Game Review: Back to the Future
 | Back to the Future |  |
Publisher LJN
Developer: Beam Software
Released: September 1989
Game Type: Action
Players: 1
Product Number: NES-FU-USA
Rarity: D (Common)
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| Cart Scan |
In the vast NES game catalog certain games do stand out, sometimes for the wrong reasons. Back to the Future is one such title. Way back in 1985, Back to the Future was a great movie and THE blockbuster hit of the year. So LJN decided to bring all the fun and excitement of the movie to the NES, but the fun and excitement must have ended up on the cutting room floor. The end result is one of the worst NES games of all time, and basically set the precedent for 90% of all movie-based games to come.
You get to play as Marty McFly, the main character from the blockbuster movie. Using Doc Brown's DeLorean time machine, Marty has accidentally traveled back in time to the year 1955, and accidentally messes up the meeting of his future parents, George McFly and Lorraine Baines. As a result history is about to be rewritten and his existance is thratened. Now, Marty must reunite his parents to set history right, and he must return to his own time.
This game consists of four main stages, each at a different location in 1955 Hill Valley. To get from one location to the other, you must go through a series of four street sequences. The street stages are seen from overhead and you automatically march forward to get to the end of the segment, kind of like Paperboy. Along the way you try to avoid several obstacles including bullies, hula girls, potholes and bees. Marty can pick up a bowling ball to defend himself. Bumping into an obstacle causes you to waste time, and if you run out of time you disappear and lose a life. In addition, you also have to keep an eye on a picture of Marty and his brother and sister; throughout the level they start to fade away, and you must collect clocks to keep them from disappearing. Marty can also find a skateboard to help him speed down the road. Once you get through four straight street sequences, you get to go through one of the other four levels, each with a single-screen side view. In the malt shop, you must fend off 50 bullies using milkshakes as ammunition. At the school, you must block Lorraine's hearts with a textbook to break her crush on her future son. At the school dance, you have to keep up with the band by blocking musical notes so Lorraine and George will kiss and secure your future. In the final level you take the wheel of the DeLorean and you must drive down the road to reach 88 mph while dodging lightning bolts so you can zap back to 1985. Lose, and you could be stuck in 1955, or fade from existance.
Both the graphics and sounds are poorly done. While the backgrounds and levels are only below-average, the small characters look like stick figures with hardly any detail and stiff animation. The background tune that plays through most of the game is repetitive and very annoying to listen too. The only time the music changes is when you reach the school dance; then you get to listen to a poor rendition of "Johnny B Goode".
In the street scenes the directional controls are somewhat responsive but the other functions have more than a few problems. For some reason B is used for jumping and A for attacking, which is always a no-no. Marty doesn't jump very well, so you may not want to try to jump over anything. The controls are also stiff in the mini-games. One too many pushes of the control pad will cause you to fail the stage. Controlling the DeLorean is also a hassle as well.
This is a very difficult game to finish. The street sequences are very repetitive and frustrating to play through, over and over and over again. The mini-games get hard fast, and if you fail to meet the requirements in each screen, you have to repeat the last street sequence before you get another shot (minus one life), which only adds to the frustration. The worst part is in the DeLorean level; if you fail to pass you have to start the WHOLE GAME over. Add on the fact that there's no continues and not much of an ending, and there's very little reason to play this game. Plus the developers took too many liberties with the movie storyline. Where in the movie did Marty have to worry about killer hula girls and bees? And why didn't the developers use the sequence where Marty was skitchin' with Biff's car?
This game is universally hailed as one of the worst NES titles ever, with very good reason. Everything about this cartridge is poorly done, and overall the developers just failed to capture the sprit of the movie. With titles like this it's no wonder movie-based games get such a bad rap. Back to the Future is one trip through time not worth taking; this cart should fade from existance as well.
