PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Why I Switched from Game Gear to Master System

I told you it was comin'.

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When I first played Cheese Cat-Astrophe for the Sega Game Gear back on April 16, 2024 for Try It Out Tuesday #329, I didn't know what to expect other than it was a platformer based on the Looney Tunes property starring Speedy Gonzalez that I had barely heard of. When I played the game for the first time, I initially liked it at first, and while it took a few minutes to figure out what to do in the first level of the game, I eventually learned what to do. From there, it was just a matter of not just learning the levels, but learning how to fight the bosses, with the first one feeling a little bit weird due to having to figure out how to grab the dynamite, throw it at just the right time, and damage the boss without hurting yourself.

The first world of the game was interesting enough on its own. Then came the second world, which was lush with pools of lava flowing at the bottom of the screen, moving platforms that floated from one side to the other, plenty of places to jump to...and falling lava droplets dropping from the top of the screen not just where I was, but also from off-screen, where I couldn't see them until I was jumping around and it was almost too late to react. When I played part of the second world for Funk It Up Friday three days later, I was frustrated with the level to the point that I didn't want to play past the first half of that world and just stopped it right there. I gave it the Red Pass, making it one of only a handful to ever receive the worst pass rating (until and unless I make a Black Pass) from the then-Twitter tryouts.

As I vented my frustrations with the game for my final thoughts, I referenced the Master System version and how everything looked better and had more real estate and more screen space to work with. By the time I closed in on the game as I worked through my Let's Play backlog, however, my frustration with the game had subsided somewhat. I would eventually forget about my irritation with the second level of the game as I worked on the Let's Play backlog built up by earlier game tryouts. When I finally got to recording this game, however, the frustration with the second level and all the problems that I had with it suddenly bubbled back up.

My experience with playing through the first level went as expected. Compared to the Try It Out Tuesday session, I had everything figured out thanks to the notes that I took trying to get through the first level. Then came the second level...and everything went completely awry.

As I've mentioned in the past, I always - and usually - do practice runs before recording and playing through the game for real. Not only does it give me a better idea of what to expect as I play through the game, but it also allows me to make mental note of the things that I encounter when I play through the portion of the game that I want to play through for the video that I am recording. Somehow, when I did the practice run of the entire second level of the game, I was able to go through the first half of the level well enough. The third part is dead simple compared to the first two, since you're just swimming around in the water looking for a key while avoiding things and then heading to the exit. The boss didn't give me trouble, either, since I was able to quickly figure it out.

When it came time to record, however, the game decided to have a mind of its own and decided that it didn't want to be Let's Played. I could make it through the first stage with some effort, but when it came to the second stage, I always fell victim to the lava droplets, as they were constantly in the path of my jump, and I could not see them until it was too late. This time around, I was more committed to getting through the second world of the game than I was during the try-out, and made the decision that since I had knowledge of what I was getting into when I played the first half of the second world of the game, I would have a slightly better chance of making it through this time around.

Imagine my surprise when I had lost all of my lives in the first half of the second world about seven times, either due to the lack of an ability to look up or down, or because of all the lava droplets being in the way at the last second. I would either run into them, or I would die trying to avoid them. I would just keep losing lives again and again and again, wondering why nothing was going on the way that my practice run did. 

After an hour of this, I gave up, got on YouTube, and watched videos of the Master System version of the game. It was then that I noticed not one, but two things about the game that brought my blood to a boil. The first is the most obvious: the resolution was larger and the player was allowed to see a lot more. It may have made the first world of the game look a lot more barren at the beginning, but when you entered the third part of the first world, you could actually see the vulture that was repeatedly diving at you. There was also the minor difference of Sylvester hanging off the talons of a big bird in the first boss battle instead of having a jetpack strapped to his back, but that was just it: minor.

Then came the second level. It was then that I noticed that the lava droplets that fell from the top of the screen could fall from anywhere, but at the same time, you could always see when it was going to happen. You also had some more advance warning of what was going on ahead. This was on the Sega Master System version. On the Game Gear version, however, things were different.

Compared to the Master System, there's a lot less on the screen on Game Gear. It's not too bad when you're in the first level, but as you go on, you'll notice that everything is WAY too big. What constitutes one whole room on Master System is humongous on the Game Gear. Whenever I'm rescuing a mouse in order to get an exit opened up, I'm always scrolling the screen to the right on the Game Gear's smaller screen, whereas the Master System shows the entire room at once. When I'm going through the cliffs area after the desert, the cliffs are much bigger and much more seemingly spaced out in handheld form compared to on your TV screen. The last desert area itself is even worse, as when you're playing on Game Gear, you can't even see the vulture that is flying around and swooping down at you every chance it gets. On Master System? You can see that vulture at all times.

After completing the entire first level, it's time to take on the second. As soon as you start playing the first half, you'll notice that just like in the first level, you can't see very much. But it isn't until you're going from the left side of the stage to the right that you start noticing things. The first thing you're going to notice that isn't the massive amounts of brown and orange making up the walls and platforms is all of the lava droplets dropping down from...the sky? The ceiling? The heavens themselves?!?

In addition to having to jump from platform to platform, which is hard to do when you can barely see the platforms and everything feels like a leap of faith, the lava droplets are also dropping down from slightly off-screen, and sometimes, you won't be able to see them until it's too late. It also doesn't help when the camera is always moving when you are and you have to jump onto a platform traveling back and forth across the lava that turns around a half-second earlier than when you'd expect just to keep you from merely stepping on it just to take a ride.

After a whole hour of being completely unable to make any progress, I became absolutely livid with myself and watched the whole second world to see how it looked on Master System. I expected everything to look better, but I didn't expect my view of the level I was playing through to be so vast that not only would the lava droplets not be able to get the drop on me, but I could actually see where I was jumping at all times.

This is when I realized that when it comes to this particular part of the game in the Game Gear version, the action is really zoomed in. By comparison, Desert Speedtrap starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote had the same thing going on, but after having played the Master System version of Desert Speedtrap, however, I would still be able to play through the game on Game Gear despite that version of the game showing a good amount less of the level than Master System would.

That's probably because when I played through the whole game on Normal, I had sound cues whenever Wile E. Coyote showed up. It didn't matter if he was on the rocket, driving a bus, strapped to a jetpack or using any other means of technology that he purchased from ACME. If I heard a rushing sound, that was my cue to move and keep moving.

Sadly, you don't have that with the lava droplets in this game. Especially when they're coming down from off-screen and you can barely see them. It's like the weasel soldiers from Mickey Mania, if they were dropping hot molten pitch downward and not throwing daggers or shooting crossbow bolts at you. Oh, they'll still make a distinct sound that you can easily hear...but only when they land on the platform, signaling the next drop of lava to come down from the ceiling.

It also doesn't help that due to how the camera is zoomed in compared to the Master System version, you have a camera following you everywhere, which makes keeping track of where you're supposed to land every time you jump harder, and - thanks to the zoomed in perspective where everything is too big - makes a jump that is very easily doable on the Master System look like a leap of faith on Game Gear. The second half of "A Weekend in Hawaii" became torture to the point where I just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible because of this.

If I wasn't accidentally running into an enemy from making a jump, or if I wasn't making a jump only to land right into lava and immediately die, I was leaping right into the path of a lava droplet that I could not avoid...which was something that I was doing a lot more often than I would have liked. And after a whole hour of trying desperately to complete the second level just for one video in a Let's Play, I was done. I deleted all of my work - not counting what I saved for this - got the Master System version, and started from square one. This time, when I made it to the second level, I could actually see what I was doing, and I was able to get through the level and ultimately beat the game.

The Game Gear version of this game is nothing more than a lazy port. Sure it looks just like the Master System version that was released solely in Europe and plays just like it, but in the end, the camera and the zoomed-in graphics ruin the proceedings. There are two reasons why the camera follows you everywhere and keeps Speedy completely in the center of the reason. The first is to supposedly ensure that you see all of the level without having to move the camera, and it does it by focusing squarely on Speedy...but by doing less simply by zooming in and focusing entirely on Speedy, the game does no favors to the player. Because of this, you can't see what you're doing, hazards that should be visible at all time seem to show up right out of nowhere, and the difficulty is artificially inflated as a result.

The second is because the developers seemingly never gave any thought to putting the game on Gear Gear and only thought about putting it on Master System - at least, that's how I personally feel - and with time and money both being tight and the Master System being officially discontinued west of the Atlantic outside of Brazil, the developers just zoomed the action in just to make everything seemingly make sense and fixed the game's camera to focus squarely on Speedy Gonzales, then called it a day. Even GamePro, which looked at the game fairly favorably and gave it 3's and 3.5's back in page 82 of its July 1995 issue, briefly brought this up. The only difference between myself and GamePro is 30 years and knowledge of the Sega Master System version, and while GamePro may have been understandably nice towards the game, I can't...and that's why I switched from Game Gear to Master System.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIJfWsLe0dE  - Part 2 of the Let's Play by PrinceWatercress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeNCcHzF3vQ - Game Gear longplay by Longplay Archive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCnaQmNgSsc - Master System longplay by Longplay Archive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77SmeHUM1Jg - Desert Speedtrap Master System longplay by Longplay Archive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fno6O-hh3tg - Desert Speedtrap Game Gear longplay by Longplay Archive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deImgaBWoQo - Mickey Mania Super Nintendo longplay by Longplay Archive

https://archive.org/details/game-pro-issue-72-july-1995_202408/page/n97/mode/2up - GamePro article

COMING TOMORROW - PrinceWatercress' aborted Game Gear Let's Play footage

PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Longplay

...and now, the entire game in one sitting, minus commentary! Enjoy!

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Looks like Sylvester has kidnapped Speedy's girlfriend (I guess). It's time to take down Sylvester and get her back.

The Desert

The Sand Dunes

In the upper-left corner, you'll see your health as well as the number of hats you have. Hats are used as weapons, and the hearts act as health. You'll lose half a heart when you get hit, and collecting hearts will refill your health. Cakes and cheese will refill half a heart, while a heart will refill one whole heart.

Left and Right let you move left and right, Down ducks, Button 1 throws hats (assuming you have any) and Button 2 jumps.

The spiders will run at you, and the scorpions will strikes at you with their tails. Throw your hats or jump on them from above to take them out.

Along the way, there are holes. Go down them by pressing Down while on top of one. This lets you enter underground chambers where you can beat enemies up as well as get some pick-ups, including hearts for health. The trampolines can get you to higher places, but some of them can get you back above ground.

By going into the underground tunnels, you'll eventually find a key. This will take you to a mouse that has been taken hostage. Hold Right immediately to get to the other end of the room, avoid the bats and free the mouse. By freeing the mouse, you'll reveal the exit, and you'll be able to head to the next stage.

Once you've freed the mouse, get back above ground and head all the way to the right to find the exit.

The Rocky Mountains

You'll have plenty of hazards to deal with here: falling rocks, giant flowers that turn into monsters that you can't destroy when you get too close, and tentacles that come out of the holes to grab at you. Be careful where you're going as you're jumping over gaps in bridges and making your way to the right so you don't take damage. The key will be in front of a bigger hole in the cliffs; grab it and rescue the mouse so you can get to the exit at the end.

The Dry Lands

Be ready to move as soon as you enter this stage, as there will be a buzzard flying around at the top of the stage swooping down at you every chance that it gets. There are holes in the ground, and you'll need to look through every single one of them for the key so you can rescue the mouse and unlock the exit at the far right side of the stage. Make sure you jump on the snakes guarding the holes to defeat them so you can go underground and look for the key. As you're underground, watch out for the enemies that will both figuratively and literally drop in on you.

The first two holes have healing items if you need them, while the fourth hole has the key. The third hole has the exit, which only pops up if you rescue the mouth.

Boss

The boss is Sylvester being carried around by a vulture. (In the Game Gear version, he's wearing a jetpack, and the top of his head looks weird as a result.) Wait for him to drop a stick of dynamite, then pick it up with Down on the D-Pad and throw it upwards with button 2. The sticks of dynamite blow up after a couple of seconds, but it will take a lot of trial and error to throw it upwards at the right time so it blows up directly on Sylvester.

If you take too long to grab a stick of dynamite, wait for Sylvester to drop another one before going back on the attack.

Once you manage to hit Sylvester enough times, Sylvester flies away, and it's on to the second level.

Sylvester's Island of Danger

A Weekend in Hawaii (Part 1)

In this area, you'll be just inches away from lava at the bottom of the screen. If you touch that lava, it's instant death. You'll also have to contend with platforming, big red hermit crabs that will snap at you, moving platforms in the lava that may switch directions a little earlier than you expect...and the lava droplets. These things are the worst...sort of. If you're playing this on Master System, you can see them just fine. They won't be much of a problem on the console version of the game. On Game Gear, where the game is a little more zoomed in and the camera forces Speedy into the center of the screen, it's a different story. Sometimes the lava droplets will show up outside of your field of vision, and you can leap into them and take damage. As a result, the level is harder on Game Gear, and it got harder to the point that I had to switch from Game Gear to Master System and start the whole Let's Play over from scratch. It also doesn't help that the lava droplets don't make a sound until after they land.

At least you'll be able to find the key to rescue the mouse early in the level. So there's that to look forward to after the way-too-long paragraph that I just typed.

A Weekend in Hawaii (Part 2)

In Part 2 of A Weekend of Hawaii, you have more narrow platforms and a lot more opportunities to land in lava. Again, this part is much easier on Master System than on Game Gear, as the Game Gear's screen real estate and how it handles the level makes it look like you're taking leaps of faith every time. Other than that, Part 2 is more of the same from Part 1 except with harder platforming.

The key is near the end of the stage.

The Lake of Piranhas

You'll be in the water here. You can swim in eight directions with the D-Pad, but you're better off sticking to the surface and waiting for the trees in the background to show up a second time as you swim at the top of the water to the right. You'll find the key below where the trees begin again. Once you get the key, keep going all the way to the right. When you reach the end, go down and avoid all the fish, urchins and octopi to get to the exit.

Boss

To beat Sylvester, you'll need to catch the anchors that Sylvester throws with the clam that Speedy is holding. Get the clam below the falling anchors, press Button 1 so that you bounce the anchor back, and hit Sylvester with the anchor. Also, tap Left and Right so you don't slip around everywhere. You can bounce anchors more than once if you're waiting for Sylvester to come to you, so hitting him is a snap as long as your timing is right. Once you hit Sylvester enough times, it's on to the third level.

The Faces of Sylvester

Sylvester's Scaffolding

For this level, you'll be dealing with the spiders on the ground level, a thunder cloud that chases after you and fires lighting bolts from the top of the screen, and a bunch of scaffolds in between. Keep moving to avoid being shocked, and stay at ground level at all times to get the key here, and once you free the mouse, immediately head to the right and don't stop. That way, the thunder cloud never returns.

The River of Paint

In this stage, you'll be able to move around in eight directions with the D-Pad on a tiny raft with a tiny paddle. Aside from the spiked balls that will fly toward you, you'll also need to avoid the laser shots from the guns above and contend with fans that push you back and make moving forward a little more difficult. Thankfully, as long as you're paying attention, getting to the exit won't be too difficult.

Mount Sylvester

At the start of the stage, head all the way to the right and avoid the falling rocks as you go. You'll find a rope, grab it, then hold Up and press Button 1 to throw the rope upwards so you can climb up the mountain. Watch for falling rocks and enemies as you make your way up, as you won't be able to avoid anything as you climb. The key will be at the top, although you may and will have to do some jumping to get to it. The exit will be all the way to the right at the top of the mountain.

Boss

Sylvester will be inflating and sending tiny red balloons at you. You'll need to jump off the moving platform, then jump off the balloons and hit Sylvester in the face with hats. If you run out of hats, the game will give you one to throw at Sylvester. In case you throw it to the left on accident, you can always count on the hats' boomerang-like properties to turn the other direction and hit Sylvester if the hat is at face level. If your timing is good enough, you may be able to hit Sylvester with two hats per pass. Once Sylvester glows funny colors, it's on to the final level of the game.

Inside Sylvester's Lair

The Wall of Peril

At the start, run past the cannons. Watch the bricks that pop in and out of the walls so you can jump on and off of them without falling down, and shoot down the walking cannons. You'll also need to carefully jump on the big wooden log that stick out of the walls so you can carefully make your way to the right. When you reach ground level again, go all the way to the left for the key so you can free the mouse here.

The High Voltage Zone

Jump over the electrical charges that travel across the power lines so you don't get zapped. There are mini-trampolines with some of the electrical machinery here, and you'll want to center yourself on them and  The charges will move back and forth, so if you're near the end of a wire, be ready to jump.

Midway through the stage, you'll want to watch out for the barriers that zap in and out. Use your hats to take out the enemy that throws projectiles, as jumping into them will only cause you to take damage. The key will be near the end after the projectile throwing enemy.

The Cheese Factory

The green mouse robots move back and forth. As for the red blobs that stay in place and throw projectiles around, you'll want to move past them entirely, as they cannot be defeated.

When you're on the conveyor belts, watch out for the electrical blasts and wait for them to disappear before moving on.

The key will be above where the exit is at the end.

Boss 1

The boss battle has two phases. For the first phase, you'll want to keep jumping so you don't get shocked from the sparks that come out of Sylvester's futuristic bike, and you'll also want to stay between the columns that shoot electricity downwards so you don't get hit by the electrical blasts that they produce. Unlike the red sparks that Sylvester shoots at you, the big blasts of lightning are instant death.

To defeat Sylvester, you'll need to jump into the bomb that is in mid-air to collect it, then jump up and throw the bomb with Button 2 as the conveyor belt moves to the right. This will allow you to get the bomb to where Sylvester is and hit him every time. 

Boss 2

After enough damage, you'll face Sylvester manning a crane while you are jumping from cheese wedge to cheese wedge in a huge vat of liquid cheese. Stay away from any cheese platforms near the edges, as they'll eventually stop existing as platforms and cause you to fall into the vat, which is instant death.

Despite the fact that Sylvester is grabbing at you with a huge digger claw on the crane, the claw does not hurt you, apparently.

There is dynamite on the right side of the screen, just like from the first battle you had with him in the first level of the game. You'll need to grab it, jump up, press Button 2 to throw it upwards at the upper part of the platform that Sylvester is on so that it blows up on it, and all the while, you'll need to time it just right so that the dynamite explodes where you need it to. If you move to the right after throwing the dynamite, it makes this battle just a little bit easier. Thankfully, you don't have to hit Sylvester too many times to beat this battle, and when you do, you'll get your one-screen ending, with the girl kidnapped at the beginning saved. You just beat Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales!

PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Part 4 of 4

It's time for the final level of the game...and the boss is pretty frustrating. Then again, is there anything about the game that isn't?

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Inside Sylvester's Lair

The Wall of Peril

At the start, run past the cannons. Watch the bricks that pop in and out of the walls so you can jump on and off of them without falling down, and shoot down the walking cannons. You'll also need to carefully jump on the big wooden log that stick out of the walls so you can carefully make your way to the right. When you reach ground level again, go all the way to the left for the key so you can free the mouse here.

The High Voltage Zone

Jump over the electrical charges that travel across the power lines so you don't get zapped. There are mini-trampolines with some of the electrical machinery here, and you'll want to center yourself on them and  The charges will move back and forth, so if you're near the end of a wire, be ready to jump.

Midway through the stage, you'll want to watch out for the barriers that zap in and out. Use your hats to take out the enemy that throws projectiles, as jumping into them will only cause you to take damage. The key will be near the end after the projectile throwing enemy.

The Cheese Factory

The green mouse robots move back and forth. As for the red blobs that stay in place and throw projectiles around, you'll want to move past them entirely, as they cannot be defeated.

When you're on the conveyor belts, watch out for the electrical blasts and wait for them to disappear before moving on.

The key will be above where the exit is at the end.

Boss 1

The boss battle has two phases. For the first phase, you'll want to keep jumping so you don't get shocked from the sparks that come out of Sylvester's futuristic bike, and you'll also want to stay between the columns that shoot electricity downwards so you don't get hit by the electrical blasts that they produce. Unlike the red sparks that Sylvester shoots at you, the big blasts of lightning are instant death.

To defeat Sylvester, you'll need to jump into the bomb that is in mid-air to collect it, then jump up and throw the bomb with Button 2 as the conveyor belt moves to the right. This will allow you to get the bomb to where Sylvester is and hit him every time. 

Boss 2

After enough damage, you'll face Sylvester manning a crane while you are jumping from cheese wedge to cheese wedge in a huge vat of liquid cheese. Stay away from any cheese platforms near the edges, as they'll eventually stop existing as platforms and cause you to fall into the vat, which is instant death.

Despite the fact that Sylvester is grabbing at you with a huge digger claw on the crane, the claw does not hurt you, apparently.

There is dynamite on the right side of the screen, just like from the first battle you had with him in the first level of the game. You'll need to grab it, jump up, press Button 2 to throw it upwards at the upper part of the platform that Sylvester is on so that it blows up on it, and all the while, you'll need to time it just right so that the dynamite explodes where you need it to. If you move to the right after throwing the dynamite, it makes this battle just a little bit easier. Thankfully, you don't have to hit Sylvester too many times to beat this battle, and when you do, you'll get your one-screen ending, with the girl at the beginning saved. You just beat Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales!

PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Part 3 of 4

Well, at least this level isn't as bad as the last one.

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The Faces of Sylvester

Sylvester's Scaffolding

For this level, you'll be dealing with the spiders on the ground level, a thunder cloud that chases after you and fires lighting bolts from the top of the screen, and a bunch of scaffolds in between. Keep moving to avoid being shocked, and stay at ground level at all times to get the key here, and once you free the mouse, immediately head to the right and don't stop. That way, the thunder cloud never returns.

The River of Paint

In this stage, you'll be able to move around in eight directions with the D-Pad on a tiny raft with a tiny paddle. Aside from the spiked balls that will fly toward you, you'll also need to avoid the laser shots from the guns above and contend with fans that push you back and make moving forward a little more difficult. Thankfully, as long as you're paying attention, getting to the exit won't be too difficult.

Mount Sylvester

At the start of the stage, head all the way to the right and avoid the falling rocks as you go. You'll find a rope, grab it, then hold Up and press Button 1 to throw the rope upwards so you can climb up the mountain. Watch for falling rocks and enemies as you make your way up, as you won't be able to avoid anything as you climb. The key will be at the top, although you may and will have to do some jumping to get to it. The exit will be all the way to the right at the top of the mountain.

Boss

Sylvester will be inflating and sending tiny red balloons at you. You'll need to jump off the moving platform, then jump off the balloons and hit Sylvester in the face with hats. If you run out of hats, the game will give you one to throw at Sylvester. In case you throw it to the left on accident, you can always count on the hats' boomerang-like properties to turn the other direction and hit Sylvester if the hat is at face level. If your timing is good enough, you may be able to hit Sylvester with two hats per pass. Once Sylvester glows funny colors, it's on to the final level of the game.

PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Part 2 of 4

Now for the second level. Depending on what system you're playing on - Master System or Game Gear - this will be easy or hard.

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Sylvester's Island of Danger

A Weekend in Hawaii (Part 1)

In this area, you'll be just inches away from lava at the bottom of the screen. If you touch that lava, it's instant death. You'll also have to contend with platforming, big red hermit crabs that will snap at you, moving platforms in the lava that may switch directions a little earlier than you expect...and the lava droplets. These things are the worst...sort of. If you're playing this on Master System, you can see them just fine. They won't be much of a problem on the console version of the game. On Game Gear, where the game is a little more zoomed in and the camera forces Speedy into the center of the screen, it's a different story. Sometimes the lava droplets will show up outside of your field of vision, and you can leap into them and take damage. As a result, the level is harder on Game Gear, and it got harder to the point that I had to switch from Game Gear to Master System and start the whole Let's Play over from scratch. It also doesn't help that the lava droplets don't make a sound until after they land.

At least you'll be able to find the key to rescue the mouse early in the level. So there's that to look forward to after the way-too-long paragraph that I just typed.

A Weekend in Hawaii (Part 2)

In Part 2 of A Weekend of Hawaii, you have more narrow platforms and a lot more opportunities to land in lava. Again, this part is much easier on Master System than on Game Gear, as the Game Gear's screen real estate and how it handles the level makes it look like you're taking leaps of faith every time. Other than that, Part 2 is more of the same from Part 1 except with harder platforming.

The key is near the end of the stage.

The Lake of Piranhas

You'll be in the water here. You can swim in eight directions with the D-Pad, but you're better off sticking to the surface and waiting for the trees in the background to show up a second time as you swim at the top of the water to the right. You'll find the key below where the trees begin again. Once you get the key, keep going all the way to the right. When you reach the end, go down and avoid all the fish, urchins and octopi to get to the exit.

Boss

To beat Sylvester, you'll need to catch the anchors that Sylvester throws with the clam that Speedy is holding. Get the clam below the falling anchors, press Button 1 so that you bounce the anchor back, and hit Sylvester with the anchor. Also, tap Left and Right so you don't slip around everywhere. You can bounce anchors more than once if you're waiting for Sylvester to come to you, so hitting him is a snap as long as your timing is right. Once you hit Sylvester enough times, it's on to the third level.

PrinceWatercress plays Cheese Cat-Astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales (SMS) - Part 1 of 4

I've been sitting on this one for a good, long while, but now that I've gotten the extra video for it done that I wanted to get done, it's finally here!

Next | End

Looks like Sylvester has kidnapped Speedy's girlfriend (I guess). It's time to take down Sylvester and get her back.

The Desert

The Sand Dunes

In the upper-left corner, you'll see your health as well as the number of hats you have. Hats are used as weapons, and the hearts act as health. You'll lose half a heart when you get hit, and collecting hearts will refill your health. Cakes and cheese will refill half a heart, while a heart will refill one whole heart.

Left and Right let you move left and right, Down ducks, Button 1 throws hats (assuming you have any) and Button 2 jumps.

The spiders will run at you, and the scorpions will strikes at you with their tails. Throw your hats or jump on them from above to take them out.

Along the way, there are holes. Go down them by pressing Down while on top of one. This lets you enter underground chambers where you can beat enemies up as well as get some pick-ups, including hearts for health. The trampolines can get you to higher places, but some of them can get you back above ground.

By going into the underground tunnels, you'll eventually find a key. This will take you to a mouse that has been taken hostage. Hold Right immediately to get to the other end of the room, avoid the bats and free the mouse. By freeing the mouse, you'll reveal the exit, and you'll be able to head to the next stage.

Once you've freed the mouse, get back above ground and head all the way to the right to find the exit.

The Rocky Mountains

You'll have plenty of hazards to deal with here: falling rocks, giant flowers that turn into monsters that you can't destroy when you get too close, and tentacles that come out of the holes to grab at you. Be careful where you're going as you're jumping over gaps in bridges and making your way to the right so you don't take damage. The key will be in front of a bigger hole in the cliffs; grab it and rescue the mouse so you can get to the exit at the end.

The Dry Lands

Be ready to move as soon as you enter this stage, as there will be a buzzard flying around at the top of the stage swooping down at you every chance that it gets. There are holes in the ground, and you'll need to look through every single one of them for the key so you can rescue the mouse and unlock the exit at the far right side of the stage. Make sure you jump on the snakes guarding the holes to defeat them so you can go underground and look for the key. As you're underground, watch out for the enemies that will both figuratively and literally drop in on you.

The first two holes have healing items if you need them, while the fourth hole has the key. The third hole has the exit, which only pops up if you rescue the mouth.

Boss

The boss is Sylvester being carried around by a vulture. (In the Game Gear version, he's wearing a jetpack, and the top of his head looks weird as a result.) Wait for him to drop a stick of dynamite, then pick it up with Down on the D-Pad and throw it upwards with button 2. The sticks of dynamite blow up after a couple of seconds, but it will take a lot of trial and error to throw it upwards at the right time so it blows up directly on Sylvester.

If you take too long to grab a stick of dynamite, wait for Sylvester to drop another one before going back on the attack.

Once you manage to hit Sylvester enough times, Sylvester flies away, and it's on to the second level.

PrinceWatercress plays Catacastles - The Longplay

...and now, about ten or so minutes of gameplay, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Catacastles is a type-in game for the BBC Micro written by Thomas Evans with the code made freely available in Volume 3, Issue 1 of The Micro User from March 1985. The game is two-player only, and can be played with just one button.

Believe it or not, there is a story to this game, but unless you actually read the issue of The Micro User from which this came from, you'd have no idea.

Many years ago there lived a sorcerer in the land of Wong. On his many voyages and adventures he captured one item which he valued more than all else - a ruby with strong magical powers.

Also in the land of Wong lived a mighty baron. One day at a feast, long after the sorcerer had finished his last adventure, the baron saw the ring and wanted it at once.

At midnight, he sent one of his minions into the sorcerer's chamber to steal the ring. The minion, the baron and his followers then sped back to the baron's castle.

The next day the sorcerer realized what had happened and was furious. He called on the eagle king to act as judge and a vicious battle of magic ensured between the sorcerer and the baron who now had the ring.

Both were quickly drained of their magic until they died, devoid of all power, and the ring disintegrated.

But the battle went on using catapults - you and another player succeeded the baron and the sorcerer.

Both players play as barons who are shooting at each others' castles with catapults. CAPS LOCK is used for the left player, while COPY is used for the right player. (On my keyboard with BeebEm, it was CAPS LOCK for the left player and End acting as the COPY key for the right player. Your emulator's default key settings may vary.) Both players press and hold their respective buttons to launch shots from their respective catapults. The longer a player holds the button, the higher the angle that the shot is fired. If a player hits a bird, the bird will carry their shot until they press their respective button again to drop the shot straight down.

Both players will go at it destroying each others' castles with their catapults, and whoever completely destroys their opponent's castle first wins. You can hit the other person's catapult to temporarily disable it for a few seconds, and if the person behind the catapult gets hit, they will turning away from their catapult and be stunned, leaving them unable to do anything for a few seconds.

Despite being a pretty simple game, there is some trial and error in seeing how the shots work and how high and how far the shots go, which makes for some hilarious hijinks as both players attempt to tear at each other. I do like the idea of the bird flying back and forth with the potential to be used like a bomber plane against the opponent, but it takes some time to set up, which can be a bit of a risk. It's still fun, though.

With that, there's not much else to say about the game. The graphics are simple, but easily identifiable. The sound is basic, but serviceable and works like it is supposed to. The gameplay is boiled down to one button and how long you hold it (or for weak shots, how quickly you press it), and when typed in properly, there were not any errors to speak of in the code. Your mileage may vary with this game, but it's still a nice game that's easy to pick up and play. Thankfully, the game in its complete state is easy to find, so you might as well check this one out; it's definitely worth giving a try even if for just a few minutes.