Jeremy Parish

NES Works #096: Dr. Chaos & Superman (Patreon)

Published:

2022-07-13 11:34:31

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

Dr. Chaos FCI Kemco Superman nes nes works video

Content

Being a sucker for exploratory action games—you know the ones—nothing pains me quite so much as attempts that utterly and completely fail. That would be this week's set of games, Dr. Chaos and Superman. Neither plays well, looks good, or showcases thoughtful refinement. But since Mom taught me that I should always say something nice or else not say anything at all, I'll give them this: They prove that creating a compelling metroidvania-style game requires a lot more elbow grease than simply slapping together a bunch of interconnected virtual spaces and creating a desultory power-up scheme. I can visualize a universe where these two games came out well. But I can also visualize universes where world peace exists or I'm independently wealthy, so who cares about could-have-beens? We're stuck in this dire timeline, with these dire NES carts. Ah well.

Files

Dr. Chaos & Superman retrospective: Injustice for all | NES Works #096

I can't believe I completely failed in this episode to draw attention to the fact that Dr. Chaos is, in fact, a Superman villain. But then again, both games this episode read like latter-day comic book villains: Good-hearted souls with the best of intentions yet who somehow strayed from the straight-and-narrow path and now simply cause pain and suffering (especially among Gen X kids). The ambitions greatly outstrip the execution with this episode, as two attempts to tap into the exploratory action trend that dominated the NES in 1988 utterly fail to provide players with compelling reasons to delve into their worlds. Suffering from grievous design, visual, and technical shortcomings, both Dr. Chaos and Superman rank among the bottom tier of NES games to date despite their creators' obvious and admirably grandiose visions. Production note: NES footage captured from @Analogue Nt Mini. Video upscaled to 720 with XRGB Mini Framemeister. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more!