Saturn REVIEWS: Clockwork Knight 1 & 2

Out of every 10 platformers on the SNES and the Genesis, only one was good, and it was most likely not made for the Genesis. Generally, playing any random platformer at that time that isn't made by Nintendo is a huge gamble with your time. The gulf in class between the great platformers we remember from that time and the rest of the filler games is as deep a the Grand Canyon.

Both Clockwork Knight games are not at the rock bottom of that canyon (that spot is reserved for Bug!), but they are deep enough for you not to waste your time playing them.

R2: Clockwork Knight 1 & 2:

Year: 1994 & 1995.
Genre: Platformer.
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Sega.

"Come on now, everyone, it's all right, join the fun"

I must admit that I was initially hopeful when I started the game, and that's due to the encouraging opening movie. With a catchy Broadway-inspired musical song (That reminded me of Super Mario Odyssey's theme), the movie shows a playroom come to life (not unlike Toy Story). Then, the princess of the playroom, who is a maiden in a fancy clock, is kidnapped, and an awakened clockwork soldier that suspiciously looks similar to Mario must go and save her.

The opening movie suggested a world filled with little details about everyday homes, shown from a small toy's perspective. It suggested, even if the gameplay ended up being mediocre, at least a thematically interesting world.

Imagine that same garish wallpaper in your room

Unfortunately, while the theme is clear in the level design and world backgrounds, everything is made up in such a haphazard way that there is no interesting visual storytelling at all. Levels are simply made of toy blocks, pencils, utensils, and other common things in a chaotic way that inspires no admiration whatsoever.

Ironically, the only thing remaining that ties the game to that great opening cinematic is the good soundtrack, which incorporates the catchy tune into the game's few tracks. So, even when you are glaring at soulless characters in soulless environments, at least the soundtrack is okay.
 

"Pepperouchau, I am pleased to see you!"

If nothing else, at least Clockwork Knight 1 & 2 had the decency to be short (unlike Bug!). Each game consists of eight short levels and four mediocre bosses. While for people buying it at the time, that short length would have seemed almost criminal, it was a blessing to this reviewer.

That's because playing the game is less fun than doing absolutely nothing, and every minute wasted on this game is a minute that is forever gone.

In the first game, the character moves at a plodding pace in unimaginative levels with terrible visual cues about where hidden things could be(not that anything is valuable in the game). Combat is boring, with inconsistent hit detection. Bosses are boring to look at and boring to fight.

There is no flattering angle for this game

The second games improve things a little by adding the ability to run and sprinkling four collectibles in each level. Except that doesn't improve the desire to explore those levels, as the level design clearly frustrates that desire. For instance, there is a tower of a sort that you climb through many platforms. In any competent platformer, that tower, which wastes your time climbing, would be a unique place in the level and should contain a collectible. Not in Clockwork Knight, where there are three such towers in the level, none of which has a collectible or anything of value to the player (screw the points you get).

At that point, it became obvious that no one was thinking about the best places to put in collectibles or lives, or any useful items. One egregious example of such poor placement design is in an invincibility power-up (the only power-up in the game) that is placed in a hard to get location, but once you get it, there is little use from it as there are no enemies or hazards that you will need to watch out for for the entire time the power-up is active, only for hazards and enemies to show-up again once the effects are over.

"Pepper, welcome back. Let's begin"

If it wasn't obvious by now how poor this game is, simply compare it to another great platformer at the time. Both Clockwork Knight and Donkey Kong Country were 2D platformers made at roughly the same time with a pseudo-3D graphical look.

Visually, there is really no comparison despite one of them being made in a stronger console. There is a level of consistency in DKC in level design, enemy design, sound effects, and music that tells of a cohesive and vibrant world. That consistency is usually absent in mediocre platformers.

You played this game, now weep

Gameplay-wise, there is a weight and momentum to the movement of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. A movement that is facilitated by the level design, as each level contains many obstacles that invite you to overcome. On the other hand, Pepperouchau, or whatever the hell he is named, is boring to control, especially in levels that are poorly designed with a minimum of obstacles to overcome.

Finally, the scope of each game is of a completely different magnitude despite both being the same price. While the first DKC had 33 full-fledged levels, both Clockwork Knight games offer a paltry 16 poorly designed levels combined.

In Conclusion:

Games like Clockwork Knight demonstrate clearly how hard it is to actually make a competent platformer, nevertheless, a great one.

Here is a game so devoid of skill, so bankrupt in its ideas, that it is honestly a struggle to finish it.

Final: 3/10 (Not Recommended)

Pros:

• Good opening cinematic

Cons:

• Terrible Gameplay
• Terrible level design
• Terrible waste of time despite being short
• Unmercifully boring

It's a-me, discount Mario

Tips:

1. Don't play this game.

Series:

For those reading one of my Saturn review blogs for the first time, here is the basic concept:

I already reviewed both major Generation 4 consoles and am now ready to review the Generation 5 consoles, starting with the Sega Saturn. In these reviews, I take a top 100 games list and review the games that interest me in that list.

This time, my review series is based on this top 100 games list from Retro Sanctuary

Go away and never return

Next Game:

Well, I guess there is a game on the Saturn that is almost as bad as Bug, but it is not nearly enough in reality. Bug! was an abhorrently designed game from top to bottom with no redeeming features. Ironically, both games got decent critical scores at the time, which points to a poverty of options at the time.

Next, I will continue with my Saturn reviews with a report of the top 11-20 games as per the Retro Sanctuary list. Later, I will play and review the most famous Shmup on the Sega Saturn, Radiant Silvergun, which sits at number 8 on the same list.

Stay tuned

For Previous Saturn Game Reviews:

The List

This blog was originally posted in Destructoid Community Blogs on April 4th, 2020.