The Pirates of Dark Waters is a lesser known beat 'em up on the snes better known for the cartoon the game is based off of. On a system flooded with beat 'em ups I think this game is actually quite worthy of holding its place among all the greats. It is refreshing seeing a game that was based off of a show or movie actually have quality game play instead of just relying on the gimmick.

   The Pirates of Dark Waters was one of my favorite cartoons growing up and first appeared on tv in the early 1990's. It is one of the greatest tragedy's our world has ever seen, the series was never finished! For avid fans like myself we will never truly know what happens to the beloved characters of the show, but can only imagine. What we did get was 21 of some of the greatest cartoons man has witnessed regardless if the tale was left unfinished.

   Our Hero of the story and one of the selectable characters of the games name is Ren. Ren is the Prince of a once great city of Octopon. It is mysterious as to what happened to Rens father, the king, and his grand kingdom but Ren never witnessed his fathers grand kingdom. Ren is raised in a lighthouse by its keeper. Growing up Ren is entrusted with a sword, or only half of a sword, as the tip half is broken off. It is later discovered that it was the sword of his father, the king of Octopon.

   The world Ren lives in, Mer, is being destroyed by a substance known as Dark Water. It is Rens quest to defeat the Dark Water and save the people of Mer. Ren must find lost artifacts known as the Lost 13 Treasures of Rule in order to combat the Dark Water and banish it from the world.

   Rens quest is grand and the entire world is at stake so he must entrust the aide of companions to help him with his quest. Tula is a mysterious female who accompanies Ren because she is tired of her dull life and yearns for adventure. It is fairly obvious pretty early Tula is not ordinary and has hidden powers that she try's not to reveal. Ioz is a greedy pirate who joins Ren in the hopes for gold and treasure. Although it seems Ioz's intentions are evil, the more time he spends with Ren you soon see his soft side come through. Ioz becomes more mature as he sees the true importance of their quest is not treasure but is saving his world. Lastly of the crew is Niddler, a flying monkey who has an insatiable appetite for minga melons. Niddler can often seem cowardly but if the time really calls for his help he comes through. Ren initially finds Niddler as they are both captives of the Evil Pirate Lord Bloth. Niddler helps Ren and himself get free and forever are enemy's of Lord Bloth.

   Lord Bloth is the main antagonist although even he must fear Dark Water. Bloth enlists a no good crew of pirates who include the likes of Mantus, Konk and The Lugg Brothers. Konk is a short, fat, peg-legged pirate who often finds himself at the butt end of the story's jokes. Bloth defeated Ren's father and now intends to find the 13 Lost Treasures of Rule to control the Dark Water for evil. Upon realization that Ren is the lost Prince of Octopon Bloth also mercilessly hunts Ren and his crew intent on their capture. Lord Bloth Pirates the mighty warship known as the Maelstrom which is a gigantic ship made of bone resembling a dinosaur monster. Our heroes must avoid capture on the Wraith a ship Ioz secretly stole.

Ren, Tula, and Ioz are the controllable characters of the game and you must master control of them in order to find the 13 Lost Treasures and save the world of Mer. The Dpad will move your character, nothing new from any other Beat 'em up. A is your Special attack and B is used to jump. X is your power attack and Y is your jab attack. The shoulder buttons are used for blocking.

   The 3 characters each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Ren is like the in between character, where he is not the most powerful character he is also not the weakest, he is not the fastest character but also is not slowest. Ioz is the big power character. He is the strongest character but he is also the slowest. Last Tula is the weakest of the 3 but she is also the fastest.

GRAPHICS: 8
   The graphics of the game strongly resemble the animation style used in the cartoon which is what you would want from a video game based off of a show. The colors of the graphics are vibrant and bring life to the world of Mer. Even the character sprites are detailed and accurately depict even the lesser known characters of the show. The backgrounds are also properly transferred.

SOUND: 7
   The games sound is nothing to write home about. I feel like some of the music from the show could have been better used, so this is definitely one of the games letdowns. Although the music could have been done better, the games special effect sounds are still quality.

ADDICTIVENESS: 9
   This is a game that will have you coming back for repeat plays. The game is highly fun and really makes you feel like you are your favorite hero.

STORY: 8
   The story for the show is incredible. It had me the very first time I saw it, but I'm not sure this game offers much in the way of telling you the story. Since it is a beat 'em up these games don't usually contain a whole lot of plot but if you already have a knowledge of the story their isn't much to complain about.

DEPTH: 8
   The game contains a score system that offers limitless hours of fun
trying to compete on vizzed for high score or just trying to top your
own personal best. For Beat 'em up standards the game is probably average in length. What makes up for the games average length though is the 3 selectable characters offering triple the reason to beat it again.

DIFFICULTY: 9
   Maybe I am just a noob, but I often have troubles beating Beat 'em up titles. This game is no different so I rate the difficulty high. Unless you are a master of the beat 'em up genre, don't expect to beat this game your first time playing it. Even if you do finish the game you can still try to top your score for added difficulty.


  
                                                                       

Hey, great review. I remember the cartoon myself and rather enjoyed it (at least as a kid I did... not sure if I'd still like it now). I heard of this game's existence, but never bothered trying it because show-based games tend to be bad. It's surprising to hear that it was actually well done. I might have to try it after all. Thanks for providing this useful information.