Cleared on May 22nd, 2024 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 75/160)
I wanted to like this game, but there is way too much stacked against it that it ends up feeling unfun in the grand scheme of things.
Taz-Mania is a platformer featuring the Looney Tunes icon Taz as he ventures through the wilds of tasmania in pursuit of a giant egg that could feed his family for about a week. At first, nothing really seems off. You can jump, throw items, and even breath fire if you've collected peppers. However, what makes this game interesting is Taz's spin which makes him go really fast and can damage foes in your way. It is a very powerful tool, but in a platformer like this, it is also very risky since it can cause you to fall off which best case scenario would knock you down a peg and force you to get back up, but worst case scenario is that you end up losing your life.
Yet you are required at points to jump and spin in order to get from one point to another, and sometimes because the camera is so zoomed in on your character, there are times where you can't tell where your platform is which puts you at risk of overshooting it, and you can get ambushed by enemies as well. Even with your spin attack, some enemies like the little spear dudes can still hit you while performing the move.
The game also throws in a few gimmicks such as "perspective platforming" which is where the game looks 2.5D with being able to move from multiple different logs at seeming different angles on the river, but it is so jank and trying to determine where to land is actually really difficult, and it's not like you can just bull rush it either. The minecart level is probably the most infamous of them all because it requires trial and error to figure out the pattern. Not even Donkey Kong Country can prepare you for how precise you need to be. You can slow down, sure. But there are points where you need to speed up to cross a ramp.
On top of that, I just really don't like the sound design of this game. There is often so much going on at once, and it gets more grating than anything. The music is ok, I guess, but nothing to go wild over. The graphics are quite nice with Taz's sprite and the environments, and the game even has an opening cutscene which is limited animation and textbox, but the sprites are pretty detailed. The game's ending felt rather jarring. It was meant to be comedic in Looney Tunes fashion, but it felt like the game just decided to end abruptly after defeating the last boss.
The game feels like a prelude to the Crash Bandicoot series, and I think Crash was even inspired by Taz himself. So seeing Taz take on the idea prior was kinda cool, and I would be down to see him try a 3D platformer with a wild spin to it... wait, there is one?
I wanted to like this game, but there is way too much stacked against it that it ends up feeling unfun in the grand scheme of things.
Taz-Mania is a platformer featuring the Looney Tunes icon Taz as he ventures through the wilds of tasmania in pursuit of a giant egg that could feed his family for about a week. At first, nothing really seems off. You can jump, throw items, and even breath fire if you've collected peppers. However, what makes this game interesting is Taz's spin which makes him go really fast and can damage foes in your way. It is a very powerful tool, but in a platformer like this, it is also very risky since it can cause you to fall off which best case scenario would knock you down a peg and force you to get back up, but worst case scenario is that you end up losing your life.
Yet you are required at points to jump and spin in order to get from one point to another, and sometimes because the camera is so zoomed in on your character, there are times where you can't tell where your platform is which puts you at risk of overshooting it, and you can get ambushed by enemies as well. Even with your spin attack, some enemies like the little spear dudes can still hit you while performing the move.
The game also throws in a few gimmicks such as "perspective platforming" which is where the game looks 2.5D with being able to move from multiple different logs at seeming different angles on the river, but it is so jank and trying to determine where to land is actually really difficult, and it's not like you can just bull rush it either. The minecart level is probably the most infamous of them all because it requires trial and error to figure out the pattern. Not even Donkey Kong Country can prepare you for how precise you need to be. You can slow down, sure. But there are points where you need to speed up to cross a ramp.
On top of that, I just really don't like the sound design of this game. There is often so much going on at once, and it gets more grating than anything. The music is ok, I guess, but nothing to go wild over. The graphics are quite nice with Taz's sprite and the environments, and the game even has an opening cutscene which is limited animation and textbox, but the sprites are pretty detailed. The game's ending felt rather jarring. It was meant to be comedic in Looney Tunes fashion, but it felt like the game just decided to end abruptly after defeating the last boss.
The game feels like a prelude to the Crash Bandicoot series, and I think Crash was even inspired by Taz himself. So seeing Taz take on the idea prior was kinda cool, and I would be down to see him try a 3D platformer with a wild spin to it... wait, there is one?