PrinceWatercress plays Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (PS1) - Part 5 of 16

We finally face two of the greatest enemies in the years that I've done these Let's Play videos: a table and a balloon.

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As Rex will have mentioned if you've talked to him, you'll need the Disk Launcher to face this boss. Once you have it, however, the jackhammer boss isn't that hard: just stay near the boss as it follows, but do not be close enough for the boss to attack you. From there, keep firing off Disk Launcher shots at regular intervals. The boss will be following you the whole time, but you don't even need to turn around to fight back, due to how the Disk Launcher works. Beating the boss will net you a Pizza Planet token.

The only token that is left is the one that involves Slinky the Dog in the sand pit at the bottom of the building. Talk to him, and you'll have 50 seconds - more than enough time - to collect five wrenches. Thankfully, all of the wrenches will be in the sand pit area; all you have to do is hop around and scan the perimeter of this area to find all five wrenches. Once you find them all, talk to Slinky again for a Pizza Planet token.

If you choose to exit a level after collecting a Pizza Planet token, you'll see Buzz fly away.

Level 5: Alleys and Gullies

Unlike the previous levels (unless you count Andy's Neighborhood because you don't know how to get the race token without the boots), you won't be able to get everything here in one trip. This is because you won't be able to get the grappling hook, which is available in this level, until later in the game. 

The boxes with the planes can be shot down, but it will definitely take a bit of effort. The green laser will definitely help in that regard. Also, only the first two planes to come out of the box will drop coins when defeated. The planes will fly around and can be easier to destroy with the lock-on ability, but if you get close enough to them, they will notice you and start shooting.

The purple hovercraft shoots bombs out like a mortar, and it takes a bit of a beating before it gets destroyed. Use charged or green lasers to take it out.

The marketplace is in one direction at the start, while the gully is in the other. I head to the marketplace for his video. Wait for the electricity to move down the wire before going down the ziplines so you don't get shocked. You'll find Hamm here (and he gets his coins in this video), and you'll find one of the ducklings in the pool behind the road blocks. There is also a tunnel under the water that leads to an extra life.

You'll need to push a box to get some disk launcher ammo, then you'll need to jump to some watermelons, take out the Zerg robot with the shield with a disk launcher shot while using the two see-saw platforms as ramps, then stomp on the scale to get to a switch to turn on the fan. You'll then need to move another box to another table near where the balloons are, then grab onto the balloons and jump from the first one to the second one to get a Pizza Planet token. This one is really hard to do just because of how unintentionally hard it is to grab onto the table near where the balloons are, and because the game apparently doesn't want Buzz to grab the table, this becomes a task unto itself. Also, you just want to take a single jump towards the balloon once it pops out of the oxygen tank, then ride it to the nearby garbage can to get the exploration token. 

While you're at the fan switch, you can jump to the umbrellas and get a good number of tokens. This will also allow you to double jump to the awnings near the marketplace entrace, where you can find your second duckling.

The mama ducking is at the central drain. You won't be able to find all of her ducklings until you get the grappling hook.

PrinceWatercress plays Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (PS1) - Part 4 of 16

In this video, we start tackling a more interesting level and exploring it for Pizza Planet tokens: the Construction Yard.

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Level 4: Construction Yard

You'll be able to get your hands on the green laser immediately at the start. Use this to take care of any enemies, including the new flying ones that will drop bombs if you get close enough to them.

Exploring the ground level is essential at the beginning of the level, as you'll find quite a few coins for Hamm here as well as most of the missions. The construction foreman near the start will ask you to find his fiving missing Little Tikes workers and return to him for a Pizza Planet token, Hamm will be at the top of the tractor near the wheelbarrow,

One of the Little Tike workers will be on a wheelbarrow that you can access by pushing a cinderblock towards it. You can reach Hamm from here. 

At the bottom of the building that is under construction. The bottom level is a sand pit, and you can sink through it and take damage. I jump across it just to make sure that I don't sink. There is also a metal platform in one corner, and as you go up the building, the platform will act as an elevator that takes you all the way up to the highest point that you've taken during your stay in the level. In case you fall all the way down, just come all the way back to this corner and wait for the platform to lower so you can double jump onto it and take a big shortcut back.

Rex will be in one corner at ground level, and he will tell you where all the token are, as always.

The wooden ramp at ground level leads to the trailer, and here, you'll have to mix paint in order to get a Pizza Planet token. Avoid the green ooze and jump on the dry areas, then jump onto the chair and then the table. Climb up the pole, then jump to the top of the filing cabinets. Some of the drawers open and close, and I end up using only one of those drawers to get to a second Little Tikes worker before getting to the paint mixing station.

Here, you can stomp on the buttons to pour the paint into the bucket that you need to move into the white circles on the counter. The circle indicate not only where you need to put them to pour specific colors, but also to put certain colors when you're done making them. You have red, blue and yellow paint to work with, and you can make all three colors the game asks of you - purple, orange and green - with just two colors each. Red and blue combine to make purple, red and yellow combine to make orange, and blue and yellow combine to make green. When you're done making purple paint, move it to the picture of the purple paint can; the same goes for orange and green. When you create all three colors of paint, you'll get a Pizza Planet token.

The bulldozer will be your means of getting up the girders of the unfinished building. Not only will you find the third Little Tike worker inside, but you'll also find a switch that lowers the shovel. You'll need to stand on the shovel to get on the lowest level of girders. Once you're on the girders, avoid crushing pistons as well as falling nails, and pay attention to any mesh in the corners to see where you can get past walls. You'll find the fourth Little Tikes worker on the lowest level of the girders.

If you see any wall switches while on the girders, stomp them when you see them. This will allow the elevator platform in the corner of the unfinished building to move to that level in case you take a big tumble. At least there's no fall damage in this game.

Your main mode of going from one level of girders to the next is the yellow and black "caution" girders that move up and down. They will tilt as you move from one end to the other.

Mr. Potato Head's ear will be on the third level of the girders. When you return it to Mr. Potato Head near the paint mixing trailer, you'll get the Disk Launcher. The Disc Launcher is a homing weapon, and you can carry up to thirty shots. You get ten whenever you pick it up, and it will replace the green laser if you have it. If you stay where you picked up the Disk Launcher ammo, you can get up to thirty if you wait around long enough. When you fire a disk, it will home in on any nearby enemy and hit them, including those nasty bomb-dropping robots that float around in the air. You don't have to go into first-person mode and use the lock-on ability unless you need to; if you're near the enemy, it's getting nailed.

I end up getting the Hamm token before getting the Disk Launcher, so there's that.

After three levels of girders, you'll find a wooden ramp that takes you to the top level. Not only will you find the fifth Little Tike worker off to the side from the red girder platforms, but you'll find the boss. I will mention how to fight the boss in the next video. As for this one, I close it out with the Little Tikes token. Next time, we'll get the boss token and the challenge token.

PrinceWatercress plays Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (PS1) - Part 3 of 16

In this video, we take care of the last of the Pizza Planet tokens in Andy's neighborhood, then take on our first real boss.

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As you've probably noticed, the Hamm coins will lead you to the gaps in the fences where you can access other areas to get more Pizza Planet tokens. One of these areas is a backyard pool, and if you stomp on the bellows at poolside, you'll inflate an inflatable duck raft. When you fully inflate the raft, it will land in the pool. Stomp on the raft, then jump straight up when the raft jumps upward to get the open air Pizza Planet token.

Moving around in water will definitely slow you down, and even your jumps will feel floaty. Keep this in mind, as this isn't the only level where you're going to be underwater for some reason.

The perimeter of the yard with the pool is a gambit of double jumps, with the occasional enemy to shoot down. You've probably noticed that enemies re-spawn after a while, but it definitely becomes annoying here. Halfway through the series of jumps that you'll have to make, you'll be able to push a wooden plank. Do it; you'll need to make it easier to get to the last potted palm tree at the end, where you'll find your fourth soldier.

There is another area with a pick-up truck with no wheels as well as a clothesline. By stomping the two switches near the truck, you can lower the truck so you can jump on it and stomp the hood to be launched into the washing machine. From here, you'll be able to jump to the clotheslines. At the clotheslines, you'll need to quickly - and carefully - jump from one clothesline to another to avoid running into drying clothes while getting to the basket at the end, where you will find the fifth and final soldier. Now that you have all five soldiers, you can head back to Sarge at the beginning of the level for a Pizza Planet token.

You'd think you'd be done with the level for the time being, since Rex will tell you that you need the Rocket Jet Boots to beat R.C. Usually, you would be right. However, there is a trick to beating R.C. without them, but it takes a bit of practice, a bit of knowledge about how things in the game work, and a bit of patience and getting some timing down.

To beat R.C. without the boots, you need to stay in the center of the track at all times as R.C. accelerates around the track. If R.C. runs into you, he will come to a dead stop. Use the time that R.C. is not moving to make some headway on the racetrack, and keep moving and watching for R.C. You obviously have to double jump over the sand pits and the water puddle, as the sand pits slow you down tremendously and the water puddle is slippery.  If you know that R.C. is going to catch up to you just before the sand pits, stop before the sand pit in the center of the road, have R.C. run into you, then double jump over the sand pit. You'll also want to do this near the water puddle if necessary. 

We have all the Pizza Planet tokens, so it's time to head out of here. If you want to see the race done with the boots instead of without, I'll show that off near the end of the Let's Play.

Level 3: Bombs Away

Bombs Away is your first boss, and it's a plane that flies around and shoots at you.

Walk forward to start the boss battle. Charge up your laser at all times; it will do more damage to the big bosses just like it does to the level bosses that give you tokens. Stay still and do not move around; this will keep you from getting bombed with water balloons. When the plane flies far away before diving forward and shooting the machine gun, this is when you want to lock on to the boss and fire a fully charged-up laser. Three charged shots (six regular) will take this super-easy boss down. Your reward for beating this boss battle is another clip from the movie in addition to the next level.

PrinceWatercress plays Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (PS1) - Part 2 of 16

In this entry, we finish up the first level of the game. On to Level 2.

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The basement is off to the side from the living room. Avoid the poisonous green goo as you jump around on dry land and get to Mr. Potato Head, who will give you the Cosmic Shield in exchange for his ear. While you cannot jump very high on the toxic goo, you can get to the wooden platform safely and then get on the boxes to explore the rest of the basement.

Pushing the boxes in the basement will allow you to reach a Pizza Planet token. In every level, there will always be one Pizza Planet token out in the open; thankfully, Rex will tell you about it if you find him. As for the zipline in the basement, it will take you to the fourth sheep.

The kitchen is near the basement entrance, just off to the side from the living room. The trash can will get you on the countertop if you push it; watch out for the hot water coming out of the pot on the stovetop. The fifth and final sheep will be on top of the cabinets near the sink and countertop; you'll need to push a scale off the top of another set of cabinets, then stomp on it to get to the sheep. Bo Peep will be on the table; you can either jump up the chair or climb up the broom to get to the top of the table. Talk to her with all five sheep collected to get a Pizza Planet token.

We're done, and if you talk to Rex at this point, he will tell you that you have all the tokens. On to Level 2!

When you exit a level, you'll see what you've collected. At the top, you'll see what the five tokens are. There is a Hamm token, a collectibles token, a race token, an out in the open token and a boss token, and the levels never stray from this formula. In the middle is the amount of coins you've collected for Hamm. At the bottom, you'll see which power-ups you've collected throughout the game. We have the Cosmic Shield, but we'll need the others to fully complete the game. You'll then be able to save your game before being taken to the world map. Left and Right will let you switch levels, while X lets you confirm and Triangle takes you back to the main menu.

Level 2: Andy's Neighborhood

When you start the level, the rescue mission begins. Buzz finally leaves the house and explore the neighborhood.

At the start, avoid the lawnmower; it will hurt you. You'll also see a bunch of molehills on the lawn. The hint cube will tell you that you'll make the soldier surrender if you stomp the molehills that he is near. Look for the stomp symbol and the fireworks to see where to stomp. With each stomp, you'll smoke out the molehills, and on the last one, you'll get a soldier to pop out so you can collect him. You'll also find Sarge on the stoop. He will ask you to find his five soldiers, and if you can do that, you'll get a Pizza Planet token.

When you leave the starting area, you'll come across a racetrack. The RC car will be waiting for you to race him again for another Pizza Planet token, and you'll also see a bunch of car enemies that look like Emperor Zerg. The car enemies require a charge shot to quickly destroy, and if you have the green laser, one shot will tear them to ribbons. Rex is near the huge tree and the swingset. Watch out for the slime coming down from the tree.

You can climb that tree by jumping up the swingset (and collecting your second soldier on the way up), then climbing the rope holding up the tire. Once you're in the tree, you'll meet Hamm almost immediately, so head over here when you need to hand him the coins for the Pizza Planet token. While on the tree, you'll need to jump on the green leafy parts that act as platforms. You may have to go up other parts of the tree, but the completely green parts are the ones to concentrate on. There is also a see-saw platform, and you'll need to get it to lean to one side by getting it to lean all the way to the side in order to continue on.

There is a rope off to the side when you're halfway up the tree. You'll want to double jump to it and grab it, because this will pull the rope down and give you a shortcut back up the tree. This is good, since you'll need to swing off some bars in order to get to the top of the tree, where you'll have to fight a Zurg kite for a Pizza Planet token. Charge up your laser and use the lock-on ability to hit the kite, then stay away as the kite lowers and spins around to hit you in retaliation. Thankfully, this is the whole battle, and once you beat the kite, you'll be able to get a Pizza Planet token.

The video ends with me getting the Pizza Planet token from Hamm, since I'm able to get back up to him.

PrinceWatercress plays Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue (PS1) - Part 1 of 16

Compared to the games based on the first movie, this one is a little easier. It's just as enjoyable, however, and shouldn't be missed.

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Yep, it's Toy Story 2. Which means it's based on the movie. Given that it's on the PS1, it's going to be a 3D platformer, although you could make other kinds of games out of it.

When the game begins, Woody is kidnapped by Al, the owner and founder of Al's Toy Barn. It's up to Buzz and all of his friends to rescue him. 

Level 1: Andy's House

You start the level - and the game - in Andy's room. You move around with the D-Pad, you shoot lasers with the Square button to attack enemies, and you jump - and double jump - with the X button. The Circle button will allow to perform a spin attack. Holding Circle down lets you charge it up, but you'll get dizzy for a few seconds after you let it loose.

Exploring Andy's room will teach you how to play the game. Jumping up to the desk will take you to the numerous help cubes that are in this level. Jumping into the help cubes will give you hints for the level you're in.

Some items in the environment will have a green hand that acts as a push icon. If you see that above an item, you can move into it to push it. Some items will have black trails with red smaller lines inside of them that show you specifically where you can push them, and these locations you can push items to will prove to be useful when getting through the game.

After double jumping from the bed to the dresser, you can climb a pole. Jump into a pole then crab on, then climb up and down with Up and Down on the D-Pad and spin around with Left and Right. Pressing X lets you jump off. Keep in mind that when you do that, you'll jump forward in the direction you're facing.

Jumping into zip lines allows you to slide down them. Jump to jump off before you reach the end.

Once you land in the crib, you'll learn how to enter first-person mode and aim your laser. Press L1 to enter first-person mode and look director through Buzz's visor. From here, you can look around with the D-Pad, press Square to shoot your laser and press the R1 button to lock onto nearby enemies. If there are multiple enemies nearby, you can keep pressing R1 until you lock on to the one you want. By using the lock-on ability, you can shoot down the catches holding up the side of the crib to get out. Just be near them, press R1, and the green reticles will lock on and show you where the catches are so you can shoot them down.

Enemies in this level include red robots that bounce around and flying robots that drop bomb. Using the lock-on ability and the charged laser works wonders in taking them out. Enemies also leave coins when defeated, so make sure you pick them up.

First-person mode has some interesting details, too. You can see Buzz closing his left eye to improve his aim, and you can also hear him breathing. That second part makes no sense, given that he's a toy, but it's still a nice detail.

Speaking of the laser, you can hold the Square button to charge up your laser for a more powerful shot, just like with the spinning attack. Keep this in mind, because you're going to use this pretty often.

The gold coins that you pick up will be necessary for getting one of the Pizza Planet tokens in each level. There are five Pizza Planet tokens in every normal level, and they serve as the main collectible for the game. There are 50 altogether, and we'll be getting every single one of them.

The green coin with Buzz on it is an extra life. Pick it up for a 1-Up.

When you're standing still, you'll see the amount of lives you have in the upper-left corner, your current amount of energy in the upper-right corner and the current amount of gold coins in the lower-left corner. If you're charging up your weapon, the charge gauge will be in the lower-right corner.

Rex is near the entrance to the attic. If you talk to him, he will tell you what you need to do in every level to get the five Pizza Planet tokens. If you pick up a token, he won't mention that mission. If you've picked up all five tokens, he will tell you that you've completed the level.

Above Rex is the attic. Here, you'll learn how pushing things like boxes works even further, but you'll also fight the tin robot. You'll need to beat this tin robot to get a token. To beat the robot, charge up your laser and run away when he charges at you. When he slows down and eventually stops, be ready to fire on him. The boss enemies will have a health meter in the top center to show how much health they have left, and when you empty it, you'll beat the boss. The tin robot takes six shots - three if you charge them up - to defeat, and when you beat it, you can get the Pizza Planet token that shows up. After collecting a Pizza Planet token, you can choose to keep playing or head back to the world map.

Horizontal rods can be jumped into, and if you do that, Buzz will swing around before jumping forward. Be ready to hold Up on the D-Pad and, if you need to, double jump. This will be important for later in the game.

The rest of the attic leads to the top near the roof, and the narrow platforms don't leave much room for mistakes, as you will fall down to the floor if you walk off the edge. Thankfully, there's nothing in the way of fall damage for this game. Thankfully, you can enter the pause menu with the Start button and select "Camera Mode," then select "Active Camera." Active Camera will always keep the camera behind Buzz. It also changes the controls a little bit. Normally, under the Passive Camera, L2 and R2 will rotate the camera left and right. In Active Camera mode, L2 and R2 rotate Buzz left and right. This lets you line Buzz up so you don't walk off edges, and you'll also be able to use the buttons to spin around on poles. It's a nice feature.

You'll find one of the sheep on the other side of the top of the attic. The sheep are the level collectible, and you'll see how many of them you have in the upper-right corner. When you collet all five, you'll be able to return them to Bo Peep, who is on the kitchen table.

Going downstairs leads to the garage as well as the rest of the house. To beat the RC car in the race, you'll need to take three laps around the car. Keep jumping while moving, as it allows you to move slightly faster than if you just run. Double jump over the oil slick, as it is slippery and will cause you to lose control. Also, don't run into enemies. Even though this race is easy, you can lose almost enough momentum to lose the race if you touch an enemy just once. Placing first against the RC car will net you a Pizza Planet token. If the RC wins, leave the garage, then go back in to do the race again.

The path to the top of the garage is full of poles you can grab as well as some obstacles of its own, such as the power drills that can drop down and hurt you as well as buzzsaws that can slice you. You'll eventually end up on top of the family car, and from here, you can jump onto the nearby light fixture to get to the higher shelves. The hint cube will tell you about the horizontal bars you can jump into and swing off of, which I mentioned earlier. At the end of the path at the top of the garage, you'll find another sheep.

Along the way, on top of the family car, you'll find the green laser. The green laser is as powerful as a charged red laser, and if you hold the button down, you'll get rapid fire. You only have a limited amount of ammo, which is indicated by the gauge in the lower-right corner, so use the green laser sparingly, as it is pretty powerful.

Hamm is on the living room couch. If you give him 50 coins, he will give you a Pizza Planet token. Remember that number, as it stays the same every level. 

The two downward-pointing green triangles are the stomp icon. To stomp, jump into the air, then press Circle to stomp. If you stomp on certain things, you can not only hit buttons, but you can also activate shortcuts to places you couldn't normally access. Stomping on the couch with the white X on the seat will launch you to a high corner shelf above the bookcase. You'll be able to jump your way to a battery (which refills health), a 1-Up, and the third sheep. Also, underneath where you land is Mr. Potato Head's ear. You'll need to hand that off to him elsewhere in the level.

PrinceWatercress plays Bomb Jack (ZX Spectrum) - The Longplay

Of course I would do better with the longplay after relearning how to play the game during the Let's Play. Of course.

Let's Play

Bomb Jack is a 1984 platformer-style arcade game from Tehkan, which would later become Tecmo. In this game, you play as Bomb Jack, and you have to avoid enemies while picking up all 24 bombs on the screen. Some of the bombs have lit fuses, and as you pick up lit bombs, more will be lit, and you'll have to pick those up, too. Those will usually be in the line of bombs where you find a lit bomb. The more lit bombs you pick up, however, the more bonus points you'll get...if you get more than 20 in total when you complete a stage by grabbing all the bombs, that is.

Left and Right on the Kempston joystick allow you to move around, while the fire button jumps. Pressing the fire button mid-jump lets you stop rising upwards and start dropping, and if you keep tapping the fire button repeatedly, you'll be able to float in mid-air, which makes it easier to grab bombs and avoid enemies. If you hold Up before jumping, you'll perform a high jump.

As you grab the bombs, enemies will pop up. You'll be avoiding mummies and birds that both move back and forth and fly around the screen respectively, but eventually the mummies will tumble to the bottom and turn into flying saucers and slugs that will seek you out and destroy you if they get to you. The birds are just as bad as the transformed enemies, as they will constantly take the shortest path towards you and constantly get in your way because of that.

As you play, power-ups will also show up. The B icons will give you bonus multipliers up to 5x that will multiply the amount of points you get from grabbing bombs, while the E icon will give you an extra life if you're lucky enough to encounter one and grab it. Unfortunately, the E icons are the only way to get bonus lives in this game, as you cannot get any off of points. The P icon is the most important, however, as it turns the enemies into bonus coins for a short period, and if you can grab these coins before they turn back into the enemies, you'll get rid of the enemies for a brief time and you'll get points for it.

There are five backgrounds in all, and once you see all five, they will loop. As for the level designs themselves, however, they do not seem to loop like the backgrounds do, and there is also no ending.

Despite my initial misgivings with the game, I ended up enjoying it. You can tell which bombs are lit just by paying attention a little bit, and it's actually easier than I expected to see where both I, the enemies, the bombs and the platforms are despite the obvious limitations in the ZX Spectrum's hardware. The gameplay was pretty responsive and did not give me any trouble, and once I learned how to high jump, control my jumps, and even float, things got a lot better. Even the gaming press in the UK loved this port, with Crash! giving the game a Smash award and a 92% rating, calling it a great arcade conversion. It was also #2 on the UK sales charts in 1984, kept off the top by Green Beret, only to make it to the top of the all-formats chart two years later when it received a budget re-release. If you're looking for arcade action for the Speccy, this is a really good place to start.

PrinceWatercress plays Bomb Jack (ZX Spectrum)

I haven't played a ZX Spectrum game in a long time. Let's fix that!

Longplay

Bomb Jack is a 1984 platformer-style arcade game from Tehkan, which would later become Tecmo. In this game, you play as Bomb Jack, and you have to avoid enemies while picking up all 24 bombs on the screen. Some of the bombs have lit fuses, and as you pick up lit bombs, more will be lit, and you'll have to pick those up, too. Those will usually be in the line of bombs where you find a lit bomb. The more lit bombs you pick up, however, the more bonus points you'll get...if you get more than 20 in total when you complete a stage by grabbing all the bombs, that is.

Left and Right on the Kempston joystick allow you to move around, while the fire button jumps. Pressing the fire button mid-jump lets you stop rising upwards and start dropping, and if you keep tapping the fire button repeatedly, you'll be able to float in mid-air, which makes it easier to grab bombs and avoid enemies. If you hold Up before jumping, you'll perform a high jump.

As you grab the bombs, enemies will pop up. You'll be avoiding mummies and birds that both move back and forth and fly around the screen respectively, but eventually the mummies will tumble to the bottom and turn into flying saucers and slugs that will seek you out and destroy you if they get to you. The birds are just as bad as the transformed enemies, as they will constantly take the shortest path towards you and constantly get in your way because of that.

As you play, power-ups will also show up. The B icons will give you bonus multipliers up to 5x that will multiply the amount of points you get from grabbing bombs, while the E icon will give you an extra life if you're lucky enough to encounter one and grab it. Unfortunately, the E icons are the only way to get bonus lives in this game, as you cannot get any off of points. The P icon is the most important, however, as it turns the enemies into bonus coins for a short period, and if you can grab these coins before they turn back into the enemies, you'll get rid of the enemies for a brief time and you'll get points for it.

There are five backgrounds in all, and once you see all five, they will loop. As for the level designs themselves, however, they do not seem to loop like the backgrounds do, and there is also no ending.

Despite my initial misgivings with the game, I ended up enjoying it. You can tell which bombs are lit just by paying attention a little bit, and it's actually easier than I expected to see where both I, the enemies, the bombs and the platforms are despite the obvious limitations in the ZX Spectrum's hardware. The gameplay was pretty responsive and did not give me any trouble, and once I learned how to high jump, control my jumps, and even float, things got a lot better. Even the gaming press in the UK loved this port, with Crash! giving the game a Smash award and a 92% rating, calling it a great arcade conversion. It was also #2 on the UK sales charts in 1984, kept off the top by Green Beret, only to make it to the top of the all-formats chart two years later when it received a budget re-release. If you're looking for arcade action for the Speccy, this is a really good place to start.