograde podcast (Crazy Taxi). Listened to 1 episode of Retrovaniacs (ep 3). Listened to 2 episodes of the Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #82 and CC Portable #8). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks (Dark Knight of the Scarecrow). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.21.24 episode). 

11.25: Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner: Ep 8). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E10). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries (Missing from the Bridge).  Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (T7R #254). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Terrifier 2). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.22.24 episode). Watched movie: Saw: The Final Chapter. 

11.26: Watched 2 episodes of Big Brother Canada (10.21 and 10.22). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.07). Watched 2 episodes of The Edge of Sleep (1.01 and 1.02). 

11.27: Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Ep 47 Part 2). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 417). Listened to 1 episode of the 7th Rule (T7R#255).  Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner: Ep 9). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge Argentina (1.04). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.23). Watched 1 episode of The Edge of Sleep (1.03).

11.28: Watched movie: Jigsaw. 

11.29: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.11). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (ep 190). Watched 3 episodes of The Edge of Sleep (1.04, 1.05, and 1.06). Finished video game: Crazy Taxi. Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.10).

11.30: Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (11.26.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge Argentina (1.05). Watched 1 episode of Worst Ex Ever (1.03). Watched Making Squid Game: The Challenge. Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.24). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E11). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner: Ep 10). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (2.11).

---

22 episodes of Big Brother Canada watched

11 episodes of Terminator:  Sarah Connor Chronicles watched

10 movies watched

10 episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour played

7 episodes of The Amazing Race watched

7 episodes of Arcade Attack played

7 episodes of The Cartridge Club played

6 episodes of Digging Dix Feet Under played

6 video games completed

6 episodes of Edge of Sleep watched

*had to skip 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.16) as I could not find it anywhere to watch.