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You
might remember a while back, our dear webmaster RoG did a
feature on
the Atari Lynx and ten of its woefully overlooked games. There
were quite a few good games on that list, to be sure. I was surprised
to learn, however, that the number one spot on the list was reserved
for a game that I, too, had played as a kid, albeit on a different
platform altogether. Yes, I'm referring to the Sega Genesis
incarnation of Todd's Adventures in Slime World.
For the
uninitiated, you play the role of Todd, a space explorer decked out in
a kind of minimalist, 50's era space suit complete with matching
sunglasses and water gun. Luckily, most of the inhabitants of Slime
World are water soluble, so Todd isn't completely out of his league,
though I would have at least packed a mouth guard if I were going to a
place called "Slime World". Anyway, the suit protects Todd from the
dangerous slime to some extent, despite his completely exposed head
and neck. Over time, though, you'll start to accumulate slime, and if
you can't make your way to a pool of clean water (which apparently
occur naturally underground in Slime World), you'll pop like a
microwaved hamster.
Water
gun and sunglasses aside, Todd also makes use of a number of other
nifty space gadgets in order to stave off a slimy demise, most notably
shields. These things look like the containers from the pneumatic tube
system they have at the bank, and the game practically throws them at
you fistfuls at a time to make up for the fact that you'll be
backtracking through the area should you wind up getting popped.
You'll also come across some useful items like bait for the slime
monsters, cleansers for turning nasty pools of slime into life-saving
pools of water, a cumbersome and awkward jetpack, and my personal
favorite, the Mega Bomb.
Nothing
survived this thing. Enemies, items, even innocent pools would all be
vaporized in a matter of seconds, as would you if you didn't move your
ass to the next room over. Suffice to say, you do not want to see your
partner throw one of these things down while you're mucking about in
the center of a room. Then again, it is funny to watch your friends
struggle to escape being blasted to kingdom come, so you've got to
take the good with the bad. You could even make a cheap Mega Bomb of
your own by flying your jetpack into a pool of water or slime. It's
where the game's policy of infinite lives comes in handy.
The victims of such merciless bombing campaigns were pretty
nifty-looking themselves.
Most are
content to either move back and forth in a set pattern, or just flail
about wildly. A few would seek you out whenever you came near, but the
red ones were some of the most troublesome, as they would explode in a
burst of deadly red slime when shot.
And look at this one:
They
call this mouthy fellow the "Snapper". You touch him, he snaps. Pretty
straightforward, right? Now take a look at this:
That's
the "Hidden Snapper". Why is it called the Hidden Snapper? Use your
imagination. Or your eyeballs:
It was
bad enough that these things were undetectable and killed you as soon
as you stumbled onto one, but the noise they made when triggered was
much louder than any other sound in the game. It sounded a little
something like this.
Have your speakers cranked when that happens and you're likely to
experience heart failure.
Anyway, I can't say that there's any real plot to the game, apart from
Todd venturing through the title planet. I can only assume that it has
to do with greed, as there are quite a few gems lying around in the
tunnels running below Slime World's wrinkly surface. Instead of a
singular plot, the game has a series of smaller plots (not to be
confused with subplots) for each of its different scenarios. That's
right, rather than having a single, solitary Slime World campaign, the
game is divided into six different scenarios with different variations
on the common theme of trying to get from entrance to exit in Slime
World.
- Easy:
As a kid, I must admit I spent most of my time here. Though it wasn't
nearly as large as some of the other scenarios, it was still a
sizeable one. Also, despite its name, it was still suitably
challenging, though you weren't near as likely to hurl your controller
down in frustration because you've come to a seemingly impassable
room.
- Logic:
The puzzle-solving is further complicated by the fact that your water
gun doesn't work. Then again, not having a working gun means you don't
have to decide whether or not to spend time shooting at the monsters,
so it could go either way.
-
Exploration: In a word, BIG. A freakin' huge map with no other strings
attached.
-
Suspense: In a word, MUSHROOMS. In fifteen words, you collect
mushrooms to stop Slime World from melting down and burying you
alive... oohh!
-
Action: This is one of the trickier ones. There are tons more of every
type of monster you've seen up 'til now, but more importantly, that
means loads more Hidden Snappers. Oh joy.
-
Arcade: Arguably, this is the hardest scenario because you only have
one life to live, just like in that soap opera. It really made you
appreciate how fucking infuriating those damned Snappers were,
especially those goddamned hidden ones!
-
Combat: Now this one was the most fun for my money. Instead of
cooperating with a friend to schlep through Slime World, the two of
you face off in a battle to the death. I bombed the hell out of
friends to the point where they would follow me closely lest they risk
being left in the middle of the room when I tossed out a Mega Bomb.
It's a great game. One thing has bothered me about the whole game,
though: The stories for a few of the scenarios state that your ship
has been either damaged or destroyed, and that you need to wait for
another to come pick you up. Why, then, does Todd decide that the best
place to wait is the slimy caverns that are loaded with slimy
monsters? Can't he just settle down in his escape pod and wait it out,
without risking death by slime/chomping? It's just further proof that
Todd is motivated solely by greed, and an unhealthy lust for slime
gems. Well, at least that makes me feel better about him dying all the
time.
Questions or Comments about this piece?
email Dr. Boogie
*** You too can play Todd's Adventures In Slime World! ***
[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TODD'S ADVENTURES IN SLIME WORLD!]
Want to see some more
video game related content?
Then check out Dr. Boogie's feature on:
Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel!
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