Developer: Hudson Soft
Approximate Completion Time: A few hours at least
I played this without any kind of translation patch so I'm going to guess what the point is.
I think you're supposed to be collecting musical instruments to thwart evil or some nonsense. It doesn't really matter, it's your typical platform game setup, you have themed worlds (forest, lava, ice, etc) whacky bosses, catchy tunes, stuff to collect for extra lives, a few different power ups, all that good stuff. I really dug it, the graphics and music just appeal to me, and the levels were really well designed and kept the game interesting all the way through to the end.
The music is just so super groovy and it even has a cameo from the bomberman guys. The difficulty wasn't too terrible although I must admit to a bit of save stating in the final levels and especially on the last boss due to its multi-form madness. To defeat stuff in this game you blow bubbles to trap baddies then send them flying on their way. There is also the occasional bowling ball which you can use to topple many foes in a row. I don't know if there is slowdown in the real version of this game but I was definitely in slow motion for the more chaotic levels which wasn't necessarily a bad thing as anyone who has been emulating for a while can tell you.
I would rank this little gem right up there with the big boys of platforming action. If you like uber Japanese awesomeness you will certainly appreciate bubbling and jumping and running through this title. There is a lot of other stuff to discover that I didn't describe due to laziness so just give her a squiz!
Very important fractional Kuni rating: 4/5
