Back to the Future 2 and 3
Reviewed by Dr. Mabuse
I got this game for Christmas a long time ago, and never before
has a Nintendo game given me as much frustration. Don't get me
wrong, overall it's a pretty fun game, as long as you don't try to
pass it. The actual game is very long, it takes at least 6 hours
to pass Part II. Here's a quick description of the game:
You start off in 1985, and once you get the remote control (which
is easy to find), you can travel to 1955 and 2015. It's kind of neat
being able to walk down the same street at three different times
in history. The maps are quite complicated, and to get to some
parts in the future you may have to travel back to the past.
In order to accomplish the game's goals, you must go to thirty
different locations in which you play a single-screen arcade game
inside a game that resembles Mario Brothers. Upon completing
this game, you receive an artifact that must be returned to its
proper place in history. To do this, you have to go back to these
mini-game locations. If a mini-game has already been passed,
there will be an unscramble puzzle you have to solve. The answer
is the name of an artifact you hopefully already retrieved from
one of the mini-games, and if you solve it, you have completed
1/30th of the game. If you don't solve it, you lose a life and the
item and have to retrieve it again, and that really sucks.
Are you lost? It's even harder than it sounds. The layout of the
game means you have to travel across something like 10 streets
in 3 different eras, passs 30 mini-games and solve 30 word
scramble puzzles. If you lose your ten lives, you have to start
all over again.
Graphics 7 out of 10
The graphics are pretty good for this game. The backgrounds are
impressive, for the era, and I would place this game somewhere
slightly under Castlevania.
The player character doesn't look anything like Marty McFly, but
he is consistent and easy to distinguish from the background and
the other characters.
Music and Sound 6 out of 10
The music was okay, and the sound effects sucked. When you
jump, you sound like a mooing cow, and when you die or land, and
when any of the enemies land, it sounds like somebody hocked a
loogie. The sound effects for the car are pretty realistic though.
The music is a digital version of the theme music from the movies,
a valiant attempt indeed. It adds to the playing experience, and you
will get the songs stuck in your head. When you play the mini-levels,
there is no music, and when you get back to the streets and hear
the music again, you will welcome it.
Game Challenge 10 out of 10
As I said before, the goal of the game is very complicated. First,
you find and pass 30 mini-levels of varying difficulty, collecting 30
artefacts. Next, you have to return to these 30 locations and return
the artifacts you collected, and if you get the word puzzle wrong
you lose the item and have to get it again. The streets are tough to
navigate, and you will have to pass them many times. The bad guys
regenerate when you leave, but so do the bonuses. You lose a life if
you die on the street, in the mini-level, or if you get the puzzle wrong.
You get 10 lives, and there are few free lives. Losing all your lives
results in starting over.
Play control also isn't that great. There's a lot of far jumping you
have to do, and it's not easy to time your jump right and to jump
far enough.
Once you pass Part II, you won't want to stick around to play
Part III. There is a code you can enter to skip right to III, and let
me say that III is the same type of game, only with tougher enemies.
Game Play-Fun 8 out of 10
If you aren't playing to win, it is fun. The streets are filled with
interesting enemies that aren't too hard, and the mini-levels each
offer some sort of challenge.
The game exploits each of the three eras it takes place in, but it
has an overall fifties feel and you will find soda shops and
jukeboxes in each of the three eras.
Frustration
The only three sources of frustration are the complexity of the
objective, the lack of control while jumping, and the fact that you
never get to Part III means that you're missing out on half the game.
Replayability 9 out of 10
If you let yourself get dragged into the game, you won't get out.
It takes practice, discipline, and multiple tries, and it takes hours
to get anywhere. It's a good waste of a summer vacation.
Game Value 7 out of 10
Well, I got it as a Christmas present, so the price was right. I actually
told my mom I wanted it, then changed my mind and told her I didn't
want it, after she bought it. I don't regret getting this game.
If you can find it for less than $10, you'd be a fool not to buy it.
Overall 7 out of 10
This game is not memorable, but it is addictive. You will find yourself
fighting it, refusing to give up until you win, and then suffering some
humiliating defeat and being forced to start all over again. This is
the Moby Dick of Nintendo games. Your skin will turn pale and your
eyes will sink into your skull, and your friends will give up on you,
but you won't care, you'll just want to blow up that damn soda shop
like nothing else.