Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: Hudson Soft Released: 1989 Genre: Shooter
The Adventures of Dino Riki is a game that I am completely apathetic toward. I don’t dislike it like I do the old Wonder Boy games. But I also don’t particularly like it either. This is an old game that came at a time where the NES was on fire. Dino Riki was originally released in 1987 but didn’t come overseas until 1989. When compared to games like Mega Man 2 and DuckTales it can’t help but look dated. There are some good elements here and there but they are let down by shoddy execution.
Although it resembles an overhead Adventure Island Dino Riki is actually an overhead shooter. Despite the change in genre the similarities are still there. Both star cavemen and use the same set of weapons. You start out with rocks that can be upgraded to hatchets, boomerangs, and finally fire. Aside from weapons there are a variety of secondary items. Food restores health, hearts increase your maximum hit points, boots to increase speed, and the rare Macho Ricky power-up. Macho Ricky transforms you into a buff version of yourself that is incredibly strong. Unfortunately once it runs out you are left with the default rocks, making it not worth it.
Dino Riki is similar to other overhead shooters like Elemental Master and Phelios in that you are always moving forward. The pace is slow but the game is no less intense as enemy waves are a constant. Dino Riki is incredibly generous with power-ups so you won’t have to worry about health or weapons often. If the game had stuck to simple shooting it would have been decent. The game has a good pace and there is a nice variety in enemies. Waves are unpredictable yet fair and it can be fun dodging and weaving between stage hazards while fighting enemies. But the game adds one more element that ruins it.
For some god forsaken reason they decided to add platforming and it barely works. Your constant forward momentum means you’ll have to constantly readjust to stay on the narrow platforms the game loves to throw in your way. Any sequence that involves multiple moving platforms like the lily pads in stage one are a nightmare. The perspective also means you will easily misjudge the distance or where the landing even starts. You’ll also have to wait for the screen to scroll, all while balancing on a narrow ledge. Believe it or not it gets worse. You’ll also have to contend with enemies while doing this as well. Platforming plays a big role in the game and unfortunately it ruins it.
It should come as no surprise that Dino Riki is a bit difficult. I mentioned the game’s generosity with power-ups. I would hazard they expect you to die constantly. In all honesty you will. A lot. Once the enemy waves start they almost never stop. Taking hits downgrades your weapons and once that spiral begins the chain reaction that follows is hard to avoid. Your speed also drops, making it hard to avoid enemies and further weakening you. Combined with the ridiculously hard platforming and you’ll run out of lives pretty quickly. Oddly enough the boss battles are simple; if you have the torch it might as well be an instant win button. Getting there is the hard part though.
Dino Riki is deceptive when it comes to its length. Technically there are seven levels but in reality it’s really only four. The first three (swamp, desert, mountain) are distinct. Stage four has four levels. But in reality they are just remixes of the first three. The levels are unbearably long and the remixed stages are even worse than the originals in terms of their flaws. At the very least the final boss is new but for your troubles there isn’t even an ending. The game simply loops and starts over.
In Closing
The Adventures of Dino Riki is not a good game. Even if it came to America in 1987 like its Japanese counterpart it would still be average. This is a first generation game released when games were pushing boundaries and it looks and feels old. There are better overhead shooters like Guerilla War which saw a release the same year. Play that instead.
