Nintendo
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
8.95 8.93 8.95 8.95 |
| Votes: | 99 |
| Reviews: | 5 |
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| Reviewer: Derek Payne | Date: Jan 24, 2009 |
| There is a good bit of nostalgia in this one for me... mostly because I spent hours and hours trying to beat this one and never made it too far without the Game Genie... However, returning to this game on an emulator: last night I beat this game, having to save and load the emulator several (probably over 50) times. However, today, I just beat the game, not loading a single time, in just over an hour. The key ends up being knowing what to expect, knowing how to go about things, and most importantly patience, timing, decision, and a bit of gall.
Graphics: 9 If you ask me, the graphics on this one are extremely underrated. The sprites could be a bit more detailed, but the environments are beautiful. The colors are vibrant and dreamlike, the first level being an excellent example. Sound: 7 The music tracks of the House of Toys and Nightmare Land stand out as particularly fitting and well written. None of the music is particularly catchy, but it does a good job setting the mood of the levels. The sound effects are a little annoying, however. The high-pitched shriek sound when Nemo gets hit in particular comes to mind. Gameplay: 6 The rather standard concept of collecting items to bring to the end of a level is bolstered by imaginative levels. However, the keys that you collect are in the wide open. There is little puzzle or difficulty in getting any of them. Catching a ride from animals is the high point of this game, though sometimes it seems pointlessly easy. In fact, the majority of the game is insanely easy. However, about once in every level (spare the first level) there is an INSANELY hard part. The second level, it's getting a lizard out of a tree, the third, it's dodging a squirrel while trying to duck under some spikes, while Nightmare Land you literally walk through while interspersed insanely difficult obstacles (one room with a frog, a lizard, and some flame jets might be the most difficult and frustrating part of the entire game) get in the way. The bosses are a simple matter of avoidance and waiting for a chance to zap them with your morning star. I've also noticed particularly when fighting the Nightmare King that the controls could be more responsive. I wish a quick tap of a button does nothing, you actually have to hold the A button down just to get Nemo to jump- and every jump is exactly the same height, which makes jumping between two objects impossible. Overall: 7 In the end its the imagination and the colorful worlds that make the game worth beating once, if it takes you an hour or a hundred hours. There is just about zero replay value however. One last note: This so called "sword" Nemo has on his back is actually the morning star. I don't know if he has it all the way through because it was easiest to just have one sprite (especially before each level when he jumps into bed, he shouldn't have it) or if he is supposed to have it the entire time and not know how to use until the princess casts a spell on it. When you ride the mouse, it becomes especially clear that it is the morning star. |
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| Reviewer: Little Nemo | Date: Jun 1, 2006 |
| This game consists of a guy, Little Nemo, who dreams and has to fight enemies in his dreams. He has to find all the keys in a level to unlock a door and end his dream. Each level is a dream for a total of 8 dreams. If he gives candies to some frogs, gorillas, bees, fishes or many other animals, he can become those animals and use their specialties to attack better. It is not known as a very popular game, but it is still a great game.
Graphics: 9 This is a 2D game and you can't see the floor. You move just like in the Super Mario Brothers games. The graphics are not perfect, but you can see some little videos once you have passed a level, just like in the Ninja Gaiden trilogy. The colors are nice too. Sound: 7 There's nothing particular about the music, it is not the best and sometimes it is annoying, but in general, the music is good. Gameplay: 10 This game is so fun to play. It is a game which you can end without playing it during 20 years. It's an easy-intermediate difficulty level game. You can very easily control Nemo and the animals. The final boss is beatable. Sometimes, we might be blocked somewhere, but we always find why we are blocked and that's what makes the game so fun. Overall: 10 As we all know, what makes NES games so fun is not the graphics or sound, but the gameplay. This adventure game can't be considered as good as the classics we know such as Zelda, Punch-out, etc. but it is close. This game is perfect and that's a game you need to play. Finally, just to convince you more to play that game, the end is one of the best I've ever seen. You might feel proud of yourself once you beat the final boss. |
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| Reviewer: Seth Koopa | Date: Jun 9, 2005 |
| It wasn't until after I saw the film that I connected it to this game which I saw in shops all the time when I was little and was fascinated by its imagination. In that respect, the game still shines. As a game on the whole, though, it's not perfect.
Graphics: 8 The graphics do their job well. There are hardly any graphical glitches to speak of, and the worlds are well rendered. Especially in Nightmare land do the character sprites really get what they bargained for. Sound: 8 The effects, aside from when you charge up the Morning star in Nightmare land, are nothing to speak of. The music, on the other hand, is very good. Nemo's house is my personal favourite. It fits the level so well. The boss battle tune in Nightmare land (not the Nightmare king one) is very catchy as well. The rest all do their job nicely for each world, but overall the sound only scrapes an eight. Gameplay: 7 Seven of the game's eight levels (well, ten to be precise) revolve around finding numerous keys (usually six), with which you unlock a door at the end of the world. But although the aim is similar, the levels are very diverse. One takes place in Mushroom forest, one level takes place upon a toy train (a very tough level, incidentally), and in one level the keys are yours for the taking on a silver platter at the end, as it's not a level you can scroll back and forth through; if you missed one key during the course of the level, there would have been no way to go back and get it. To help you in your progress, you can find certain helpful animals that you can get to follow you by feeding them candy. Almost always, this plays an essential part in finding keys and completing levels. As a wasp, you can fly. As a frog-like creature, you can jump great heights. Riding a gorilla, you can climb trees and beat away any enemies that get in your way. This is one of the identifying features of the game. All of these elements add up to a nice mixture. So what's wrong? Well, the game suffers from being the most difficult game I have ever played in my life, to a point where it's a fault. Nemo can only take three hits, and cannot defend himself against enemies unless riding a particular animal. Up to level 5, the most difficult part you face is level 3, the House of toys, where you ride upon a toy train. Once again, Nemo's inability to defend himself is a real setback here. But persevere and be careful what you do, and you'll get through. Once you reach level 5, Nemo's house, however, the difficulty rises to a level of horror. Ironically, it's my favourite level, but the thing is, the obstacles are simply too tough for me to beat. When you jump upon the mouse up in the attic and go back down and intend to jump over the gaps - that's when those flying turtles show up, usually two at a time, rendering it virutally impossible to break the shells they throw at you. Even if you succeed in jumping over them, more show up. How you are supposed to beat this part, I don't know. It's always at this point of the game that I get so frustrated and tired that I turn off my NES. So how do I know about Nightmare land, eh? Because of my Game Genie obsession days. That's the only way I got through the game, and discovered Nightmare land. But as I now try not to use the Game Genie at all, because it ruins the game for me, I don't imagine I'll ever see Nightmare land again. A shame, because that boss battle with the penguin king is one of my favourite moments in the game. Overall: 7 A great attempt at a game, with lots of imagination in it, but the great difficulty makes it too frustrating to anyone but the most patient gamer to tackle. It's a real shame the difficulty is so great, because this game has a lot to it. |
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| Reviewer: Dan | Date: Oct 15, 2001 |
| Ah, Little Nemo. To tell the truth, this was never one of my favorite games when I was a kid. Probably because I never had the patience to actually get through the entire thing when I was little. So anyways, here's the lowdown... Graphics. Hmm... the graphics are serviceable. I always thought it was funny the way Nemo threw his candy, looks like he's going to give himself a hernia. While ok, the graphics never really are varied enough or clolrfil enough for a platforming game. It feels like there are only a small handful of enemies for eanch stage, and they run the gamut from snails to monkeys that through plates at you. So while there is overall variety, within any one level you confront only a small group of enemies. Sound. Nothing really stands out here again. The main theme and Background tunes aren't annoying, but the aren't memorable either. Gameplay. If there is any portion of Nemo that does rise above average, it's here. The system of ""riding"" some of the creatures is pretty cool. You could take on the form of or ride a frog, mole, gorilla, mouse, lizard, hermit crag, fish, or bee. But must of the really cool ones ( the bee & hermit crab being personal favorites, although the stoned smile on the lizard is pretty funny) are only one hit wonders. You meet them in their level and then you never see them again. There are a few different types of level as well. In one of the you must ride on a train and dodge various obsticals as it ran along. Sadly though, the difficulty really downs the gameplay, the learning curve is just too unbalanced. Some stages are just so creampuff it isn't even funny, while others ( the train comes to mind) are frustratingly difficult. A good difficult game is hard, without making you blame the game or throw the controler ( see Gradius and Ghosts & Goblins), this one just gets old. The main objective to to collect 5 or 6 keys to open the door at the end of the level. Making it all the way through a long level just to find you missed a key somewhere really doesn't make you want to go back and get it, it makes you want to turn off Nemo and put in a better game. Overall. This game is just very average. It has some cool stuff in it, but nothing to really make it stand out. At the same time it's not bad enough to be good like Zombie Nation. I can't highly recommend it, but it's worth a try just to see what you can do with the animals. Dream well. |
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| Reviewer: Zero72 | Date: Aug 8, 2001 |
| Graphics: Very detailed and colorful. Sound: I've heard worse... Gameplay: The kid's got a sword strapped to his back, but for some reason he'd rather throw candy. Well, whatever...hey, if there's a way to use the sword, and anyone knows what it is, feel free to let me know... Overall: For one, it's too difficult. For another, can't the kid wear something other than pajamas??? |
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