Developer: Ocean Publisher: Ocean Release: 03/92 Genre: Platformer
Ocean Software was not one of my favorite publishers back in the day. As the European Acclaim they flooded the market with licensed video games that were usually not very good. North America was spared the majority of their output, which *whew* thank god. Every now and then however a gem would escape their dungeon. The 1992 Addams Family movie was a phenomenon and genuinely great. While it is an odd one for a licensed title somehow Ocean turned out a solid platformer loosely based on the movie.
As I mentioned the game only slightly follows the film plot. In the movie Abigail Craven plans to steal the Addams’ family fortune with an imposter Uncle Fester. Amazingly the game was only created in a few months it could not follow it to the letter. That was probably for the best. In the game Abigail kidnaps the members of the Addams’ family and hidden them around the family estate. As Gomez you must rescue them individually to open the way to the vault and recover their stolen riches.
The Addams Family is a platformer typical of the era. Gomez moves very fast and unfortunately control is a little slippery. He slides around in is movements but you retain full control which offsets it somewhat. The staple butt bounce is his primary attack but you can find a rapier and golf balls as secondary weapons. Unfortunately you lose them when hit which is a choice I do not like. The game has a lot of tight spaces where you cannot bounce on enemies. If you kept either weapon permanently or if they appeared more frequently it would have made the game less frustrating.
Gomez has free reign to explore almost the entire mansion from the start. The Hall of Stairs grants access to every part of the mansion, from the kitchen to the conservatory. In addition there are a few outdoor areas that are optional and well worth exploring. The structure suggests a Metroid style adventure but this is not that. Gomez does not gain any new weapons or abilities depending on the order you tackle his abode. Some areas are more difficult than others but that is the only difference.
The level design is generally pretty great. Each area of the mansion has unique platforming challenges to test your skills. The individual rooms are named and often clue you in as to what to expect. Jester’s Jump is a cramped room that forces you to make tough leaps in tight spaces lest you die in one shot. If there is one weak spot it would be the kitchen. The Conservatory and its various plant themed rooms strikes a nice balance between precise platforming and free form action. These frozen areas highlight the worst aspects of the controls. Ice stages in games are frustrating as is but with the already slippery controls these are particularly annoying. Secrets are everywhere and the game is gracious enough to provide subtle hints. You will need them as the Addams Family puts up a fight.
The game’s generosity with extra lives belies the fact that it is very difficult. Within the first five minutes it is possible to earn twelve lives with little effort. The reason being you will need them. When you start you have a two heart life bar. You can eventually expand that to five but the game is still rough. The platforming is creative at times but quickly delves into advanced territory. Due to the slippery controls you will take cheap hits left and right. Depending on the area you visit first you are in for a rough time. Despite that the Addams Family is fair. It is extremely generous with its extra lives and you respawn a few feet from where you died. Life restoring hearts are also placed after troublesome areas. The challenge may be unconventional for a licensed title but is manageable overall.
Even though it closely resembles many of the subpar European platformers of that era the Addams Family is still a pretty game. The art style is suitably dark and special effects are nonexistent. The quality varies from one area to the next. The Graveyard and its subterranean levels are beautiful. But the library is incredibly bland. Some locations drag on longer than they should which makes the backgrounds repetitive but as a whole the production values are higher than expected for a licensed title.
In Closing
The Addams Family was a pleasant surprise. I did not expect much but found a solid game that is better than it has any right to be. It still is not one of the first platformers I would recommend on the SNES but is worth it for those that have exhausted the majority of the system’s platformer library.
