AAAHH!!! Real Monsters Review by: rcarter2 - 7.7/10
REAL MONSTERS!!!!I'll open this review by stating one fact (not opinion). 90's cartoons were pretty much the prime for cartoon history. You can't deny it. That was pretty much the only time Nickelodeon was good. Unfortunately, the same can't really be said for most of the games made from 90's Nickelodeon shows. Anyone growing up watching 90's Nickelodeon will remember AAAHH!!! REAL MONSTERS! That show's step into the world of video games was one of Nickelodeon's few gaming wins. AAAHHHH!!! REAL MONSTERS! for SNES puts you in control of Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm as they go through 5 massive worlds to put what they have learned in Monster School to use. For those looking for a good challenge, pick this game up.
Graphics: 10
Right off the bat, this game really kicks it off in the graphics department. The first stages you run through take place in the city dump, and oh what a beautifully done dump it is. From the ground you are walking on to the distant backgrounds you see, everything is so freaking detailed that it blows my mind. This is one game that I can honestly say looks pretty much exactly like the cartoon looks, and that is extremely hard to do with SNES graphics. Even if you were to take out the three monsters gave a few children enemies and the environment, anyone who was a fan of the show will know exactly what game this is. I can't really put it better than that. It is like you are playing in the actual show.
Sound: 5
Why Realtime Associates (developers) did you have to give such amazing graphics and decide to spend only 5 minutes in the sound department? Did your budget run low after the graphics were completed? First, I will give some credit where credit is due. The music that they did have was pretty descent. Most of the levels music was slow, but very eerie, which worked very well for a game like this. However, it really would have been nice to get some more variation. Though the music in a lot of levels were different, it was pretty hard to tell. As a matter of fact, for the most part, it was so quiet that you would almost not even notice if they took it off (except for me because I am a video game music junkie). The only variation we got was on some boss levels and the school levels. Those were a bit more fast paced. The actual sound effects department are in no way better than the music. Most of the sounds are so quiet they aren't even really noticeable. Note that you would notice it if they took the sound effects out, but nothing really pops out. It is more of a subconscious thing when it comes to sound effects in this game. You hear the monsters grunt when they get hit, you hear whooshing sounds as you throw trash, and kids scream when you scare them off. For the most part, that is about it with a few things here and there. Although, the different sounds each monster's special scare was pretty cool. If only there was more of that.
Addictiveness: 7
I will admit that this game is really only for specific people. If you are looking for a game that will give you a challenge, something that will take you take you a while to get all the way through, and a good old fashioned obstacle course-like platform game, you will probably like this. However, if any of those things don't suit you, don't even bother. This game will give you a challenge, but the length of it has one annoying factor. It is long enough for you to kind of wish there was a way to save (not talking about save states), but not long enough for the developers to really justify putting them in there. This is probably because there really aren't a large amount of levels. The length of this game comes from the fact that the levels themselves are pretty freaking huge. Some of the later ones will take you at least 20 minutes to get through the first time playing through it. For those who know their way around, it will still take about 10-15+ minutes on these levels. If they could have at least given passwords for the beginning of each world (not level), that would help a lot. But the main thing that takes away from the addictiveness is that it can get very repetitive. This is one of those things where your strategy won't really change, the levels just get more taxing and longer. The only world that really switches things up is the final one. That is a doosey.
Story: 6
This is one of those typical examples where a super in depth story development isn't really necessary. It is an SNES platform, so what you get in the short opening sequence and the sequence at the end is all you really need. The story in a nutshell is that it is time for Monster Midterm Exams, and you three monsters have to complete tasks that involve finding the key item in every level and manage to scare the assigned target at the end of each world. After the world is over, you are graded based on how many treasures you collect and how many kids/people you managed to scare. Like I said, that is all that you really need in a game like this. But this game pretty much only gave you what you needed and didn't go that extra mile. It would have been nice to maybe have a rundown on each new world or something. Maybe have the Gromble (teacher) brief you on that and your main scare target. Just that alone would have been enough to bump this score up to a 9 or even a 10 (if done really well).
Depth: 8
I'll start with the major drawback that I stated earlier in the addictiveness section. The gameplay of this game can get pretty repetitive. Your overall strategy will pretty much never change. As a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee you that you will pretty much play the whole game with Ickis as your controlled leader. He is clearly superior for most situations. you will occasionally switch to Oblina because you need her monster ladder ability to reach high places that you can't reach by jumping. You will not even really use Krumm at all. If I am wrong for anyone who plays this game, please tell me. Better yet, make a video of you completing the game using Ichus only for parts that are required to use him. Anyway, the developers still tried to give you quite a bit to do. At the end of each world, you get a nice little bonus game that is like an obstacle course. The whole game itself is a giant obstacle course. Pretty much 90% of the thing things that move in the background will kill you, so you have to find ways around them. Getting graded also gives you a little something else to strive for, even though it isn't necessary to get a 5 roach rating to beat the game. The thing that really saves the repetition of this game is the final world of Simon's house. It is full with traps and hazards that you never encountered previously and will give you quite a run.
Difficulty: 10
Not only is this one of the few Nickelodeon games that turned out pretty well, it is also one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) game that came from them. This game will certainly give you a challenge and is not for your 'casual' gamer. For first time players that don't know their around these massive worlds will be given a lot of frustration. Pretty much everything can harm you, and hazards are literally around every corner. You constantly have to be on your toes. If you let your guard down for a second, you will get your butt handed to you. Most of this difficulty comes from the level hazards though. You will find that the level hazards will give you 10X more trouble than the enemies will. The only exception to that is the shopping mall, where there are enemies everywhere and they use so many gadgets from the toy store to unleash upon you. But the house of Simon the Monster Hunter will give you a real run. It is full of tricks and traps that are unlike anything you encounter in other levels. The difficulty of this game, however, would not be so great if it weren't for the fact that the levels are so long. If the whole game was kept the same but were split up into shorter levels, the game would be so much easier. But these massive levels give you very little room for error, but increases the odds of you making errors. Basically, don't try to rush this game, or you will lose.
Overall: 7.7
For a Nickelodeon game, this is a pretty solid score. To recap, the graphics are simply amazing as they are very close to the way it is in the television show. However, I think the people in the sound department were taking a nap because the music is super quiet and doesn't vary much, and the sound effects are mainly only noticeable when you try to play it without sound. The addictiveness of this game isn't universal as it will appeal to people based on what they are in the mood for. The story gives you exactly what you need to be satisfied, but doesn't do simple things to give you that little bit of extra flavor. The game is pretty repetitive in game play, but they still put enough variety of things in the game to give it good depth. The fact that it is a long game helps. The difficulty of this game is the highest for any Nickelodeon game I have played and was definitely one of the hardest ones in my SNES collection. So if you were a fan of the show and love a challenging obstacle course-like platform game, give this one a try.
Graphics
10 Sound
5 Addictive
7 Depth
8 Story
6 Difficulty
10
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