Game #1046: Tiny Toon Adventures - Babs' Big Break

  No witty header, just a reminder of how much I miss classic Konami.

 There's a Tiny Toons games on NES that me and my family used to adore. In it, you play as Buster but you could also turn into Plucky, Dizzy or the Cat. Actually, we used to adore a Chinese bootleg that swapped Buster with an orange Mario sprite. We spent HOURS playing that game, it was my mother's second favorite game after Bomberman. Soooo, I came across Tiny Toon Adventures: Bab's Big Break and it looked like some sort of NES take on that game, so I quickly got my paws on it. It's... it's not exactly what I expected, but I can't say I regret this purchase!

 This is a most basic platformer in which you play as Buster, Plucky or Hamton. You can change characters at any time, and the only real difference is the arc of their projectile. Buster throws at an upward angle, like a Belmont's ax, Plucky throws diagonally downward(And his projectile ricochets) while Hamton shoots directly in front of him. While health is shared between all three, ammo is not, but it was still very sparse and you can finish off enemies just by bouncing on their heads, so I didn't find much value in swapping characters save for a very few occasions in which Buster or Plucky's projectiles seemed like the proper way to deal with some enemies. Projectiles don't even harm bosses, so, really, you could play without ever switching characters and you'd be fine.

 Stages are pretty linear, but do require a bit of exploration, since every level requires you finding an NPC before you can finish level. Stages are short enough that it wasn't too bad or contrived, except on the second world that forces you to go through a maze made of pipes, the problem being that traversing this pipes is automated and incredibly slow, it was easily the game's lowest point. Even if you find the NPC, there's merit in exploration, as you could find a Big Heart that increases your hitpoint counter to 3 until you finish the level or lose a life, plus, you can also come across mini-games that are the best way to amass extra lives.

 The game lasts about an hour, and it's a very simple affair. But considering it's a classic Gameboy game, simplicity is what I'd expect, and it gets the basics right, so it's a fun time. My biggest gripes would be the aforementioned second level and the fact that there's very little incentive to swap characters, a mechanic they could've delved upon by giving every character different abilities, like letting Plucky fly for a bit, Hampton could turn into a ball and roll while Buster could get high jumps. That alone would give you incentive to switch characters. Or heck, even make every character a separate life! It's a case of wasted potential really.

 6.5