First off, this game is unlicensed by Nintendo. That should be a red flag on its own, but it's also made by American Game Cartridges and American Video Entertainment, neither of which has made very many good games. When you start up your Nintendo, you are greeted with a picture of a deformed bear riding a skateboard, and a choice between 1 or 2 players. If you can find anyone who would play this with you, I'm surprised. I pick one player, and are greeted by a cut scene. I've seen much better cut scenes, though, and the house it takes place in has disgusting apple wallpaper. The text here can be summed up like this:Mom:Your uncle is having a party, gather your friends and be there before dark! And say no to drugs! Wally(the main character)on't worry Mom, I will. When the game starts, you will notice the graphics are a bit better than some unlicensed games. They're still not really impressive, though. As you go through the level, you will notice the backgrounds repeat over, and over, and over, and over again! It seems like the level designer was bored out of his skull, and just kept copy/pasting the backgrounds until he said "Let's make it end here," and place the exit in a doorway which has no real graphical difference than the other doorways you see in the level. It does have a big white arrow pointing towards it, though. Oops, I forgot to mention the absolutely TERRIFYING enemies you'll encounter. Dogs, and birds. However, the birds are like homing missiles most of the time, and you die in one hit without a power up. Yeah, you lose power ups when you get hit if you have any, otherwise you die. The power ups are a skateboard, which makes you go faster and jump higher, and the frisbee,(which could be several different things, but I think it's a frisbee)which allows you to throw frisbees at enemies. The power ups still have an effect when they're collected a second time. The second skateboard makes you go even faster and jump even higher, and the second frisbee allows 2 frisbees on the screen at once. When you finish the first level, you are treated to another cut scene. This time, Wally is having a conversation with some rabbit(who Wally only refers to as "Billy"). Billy says that Ricky Rat is trying to get Toby Turtle to join his gang, that Toby would have to take some pills, and that he was stopped from getting on the subway. Wally tells Billy to wait there, that maybe he can help. The second level takes place on a train, and this level is the worst example of the repeating backgrounds. Also, the background has ads for a few games from the developers. The level is smaller than every other level, and the enemies are all rats from Ricky's gang. They walk around, sometimes jump, and throw balls of cocaine at you(or at least, it looks like cocaine.). After you finish the level, you are treated to yet ANOTHER cut scene. It's between Wally, and Toby Turtle. Wally tells Toby that taking drugs is stupid, and you don't have to go with the crowd to be cool, you just have to be yourself. When the next level starts, you will notice that the third level is similar to the first level. There are some differences, though. Like that the rats, which, even though they do look different from the rats in the second level, they act the same.(Or at least very similar.)Also, the background has some changes to it, even though some elements are repeated. Oops, I forgot to mention that there are no mid-level checkpoints. Die near the end of a level? You're starting it all over again. Once you finish this level, there is yet another cut scene. This time, Priscilla Poodle tells Wally that her radio was stolen by Ricky Rat, and she wants to get it back. Wally says, "Hurry, Priscilla, we can still catch him!" and the level starts. You will notice the fourth level is almost EXACTLY the same as the second level. The background, the power up layout, the enemies, and the level's design are all exactly the same. The only difference is that the timer is 150 instead of 200. Oops, I forgot to mention there is a timer in this game. After finishing this level, the music changes, Priscilla thanks Wally for returning her radio, and Wally says that stealing can get you into more trouble than it's worth. When the fifth level starts, the difficulty takes a sudden spike, with more enemies, and rats that drop bombs out of windows. Yeah, the rats have changed their weapon from cocaine to bombs. When you get to the end, you get ANOTHER CUTSCENE. This time, Tattle Tiger(who is colored EXTREMELY bad) says that she saw Larry Lizard drinking out of a strange bottle and acting really strange, Wally states that he thinks Larry's been drinking.(which is extremely obvious) Even though it seems like the level is over, it isn't. Your enemies here are lizards. Did Larry Lizard clone himself or something? Also, the cocaine they throw at you is tinted green. I have no idea why it's green, but then again, this game doesn't make much sense anyway, so.......  Also, there is another change. THE EXIT IS UNMARKED.(In other words, the exit is invisible.) Why would you make the exit invisible? I don't know, but then again, I'm not one of the developers. When you get to the sixth level(I'm not going to detail which door it is)the difficulty takes another spike. This level is as far as I was able to get. Another thing is that you only get 5 lives to get through the entire game, and there are no 1-ups. Did I also mention that the one-second damage protection is back with a vengeance? Also, the control isn't the tightest. When you try to turn around while moving, Wally does a turn-around animation. The problem with this is that you can't do anything while he is turning around. This has cost me lives before when I was trying to hit a bird that was coming towards me from behind. Wally also isn't the easiest guy to control in midair. This cost me lives in the sixth level, where you have to make jumps over a pit without falling in. Overall, this game is one to avoid. The road to hell is paved with good intention, and that applies here. The developers had good intentions, but Wally Bear And The No Gang ultimately fails as a game. I'm done, have a nice day.

Ouch, sounds like a game I'll never play. I can see the kind of message they're trying to get across, but it really has no point if kids aren't willing to pick up the game in the first place.

It surprises me that a game that has drug references would have even been out on the market when the NES was the home console of the time, but then again this is basically a Public Service Announcement against the use of drugs and for kids to avoid joining gangs. I have never come across a game that was not Nintendo certified so it does not surprise me that this one has been given low ratings. After all, this one was developed when video games were not yet a common past time.

To justify more of NovemberJoy's review allow me to make a comparison using the popular Super Mario Brothers --I will refer to it as SMB. The game is fairly difficult and you may require more than one life. Unlike Wally Bear, SMB allows you to start at a checkpoint instead of at the beginning all over. And while Wally Bear gives you five lives at the start of the game, SMB gives you the opportunity to earn and collect extra lives over time which can mean much more to the player. Wally's turn-around animation, as Joy said, leaves you vulnerable. At least in SMB you can jump as you try spin yourself around leaving you with some control over the situation. I am personally impressed with NovemberJoy's review. While I never knew this game existed before coming to the review, I think he has saved me from potentially wasting time on this game.

I'm so sorry you had to try this game. I remember Angry Video Game Nerd going all crazy on this game. I'm afraid to go near it. Nice review though, very very nice.

I'm just very curious. What if a child who's never played games like mario and the such, plays tihs? Would he know it's bad? I think maybe, but he'd have to play something else to be sure. I don't know which one is worse though, Wizard of Oz on the SNES or this game.