The Mega Drive version fared best of all. Badly, in fact – the sprites were poorly drawn, backdrops completely absent, the controls unresponsive and it was single-player only.
Jr – did however suffer from the system’s limitations. The Game Boy version – known as Snow Bros. Although the sprites are smaller they’re just as colourful and the new chequered backdrops suit it rather well, filling in for the arcade’s more detailed backgrounds.
Considering a lot of console games in the ‘80s were conversions of arcade titles, this wasn’t an issue in the slightest when it came to the home versions.Ĭapcom’s NES conversion holds up incredibly well. Boss battles feature too, which mostly entail turning the boss’s lackeys into snowballs and launching them just at the right time.īeing an arcade game and all, Snow Bros.: Nick and Tom takes less than an hour to finish. The jaunty music changes from stage to stage, while new enemies are frequently introduced including demons that barf lava onto Nick and Tom from above. When a stage is cleared a few goodies appear (pieces of sushi, usually) before whisking the player off to the next level. The enemies are so efficient at patrolling their platforms though that this proves to be a tricky task, and that’s despite the tight controls – Nick and Tom somersault onto platforms in an amusing, and responsive, fashion. Logic dictates you should at least try and get to the top of the stage in order to maximise chances of hitting as many enemies as possible. This does wonders at keeping you on your toes, daring you to remain in enemy filled locations for longer than you ought to. Fail to fully cover an enemy with snow and they’ll soon shake it off, undoing your effort. Time your push just right and it’s possible to vanquish all remaining enemies at once, with most stages featuring around six enemies each. By firing short-distance projectiles at enemies they can be turned into giant snowballs, ready to be rolled into others. Nick and Tom’s method of attack is a compelling one which instantly hooks. This was more than likely to make it appeal to a western audience. The box art for Capcom’s NES and Game Boy conversions omitted the brother’s offbeat headwear, and it’s only here that they resemble your common garden variety snowman. Sporting fez hats and dungarees, Nick and Tom didn’t really resemble traditional snowmen. is heavily muted while the visual style is ripe with influences from Japanese folklore. It’s however doubtful anybody outright mistook it for a Taito game like Rodland before it, as the colour palate in Snow Bros. It’s clear right from the outset that Toaplan had studied Taito’s handiwork very closely as it features many similar elements and ideas. Toaplan’s Snow Bros.: Nick and Tom from 1990 hit all the right notes too, and like Rodland soon found its way to home systems. Jaleco’s Rodland did come close though, to the point where it’s often mistaken as a Taito effort. Even the obscure ones.Ĭertainly in the ‘80s, nobody could beat Taito at their own game. These two games in particular were incredibly popular, eventually converted to just about every 8-bit and 16-bit system. And although more of a vertical platformer, trapping and crushing enemies under rainbows in Rainbow Islands was curiously compelling.
Capturing enemies in bubbles that floated to the top of the screen, ready and waiting to be popped, was a hoot in Bubble Bobble. In each Taito success story the main character’s method of attack also played a key element. The Japanese arcade giant had the formula to creating single-screen platformers perfected from out outset – an irresistible combination of colourful visuals, jaunty music, tight controls and a smooth learning curve. In 1983 arcade legend Taito gave the world Chack ‘n Pop, a simple single-screen platformer that eventually lead to the creation of Bubble Bobble and its wealth of spin-offs and sequels.
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