I'm gonna go ahead and play devil's advocate against everyones wishes here. I really don't think this game is actually as horrible as it's made out to be.
Yes, as Jekyll you're mostly defenseless against the townsfolk and animals out to get you, but then the game just becomes different and enforces a pacifistic playthrough which gives it some uniqueness from a lot of other shit on the NES. Some of the imagery during the Hyde sections are pretty cool imo, and I can't help but laugh at Jekyll's insane misfortune and how much of a target to the entire populace he is for reasons unknown. There's a guy shooting ducks! And they just so happen to be falling towards Jekyll's noggin! You can also bribe the horrible singing lady and make her shut up, which to me is fucking great.
"Hey, could you like kindly shut the fuck up? Here's some coins."
I'll give this game big props in that it lets you continue proper while even having Hyde start at the first stage to give you more time to build back up the "stress meter". That alone gives it an edge over so many other crappier games of this era tbh, this game could've easily sent you all the way back to the first screen like so many others but decided not to. If it did, then I would've totally given this a worse score mainly thanks to my next point.
What actually kills the game is the later levels which just throw way too much shit at you. You get bombarded by stampeding bitches in dresses that clothesline the shit out of you and at the same time you have to dodge the bombs with football field-sized hitboxes all while waiting for the spiders to gingerly climb their way back up the tree. Then I think after that one is the awful stage with the rolling barrels. I didn't play enough to make it past the other one. I don't understand why you can kill the bees with your cane, but not the spiders when logically the spiders are much more defenseless and vulnerable to it. I also can't help but feel like the hitboxes on the bombs are rng or different for certain ones, I've had at least one still hit me while I was timing my jump to avoid them as usual which feels like it should get me through provided I don't get clotheslined by one of the townsfolk.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think the game is great by any means, I just don't think there's enough here for me to actually despise the shit out of it compared some of the other crap I've played on the same system. At least this game isn't boring me to tears nor is it trying to kill me with strobe lightshow effects like fucking Transformers Mystery of Convoy.
You could do so much worse. Far from the worst on the system, let alone of all time.
Yes, as Jekyll you're mostly defenseless against the townsfolk and animals out to get you, but then the game just becomes different and enforces a pacifistic playthrough which gives it some uniqueness from a lot of other shit on the NES. Some of the imagery during the Hyde sections are pretty cool imo, and I can't help but laugh at Jekyll's insane misfortune and how much of a target to the entire populace he is for reasons unknown. There's a guy shooting ducks! And they just so happen to be falling towards Jekyll's noggin! You can also bribe the horrible singing lady and make her shut up, which to me is fucking great.
"Hey, could you like kindly shut the fuck up? Here's some coins."
I'll give this game big props in that it lets you continue proper while even having Hyde start at the first stage to give you more time to build back up the "stress meter". That alone gives it an edge over so many other crappier games of this era tbh, this game could've easily sent you all the way back to the first screen like so many others but decided not to. If it did, then I would've totally given this a worse score mainly thanks to my next point.
What actually kills the game is the later levels which just throw way too much shit at you. You get bombarded by stampeding bitches in dresses that clothesline the shit out of you and at the same time you have to dodge the bombs with football field-sized hitboxes all while waiting for the spiders to gingerly climb their way back up the tree. Then I think after that one is the awful stage with the rolling barrels. I didn't play enough to make it past the other one. I don't understand why you can kill the bees with your cane, but not the spiders when logically the spiders are much more defenseless and vulnerable to it. I also can't help but feel like the hitboxes on the bombs are rng or different for certain ones, I've had at least one still hit me while I was timing my jump to avoid them as usual which feels like it should get me through provided I don't get clotheslined by one of the townsfolk.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think the game is great by any means, I just don't think there's enough here for me to actually despise the shit out of it compared some of the other crap I've played on the same system. At least this game isn't boring me to tears nor is it trying to kill me with strobe lightshow effects like fucking Transformers Mystery of Convoy.
You could do so much worse. Far from the worst on the system, let alone of all time.