Developer: Irem Publisher: Irem Release: 09/92 Genre: Platformer
DinoCity is an easy game to write off. The box art distills the 90s perfectly and, while being inoffensive, gives the impression of a kid’s game that will offer no real challenge. The reviews at the time were slightly above average; they did not damn the game but also didn’t heap it with praise either. I myself avoided it for no good reason until a weekend rental changed my opinion. DinoCity is a good game and better than many of the generic platformers of that era.
Funny enough DinoCity is actually a licensed title. The game is based on the movie Adventures in Dino City, a film planet Earth has all but forgotten. I find it odd that a Japanese developer would create an adaptation; but for all I know it could have been the highest grossing movie of the year over there. The story sees Timmy and his friend Jamie accidentally transported to a world of anthropomorphic dinosaurs by an invention created by their parents. Unfortunately a group of Neanderthals called the Rockies steals one of its key components. Timmy and Jamie team up with two friendly dinosaurs named Rex and Tops to get the piece back and go home.
With its bouncing eggs you might assume DinoCity was the prototype for Yoshi’s Island. Sadly eggs are this game’s version of coins and only award extra lives. The game is simple at heart with a single attack depending on the character. Timmy and Rex attack with a flurry of punches while Jamie and Tops use projectile attacks, making the game easier. At any time the kids can hop off their partner’s back to solve simple puzzles. It is a cool mechanic that sadly they do not explor as much as it should.
In terms of its level design DinoCity borrows a lot from the Mario series. If I were to be more specific, Super Mario Bros 3. Many of the same platforming elements make an appearance here such as moving platforms and sliding blocks. It is competent but not as precise. Each level is has multiple blocks, with each ending in a door that will take you to the next sections or a bonus round. This means there are multiple routes through a stage with some harder than others. Enemy placement is deliberate and you need to exploit it to catch items or access the alternate path in a level. Despite its appearance the game puts up a bit of a fight in the challenge department, not always in a good way. But more on that later.
While the DinoCity’s level design is for the most part solid it does have its flaws. It shows its hand pretty quickly and plateaus fast. By the midpoint you will have some almost all of its tricks. It may remix them in certain ways but it becomes repetitive fast. For a game that is sex levels long that hurts its longevity. In addition it does not make use of its character switching gimmick enough. There are some clever moments built around it that could have elevated the game had they capitalized on it. Instead they are few and only give you a glimpse of what could have been.
As much as I do enjoy DinoCity the sluggish controls are less than ideal. I will not go so far as to say there is input delay but it definitely feels like it. The slow controls will lead to many cheap hits. If you are using Timmy this is even more egregious as their melee attacks are slow to register. Whenever they employ Mode 7 the game slows to a crawl which makes the control issues worse. It is easily worked around but still frustrating nonetheless.
The presentation is actually pretty great for such a low key release. The game’s environments are full of detail and very imaginative. The sprite work is not as impressive; think Joe & Mac minus the good art. While I do like the graphics the presentation there is heavy repetition and some embarrassing slowdown. There only seem to be around 5 or 6 backdrops that repeat throughout the game with slight variation. Sometimes you will cycle through 3 or 4 of these in one level! Anytime the game employs Mode 7 the frame rate drops into the single digits and it does have an impact on gameplay. It is a bit sad that the otherwise solid graphics have these flaws.
In Closing
DinoCity is a good game all around with just a few slight flaws. In this case I am glad my preconceived notions of its quality were shattered and I was left with a game that entertained me for a weekend. It is not something that I would outright recommend over the bigger titles but it is still decent nonetheless. This is a solid C level title you pick up at a cheap price.
