Developer: Radiance Software Publisher: NEC Released: 1991 Genre: Platformer
One of the most perplexing things about the Turbo Grafx-16 library is NEC’s choice of titles they localized. While they brought over gems like Ys Book I & II and countless shooters their other choices were completely baffling, especially on the CD. I would gladly have taken Cross Wiber over Impossamole for one. The other strange choice was the US developed platformers that were no doubt created to appeal to Americans. These were all terrible and Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin are among the worst. These were especially disappointing as I love both cartoons but their TG-16 adaptations are completely awful.
TaleSpin is an adaptation of the cartoon series of the same name. Baloo is tasked with finding pieces of a map around the world that will lead to a hidden treasure. Coming along for the ride is his sidekick Kit Cloudkicker, although he is only playable between stages and toward the end. Like its Sega counterpart this version of TaleSpin is part platformer, part shooter. Except in this case neither aspect of the game is competent. TaleSpin’s failure as a game was another in a long list of gut punches to Turbo Grafx fans. While Genesis and SNES owners were treated to excellent Disney games left and right they were stuck with crap like this. It is bad enough the system suffered from a lack of platformers, this only made it worse.
TaleSpin is an exceedingly simple game. Baloo has an infinite supply of level specific ammo like coconuts, snowballs, and that is it. There are a few power-ups, namely extra lives, invincibility, and health. Each level has item drops that you can collect to receive point bonuses. But you do not gain extra lives from scoring, making it pointless. No one is playing TaleSpin to compete for high scores. The sluggish controls make even the simplest platforming sections a slog. But if you stick with it it is manageable.
The level design is rudimentary at best and frustrating at its worst. When the game tries to be creative it falls flat on its face. Take Shere Khan’s Aerodome. Here you slowly climb the tower, starting in the garage. The mechanics throw wrenches that follow you after hitting the ground and are hard to avoid. The upper floors feature multiple crate throwing flunkies who are too fast for Baloo to keep up. Between levels you have a chance to earn points, continues and extra lives controlling Kit in a bonus stage. But the momentum based swinging is absolutely awful and means you will probably leave without picking up anything. There is one shooting level which you would hope would be decent. But even this is bad. The Sea Duck is a massive target and you face the same ships randomly and it feels unsatisfying overall. They should not have bothered.
TaleSpin isn’t so much difficult as it is frustrating. The input delay in the controls leads to cheap hits galore. While they are not common any platforming segment will almost assuredly cost you a life or two. The awful hit detection makes certain boss battles a nightmare. The Witch Doctor in the Watusi River Valley should have been a highlight. Instead you will probably throw the controller. With limited continues this one is a struggle, not just to reach the end but also to find the willpower to keep playing.
Like Darkwing Duck TaleSpin at first looks impressive. The sprites are large and the game is very colorful. But look closer and the presentation is full of flaws. The entire game looks dithered which makes no sense as the Turbo Grafx-16 has a large color palette to work with. The backgrounds are simple and the lack of any parallax scrolling is immediately noticeable. The game has the plain look of PC platformers of the day, which were far behind console games of the time. The overall aesthetic is ugly and outside of is color palette is less visually appealing than NES games released that same year.
In Closing
TaleSpin is awful. I remember wanting it so badly after seeing brief footage on the Gamepro TV show. My hesitation to purchase it was wise as the inevitable disappointment would have been huge. The Turbo Grafx-16 has few 2d platformers but you are better off replaying Bonk’s Revenge than this one.
