Developer: Natsume Publisher: Taito Release: 12/92 Genre: Platformer
I grew up on a steady diet of Hanna Barbera reruns from the 60s. In a time before streaming and cable TV being a regular thing those old cartoons were a bright light in my childhood. While I loved the Flintstones I never did like the Jetsons that much. It was not the setting; I like Star Trek and Star Wars well enough. But something about the adventures of George Jetson never did hook me. Which is why it is odd that I like the Jetsons: Cogswell’s Caper so much. Taito were on fire with their licensed games at the end of the NES life and this is another winner.
George Jetson is awoken in the middle of the night by his boss Mr. Spacely. It seems his direct competitor Cogswell’s Cogs are undergoing dangerous mining operations on planet M38, treating their workers like dirt and also damaging the environment in the name of profit. Somehow George is the only one who can put a stop to this mess. Considering Natsume are the developers of Cogswell’s Caper its quality should not be surprising. But when you have tolerated more LJN disasters than any reasonable human being should skepticism toward another licensed title is warranted. I am glad this one turned out alright; it is another late era gem from Taito.
Initially George is not the greatest protagonist. His jump is awkward (that jet pack is useless!) and his only means of offense is picking up and throwing boxes. But as you progress the various members of his family will provide with him with different gadgets that expand his abilities. These include a remote controlled drone that attacks enemies on sight, invincibility, a flashlight that is a smart bomb, a hover board, and magnetic boots that reverse gravity. All of these items use varying amounts of star power to prevent abuse and stars in limited supply. However most of these items are optional in their use and do not come in to play until closer to the end.
For the first half of the game Cogswell’s Caper is very similar to Capcom’s Rescue Rangers. A slower, more methodical Rescue Rangers but still. The levels are full of boxes to throw at enemies but this is not a pure action game. Platforming is heavy and to an extent it had the potential to ruin the game. As I said before George’s jump is clumsy and does not feel natural. Someone on the design team must have realized this as switches litter the levels. Flipping a switch has various effects, mostly inverting gravity, opening doors, and such. These switches and there effects are what give the game variety. Reversing gravity is called on heavily and the game makes good use of it up until the conclusion. Plenty of NES games have flirted with this mechanic but Jetsons and its integration does it better than most.
Once you reach the midpoint the game begins to present more and more situations to use your various gadgets. Of course their use is not mandatory, especially as power packs are infrequent but the options available to tackle a given situation helps the game tremendously. Where the game treated you with kid gloves initially the challenge picks up. Instant death spikes are prevalent; enemies are more resilient and have tricky placement and the boss patterns become complex. I compare it to reaching Wily’s castle in Mega Man; the game knows you have all the necessary tools. Now you need to use them to succeed. The game is also as long as the aforementioned title which is a nice surprise. But that is a good thing. The core gameplay is strong enough to carry it despite its simplicity at times.
Despite being a licensed title Cogswell’s Caper is a little more difficult than you would expect. You have three hearts and can max out at five. They are not plentiful and every death reduces it by one. Enemy placement is frequently tricky and boxes are not always readily available. Speaking of the boss battles are pattern based but challenging because you must rely on random box drops to attack. The platforming and the frequent anti-gravity segments can be tricky but in a good way. You have unlimited continues and will probably use a good number of them.
In Closing
Taito and Natsume put in a solid effort with Cogswell’s Caper to create a great game. It is mechanically simple but has great level design to back it up. Knowledge of the license is not necessary to enjoy this one. If you like platformers this is an easy recommendation.
