this is such an intriguing game. it was clearly supposed to be a huge breakthrough title for arc developments, who had previously been stuck with doing low-end amiga/master system games. now here they are, doing a high budget side scroller for consoles with silicon graphics computers, a WICKED studio-quality soundtrack, and a full-blown advertising campaign...well, the latter only applied to europe - us gold was floundering enough that they couldn't engage any of their localization plans for the us. plans that were advertised on what might be the very first website made for an individual video game.
and, hell, looking at gameplay footage, you can tell a lot of passion went into this game. the levels are themed weirdly and excellently, from a sprawling hotel to a restuarant with a giant fish tank and a killer chef.
such a shame then, that the controls and attacks are all herky-jerky and i couldn't find it in my heart to go past the first world. maybe next time. i feel a bit bad giving up so soon...