Overall 6.7 Graphics 7.7 Sound 8 Addictive 5 Story 6 Depth 6.7 Difficulty 7
7.5
Definitely could be better, but still relatively solid as it is. Semagorter
As far as Virtual Boy games goes, there really isn't a whole lot of competition in terms of "quality" titles. Mario Clash, by its very nature (definitive Mario title for the system), is poised to at least be in the upper half in terms of quality. The only question remains is how high can it go? (...that was unintentional.)
Like most Mario games, there isn't much in the way of story. Someone has captured Clash Tower (a very tall tower that reaches the clouds and possibly space), and Mario has to break in and rescue the tower back. As far as gameplay basics are concerned, some people have remarked it being a remake of the 1983 arcade classic Mario Bros., and to be fair, they're not that far off from the truth. Not only is the level progression very reminiscent of arcade games, but there's more than a handful of gameplay elements from said arcade title that it carries over into Mario Clash. It does have its differences, however, but well get to those in a moment. First off, the controls. You only use the left D-pad to move left and right in the game and up and down for menus, B to Jump in the actual game, and A to throw or perform various actions, assuming that Start isn't an option. The swapping of the B and A roles can throw people off, but it's shouldn't be too hard to adjust, though it's understandably frustrating to forget. However, the real problem is that the forgetfulness happens more often than it should, despite being used to it, as if you've played multiple Mario games, this detour is going to get annoying quick. (-.5 for its sheer frequency). However, I'm getting ahead of myself.
From the start menu, you can
select which level you'd like to start in, check your high score, or adjust the brightness of the game in five levels. Once you start actually playing the game, each level has two "planes", and you move back and forth via pipes. You get to choose which plane to start with every time you die. Levels slowly but surely get more complex, and that goes for both the level design and enemies. The objective of each level is to beat all the enemies that aren't koopas. I say that because you jump on the koopas and use their shells to defeat the other enemies, because trying to jump on them pretty much results in death. Koopas can appear on either plane, and more will appear as the game goes on. As an aside, maybe Bowser should start equipping his minions with anti-jumping protection if he wants an easier time capturing and keeping the princess.....
*ahem* Anyhow, as you clear the enemies, you obtain points, and the overall goal, aside from reaching the top, of course, is to obtain a high-score. At the end of each level, you earn two bonuses: Technical and Time. Time bonuses are, of course, indicative of how much time you have left in each level, though the formula for obtaining such bonus isn't always obvious, as in some levels, you don't receive a time bonus despite sufficient leftovers. My guess is that there's a certain point where the bonus just stops, but I could be off. By the way, you have a time limit in each level, so keep that in mind. Technical bonuses are earned by defeating multiple enemies at once. This is easier said than done, especially with how most enemies are defeated. See, most enemies require multiple hits to beat, and the only way to do that is by knocking them from the other plane. This does require a bit of keenness when it comes to figuring out perspective, since it's not straight, likely trying to take advantage of the Virtual Boy's capabilities. Unfortunately, despite creating some depth as far as visuals goes, it makes trying to beat the enemies more complicated than it should. You can eventually figure it out, but you won't always figure it out correctly. (-.5 for needless complication in defeating enemies.)
One way around this is the mushroom you may have noticed. It has a counter that goes down with every enemy you defeat, and enemies involved in a combo are counted as multiple enemies. When it reaches zero, you initiate a mode where you can clear enemies regardless of any defense they may have. Pretty useful, I must say.
Also, every now and again, you enter a bonus stage likely inspired by the same bonus game found in Mario Bros. You try to collect as much coins and you can, and whatever coins you collect are multiplied by 300 and that adds to your overall score. Coins appear at different levels of height, and it can get quite confusing to figure out whether you should jump or not. I haven't been able to collect every single coin in a level, but I'd assume, again, that doing so nets you an extra life. Speaking about lives, you obtain an extra life for every 20000 points.
However, that leads me to what might be it's biggest flaw. Due to the length of the game, and the relatively low amount of lives, it's quite a challenge to beat the all the levels in one sitting, since you can't even save the game. Sure, you could pick the level, but there are 99 levels in the game, and you can only pick the first 40. Not only that, there are no continues, so once you get a Game Over, you have to start all over again. More baffling, though, is that it doesn't even save your scores. Okay, not saving the game I can kinda get, but not saving your score?! (-.5 for lack of saving scores.) I guess "difficulty" or "challenge" isn't the right word, so really, it tests your endurance. It's a harken back to the old days of arcade. However, it doesn't have much in the way of "modern" (at the time) conveniences to ease the pain, so once you're out, you're out. (-1 for lack of of modern usability.) Thankfully, there are a couple tips that I can give:
1 - You may have noticed, should you play the game, that if you throw a koopa shell across the room, and successfully hit its target, it bounces back to your side. If you stood still or otherwise are in its sight when it bounces back, you'll retrieve the shell back as opposed to it just dropping into oblivion.
2 - Try to obtain as much technical bonuses as you can, as not only they'll give you bonuses to add to your score (and henceforth increase your lives), but they'll also contribute greatly to your mushroom count, ensuring that you'll obtain it faster.
Graphics are appealing to look at, despite not being top of the line. You can certainly figure out which is which, though. One problem with the perspective, though, is that you may be confused as to which platforms belong to which plane, but thankfully, it's one of the easier aspects to figure out and get used to, and it's otherwise interesting to look at. The same thing could be said about audio. There's a few tracks that play and switch up every few levels, and the individual sounds aren't bleeding to the ears. That's really the best thing that could be said about the visuals and audio; they don't get in the way. In terms of length, again, it's 99 levels, and there's no saving system, so it could take a while to beat it. There's not much to go back for other than getting a high score, except it doesn't even save the scores if you turn it off.
Overall, it's by no means a bad game. It certainly could be better, especially when trying to use its mechanics, but it's otherwise a relatively (Key word: relatively) solid title for a not-so-solid platform. Here's a couple points to improve to game:
1 - Improve usability. While it's not too hard to access, trying to get used to it is a fairly big issue. Swapping the controls back to their original form is a start, but more importantly, allowing for an easier time when it comes to figuring out perspective would really help. Maybe have a line that appears in the first couple levels, but then gradually dissolves to just a couple dots, and then just disappear assuming that the player is good enough by then. Of course, this won't fix the problem entirely, and having a line creates new problems for the more hardcore of players, but with the way this solution is describe, it should find a happy medium.
2 - Add in a saving system. The first thing you should save is the high-scores, since those are an integral part of the game. Next, allow the player to save their game in the middle of the game and be able to come back to it should outside disturbances interfere. Adding in continues and the extent should you add them is entirely up to you, though.
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 3 Depth 5 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 09-23-13
Review Replies: 2
6.2
Mario Clash: The Best Game is Still a Weaker Game SNYPER5133
Mario Clash: The Best Game is Still a Weaker Game
Mario Clash is a Virtual Boy game released in the year 1995. The game is often considered to be one of the Virtual Boy's best games, which may not be saying much due to there only being 13 games released for the console in North America. I first came across the game due to its apprentice as random game of the day on 10/3/14. What I noticed from the game however is that it is not particularly a good or a great game compared to games released on other systems. While judging the game's graphics, sound, addictiveness, and depth, as well as mixing in my own personal enjoyment, I arrived at the conclusion that Mario Clash deserves a 6.2 for its overall score. Why, though? This is why:
Graphics: 7/10- "Good"
No game on the virtual boy is particularly "pretty", but I will say that, when taking into consideration the console limitations as well as the reduced color palette, the game looks good. The animations, particularly Mario's jump and punch especially look as though they had been worked on in particular. However, I feel that some of these, mainly focusing on some enemy animations, needed a bit more oomph to push it to the levels of Mario's animations, but still, none of them are particularly bad when compared to other games of its time.
Sound: 6/10- "Okay"
Mario Clash does have great sound effects for the system and those alone save it, however, I personally found the actual soundtrack to be lacking, especially when taking into consideration that this is a Mario game. Some of the music may be considered to be annoying, especially when you look at the reduced number of tracks throughout the game. None of these songs are bad, but compared to other Mario games and even other games at time of release, it seems a bit lacking in this department.Addictiveness: 5/10- "Average" This section is largely dependent upon the player really. While looking objectively at this section, one has to consider the amount of playtime this game can offer, but it is also important to look at how fun the game was to play. Personally, I thought the game was about as fun as the average game of the time. It wasn't particularly boring, but it isn't something that I feel as though I have to keep playing, and in this game, that is a problem considering both its difficulty and its depth.
Depth: 8/10- "Great"
This is arguably Mario Clash's greatest aspect, just how deep the game is. The game has 99 levels. Typically this would be considered to be rather long anyways, but when taking into consideration just how long each level takes, as well as how many times the player may be reset back to the first level, one realizes that this game may take a decent amount of time to fully finish. According to the wonderful people over at the Super Mario Wiki, "The game received mixed reviews, and half of the comments by critics were complaints stating that the game was too long." A statement like this truly justifies just how deep this game and its 99 levels truly are.
Difficulty: 8/10- "Great"
While playing through Mario Clash, I struggled very much. The controls were not the problem however, but getting used to the 3D proved difficult at the start. That being said, once adjusted, the game was still very difficult. This is even furthered by the fact that when you initially start, you have a mere two lives to work with. It's easy to lose these two lives and once you do, you do not start back at that level, but rather you start all the way back at the beginning of the game. This is my number one problem with the game. They actually made the game too hard and as a result the end product suffered.
Mario Clash
Virtual Boy
9/28/95
6.2
"Okay"
Graphics 7 Sound 6 Addictive 5 Depth 8 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 10-03-14
Updated: 10-03-14
Review Replies: 5
8
Mario Clash - A Nominee For "My Favorite Virtual Boy Game Ever" 9-Volt
This is actually the only game I've reviewed that I actually own, wow. Justified in that this is only my third review. Ok, the current fad seems to be adding Virtual Boy-related content - so I'm reviewing Mario Clash, a currently unreviewed game. (EDIT: Some guy reviewed this game while I was writing this review. Unfortunately, I found out only after I'd finished. I hate to review an already reviewed game, but I'd also hate to waste a perfectly good review.)
(Mario Clash is a twist on the classic Mario Bros. arcade game. Not Super Mario Bros., either, but the regular. You know, the one where you jump under platforms and flip over Shellcreepers[read: Koopas]. You can no longer jump under platforms, but you can travel in/out between them and throw shells picked up from jumped-on Shellcreepers.)
Also, I'm tight on Viz at the moment. I first played Mario Clash on my Virtual Boy, but my copy has some problems and has a tendency to have graphical glitches. A lot of times that messes with the 3D and makes it less fun. So, I was excited to find out that I could play it on Vizzed! Now that I've tried it, I'm reviewing it. Anyway, I'll start reviewing now. Hope it's not too short.
Graphics: 8Most Virtual Boy games have these insane graphics that are both good and bad. They're amazing and good and stuff, and in 3D, but completely red. I know that that's because of the limited LEDs and costs and tech, but it's a factor. If you don't like that, just remember that the beloved Game Boy did the same thing with green. Mario Clash is the same: Every sprite looks cartoony and recognizable. On the original, the pixels look real big, so everything is recognizable; but you know what I mean. Unfortunately, Vizzed isn't very good at emulating VB games. It (the Vizzed Virtual Boy emulator) used to have a red-blue-pink style 3D going on that required 3D glasses, but they completely removed it. This can be seen in the opening (the screen that displays at the start of every VB game), when only 2 corners' VB logos can be seen. In 3D, there's one in each corner. Also, the resolution doesn't match up with the plugin screen. In most games it stretches nicely, but it looks terrible for VB games.
Conclusion: Graphics may take some getting used to, but they're pretty good overall.
Sound: 10Ooh, I love this game's sound. Most VB games have excellent sound already, but this game is so audially pleasing that I can't think of a good enough hyperbole for it. Music is fitting and doesn't get annoying. In fact, some of it's Ear Worm material. The sound effects are so inexplainably....what's the right word...really, really good. And awesome. I can't put it into words, what they sound like, but I just love the sound effects. I really can't explain it. The sound it makes for Technical Bonus after finishing a level...oohh hoo hoo! Not much to say about sound.
Conclusion: You don't know how amazing this sound is until you've heard it youself.
Addictiveness: 7Basically inverts Wonder Momo's addictiveness: I'll definitely single this game out when thinking of games to play, but when I've already finished a game, I may not start a new game. That's the first instance I can think of of an Addictiveness formula like that. Considering, addictiveness is kind of a YMMV thing most of the time, and I'm not sure how important a factor it is, so I'm not gonna say much about Addictiveness.
Conclusion: I will nominate it when looking at my library, but I may or may not instantly replay it after a Game Over.
Story: 6Mario Clash's story is as follows, going by the cutscene: One starry night, at the top of a tower, a blimp with a skull design on it flies to the tower and drops some pixels into the top. The camera scrolls down to reveal that this is a very, VERY tall tower. When ground level is reached, Mario walks to the entrance. A sign that reads "Clash Tower" in fancy letters can be seen. Mario walks into the building and into darkness. On the original version, this part looks real neat because of some well-executed 3D and pixel scaling. As I said earlier, neither of those are present on Vizzed, unfortunately. Anyway; this leaves many plotholes. What did the ship drop? Why? What was that ship anyway? Why did Mario go inside? Maybe this is explained in the manual, but I don't have the manual. Many games for the Virtual Boy include a high-quality story - Waterworld uses the movie's, Wario Land has a cutscene, etc., so there are no excuses here.
Conclusion: Story is shallow, but decent.
Depth: 7Wow, depth. There are many kinds of enemies, stages, and ways to do stuff in this game. Depending on your point of view, that can either be sarcasm or not. For enemies, there's the standard Shellcreepers which must be jumped on to get shells, the spiky guys that are like Spinies with less spikes, and enemies where you have to hit them by throwing a shell to the front from the back or to the back from the front to stun them, and then throw another shell any way you like to defeat them. There's also Fighter Flies, and more that I can't remember. Stages: Regular and icy, along with an occasional bonus game in which you jump around and walk on striped ground and collect coins that fly forward. Stuff: You can throw shells not only left and right, but to the back and to the front. Now that is cool. The menu really does have some depth though. You can choose to view high scores,
select a level, and even change the brightness.
Conclusion: Deep.
Difficulty: YMMV (I'm a 6, I think)It really depends, Difficulty. I can usually get a place on the top or bottom of the score board when I play. For everyone else, it may differ. The controls are not slippery enough to be easily noticed and are relativey easy to figure out (throw = A and jump = B [or is it the other way around?], L&R on left pad to move, up/down on left pad to throw inward/outward). Stages have a nice difficulty curve in my opinion.
Conclusion: It really depends on who you are. Chances are, it'll be easy.
Conclusion/Overall: 8Mario Clash is a fun game for the Virtual Boy that's worth the money or Viz you pay for it. A great twist on a classic. It might just end up being your favorite Virtual Boy game.
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 7 Story 6 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 09-26-13
Review Replies: 0
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