SNES REVIEWS: Blackthorne
Editorial Note:
"This is the first game review I ever posted, and it was the start of my SNES REVIEWS blogging series. Accordingly, it makes sense (and I hope that's obviously the case) that both my writing and the review format are not as clear or readable as my latest reviews. In fact, unlike other older reviews after it, it was difficult to reformat this blog to be in line with my "modern" standard.
Still, this was necessary step to start a blogging journey that has now extended for nearly 15 years, and so with a lot of embarrassment, but also some pride, I am reposting this blog almost exactly as it was originally written."
#90: Blackthorne:
Year: 1994
Genre: Cinematic Platformer
Publisher: Interplay Productions
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
"The Fun Factor"
This game plays like the original Prince of Persia games.
I wouldn't describe Blackthorne as fun; while the gameplay mechanic is solid for a 5-level Prince of Persia game, repeating it for 16 levels isn't that fun.
Challenge:
The most difficult thing about Blackthorne is handling the controls. While the battles are tense and hard to get out of unscathed, potions are plenty. The number one cause of death will be mistimed jumps.
Some levels are really difficult, though, and the reason for that was the lack of potions, which looked like an oversight to me. A couple epically challenging sequences do leave a lasting impact.
Style:
This is one part where Blackthorne delivers in spades, from the bad-ass Blackthorne with his epic shotgun to the trolls who laugh every time they get a shot at you. The presentation of Tuul (the planet where the game takes place) presented us with a grimdark world before grimdark became the mainstream.
You can also shoot your allies and use them as human shields. The hero is a bad-ass and an asshole.
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| It feels like one of the games that misunderstood Rambo |
If the music were better, the game's style would have been a perfect 10, but it would only get an 8 from me with its soundtrack.
Playability:
I am awfully used to Call of Duty; can I really play this game?
The graphics are not horrible and will not detract from the experience. The sound will not make your ears bleed. And while you are not enjoying HD graphics, the Wii does not have HD graphics and still beat both HD systems' ass.
What affects the playability is the controls, though. For a game that requires pinpoint jumps and some fast movement, the jumps take a second to register, and the main character walks like there is a stick up his ass. You feel that walking is painful to him. The battle commands are responsive, though, which will make the frequent plunge to your doom more frequent than death by the occasional troll.
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| That's going to hurt |
Personal Feeling:
The badass hero made me want to finish the game, and while I cursed many times after a whole level was replayed at the end because of a stupid fall, I always came back. Until the last three levels, where I just wanted the game to end. The epic boss fight was a nice way to end it. If you liked Prince of Persia, then you should definitely play this game.
In Conclusion:
According to IGN, this is going to be the lowest-rated game in the list that I am going to play. And it was a good game to play, but I can't say that I would play it again.
Final: 6/10 (Not Recommended)
Pro Points:
- Style: +3
- Challenge: +2
- Personal Feeling: +1
Con Points:
- Control: -2
Tips:
- Enter every room gun-tooting.
- Everything you get, save; nothing is wasted.
- Only bombs kill the whip troll.
- Changing rooms might give a window to shoot.
- Golems are weak; don't let them hurt you.
- If you get messed up at the beginning of the level, just retry.
- Roll behind trolls to get a free shot.
- Watch out for trap triggers in the ground.
- You can jump over spider mines.
- Wasps are only to destroy generators.
- DO NOT FORGET TO GET THE BRIDGE KEY EVERY TIME YOU DON'T NEED TO USE IT.
Series:
I remember having a lot of fun times playing the SNES in my childhood, but I only played or bought about 10 to 15 games, and many games that I played I couldn't go far into owing to my inability to read basic instructions in English.
As I grew up, I played more SNES games that came my way, as well as others released on other platforms. Due to the sheer quality of those titles that I played years later (such as Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger) and those I remember playing (Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World), I was always curious about the quality of all those titles I did not play.
Three years before starting this review series, IGN released a list of their top 100 SNES games. Reading that list, I got excited and wanted to play all of them. However, I realized that just playing them wouldn't be enough. I wanted to study that list, and hence decided to review most games on the list.
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| Looking back at it now, the game is a bit darker than I remember |
Next Game:
My next game was supposed to be Sunset Riders, but sorry, I cannot dodge bullets, logs, and more bullets, all the while riding a damn horse and shooting at the bad guys on a freaking keyboard.
It is like a western Contra, pretty good from what I saw.
My next game will therefore be #79 on the IGN list, Flashback.
Stay Tuned.
For Previous Genesis Game Reviews:
This blog was originally posted in GoalLegacy forum on September 10th, 2011. It was then reposted in Destructoid Community Blogs on February 3rd, 2014. The blog was slightly edited to fit my newer review format.
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