Svenshinhan plays Taz-Mania (SNES) - Act 5

What the crap, game.

Act V

Interstate Idiocy

This is a simple one-lane road. What the crap, game.

The huge gaps in the road are gone, but the potholes are back. Thankfully, the potholes are much easier to avoid than the huge gaps.

Looney Tunes Town

There are no Looney Tunes in this stage. What the crap, game.

Anyway, just about all the enemies and traps save for the huge gaps make an appearance here. Yep, both the water gaps and the water you can fall into make a triumphant return here.

The Taz trophy is an instant continue. Be on the lookout for these, since they show up once in a blue moon. Of course, being at this point in the game, that's probably some ill-timed advice now.

The Road Home

This road loops around like the rest of them. What the crap, game.

Anyway, this is just more of the same, minus the water. I'm surprised that the She-Devil didn't appear again (at least to my knowledge), since she appears in Wackyland onwards.

Also, this is the last level. After that, you just get the credits and no real ending whatsoever. What, not even an inkling of a story for those of us without the instruction booklet? Gee, thanks, game.

Svenshinhan plays Taz-Mania (SNES) - Act 4

Just when the game couldn't get any more annoying, there's an instant death trap that shows up in the last two-fifths of the game? Jesus Harvey Christ.

Act IV

Mountain Mayhem

There are now gaping holes in the road. Jump over them. You'll notice what they look like when there's no traffic light to the side and the "road" is completely black.

The green birds completely refill your health, assuming you can catch them. These guys are the rarest power-ups in the game, so you'd better be ready to get it.

If you hear a "Meep, meep" sound near an intersection, stay put. This is the (strangely slow) Road Runner, and if you can grab him you can completely restore your health. These guys are only slightly easier to get than the green birds.

Snowy Ridge

Good news about this level: the pterodactyl does not appear in this area at all. At last, a reason to not be paranoid and keep an eye on the skies.

The ice slicks make you slip and slide like crazy.

Wackyland

Oh, good lord. There's no Gogo Dodo here (despite the wacky spiral sun and the purple trees), the pterodactyl comes back, the road is narrow, and to top it all off, the She-Devil makes her debut in this stage.

The She-Devil is probably the worst obstacle in the game. Avoid her at all costs. If the She-Devil gets her hands on Taz, it's all over. Instant death. Waste of a good continue.

Don't know if this is the first stage where he does this, but Buddy Boar can come at you from behind. Always, always, always check for that rear-view mirror in the lower-right corner!

At this point in the game, catching all the kiwis takes longer and gets infinitely more annoying.

Bonus Level: Kiwi Grab

Here it is: the final bonus level of the game. Just nothing but a narrow desert road and some kiwis that put on the brakes more times than you can shake a stick at. Be ready for them to suddenly stop on you so you can get them in the nick of time and get maximum point gainage!

Svenshinhan plays Taz Mania (SNES) - Act 3

The difficulty ramps up in this game really quickly. Get ready!

Act 3

Desert Dessert

The puddles of mud work like the puddles of water.

The cacti are one of the few pieces of scenery that cannot be destroyed with the tornado attack. You were warned.

The bushrats make their proper, non-bonus level debut here.

Speaking of debuts, this is the first level where you'll meet the neurotic Wendal T. Wolf. This guy latches on to Taz for friendship and doesn't let go. As a result - his fingers cover up much of the screen. To shake him off and regain 20/20 vision, use your tornado attack (or get hit). You'll shake him off, but be prepared to meet him again...and soon.

You'll have to keep an eye on the sides, too. The red-haired kid with the bow and arrow is Francis X. Bushlad, an aboriginal boy hunter (with white skin, strangely) who tries to hunt down Taz in order to become a man. (It's a tribal thing.) When he shoots the arrow at you, be prepared to jump. You can't destroy him, so just avoid his attacks.

Bull and Axl attack in a rather interesting way. They move past you, and after a few seconds, they come towards you and try to catch you with their net. If that happens, it's a game over unless you break free with the tornado attack. If you hit them with the tornado attack, though, you can get rid of hem and get a bunch of points out of it.

New power-up here: the spring shoes. They make you a little faster but they also allow you to jump higher.

Crazy Canyons

The road is really, really narrow here, so you'd better be careful if you're trying to dodge stuff.

The oil slicks slide you into the side of the road, while the potholes make you waste a few seconds if you fall into them.

If Didgeri Dingo gives you a clock out of that box, grab it. You'll get an extra 30 seconds on your time.

Bull and Axl also start throwing bear traps out to damage you in this level.

Wendal Woods

This one gets pretty hard because of the terrain and all of the traps involved.

Using the tornado spin can keep the pterodactyl from grabbing you on hills.

Bonus Battle: Bird Bath

This one has nothing but the blue birds flying around in the air, so keep running forward and jump and grab. Getting the birds is pretty easy, which makes for good self-competition when it comes to seeing exactly how many of them you can get.

Svenshinhan plays Taz-Mania (SNES) - Act 2

The craziness continues as we see a host of new obstacles and added difficulty with the existing ones. But we haven't seen anything yet, though.

Act 2

Jungle Jump

Didgeri Dingo start mixing in traps along with the power-ups at this point. Also, the kiwis start getting a little craftier here.

Also, the gaps of water are a little wider here than in the last act.

Whenever you earn 100,000 points, you'll earn a continue. You only have one life, so having continues is really helpful.

Rainy Daze

Buddy Boar starts swerving around like a maniac, so you'll have to be on your guard and be ready to jump when you see him at this point.

The puddles slow you down a little bit.

The pterodactyl can grab you and take you backward into the stage, so don't jump into the air. Otherwise, it will get you. At least it doesn't follow you around the stage forever...just for a few seconds. Caution should also be taken on higher ground, as it might be high enough for you to get nabbed.

If you do get nabbed, mash the buttons to break free.

Jungle Night

That black square near the moon is a ROM glitch. Disregard it.

A new power-up shows up if you can get it from Didgeri Dingo: the roller skates. These things make you go faster if you can get your hands on them, but be careful not to run into anything or you'll lose them. These things can be pretty nifty if you know what you're doing.

Bonus Level: Bushrat Brunch

Instead of kiwis this time around, you'll be eating as many bushrats as possible. These are the little aborigine rats running around with the spears, and they are dreadfully annoying. They only cross the road to go from one bush to another, which means you'll be spending a lot of time off-road here. If you see a red bird, go for it. You'll need all the extra time you can possibly get.

Svenshinhan plays Taz-Mania (SNES) - Act 1

Get money. Get money. Eat kiwis. Get money.

Okay, we're not exactly getting money, but we are getting continues. Close enough, I guess.

Act 1

Main Course

Well, what else is there to do? Run forward and catch the yellow Kiwis with the Y button. As you progress through the game, you'll be dodging more obstacles. At the same time, you'll have to catch more kiwis in the time allotted, and the kiwis get faster to add insult to injury.

The blue birds that fly around give you points. You'll need all the points you can get to earn a few extra lives. You'll see red ones later on that add a few seconds to your timer.

Eating birds will refill a little bit of your health, while kiwis completely replenish it. This is nice, especially in the later levels.

The first obstacle that you'll see is the bus. You obviously shouldn't let it run over you at the cost of some health (and a few seconds).

If you see Didgeri Dingo on his motorbike, grab at his box to get the contents inside. Sometimes you'll get some power-ups to refill your health, but beware...sometimes there can and will be traps in the box. So be careful.

When an enemy or obstacle is behind you, you'll see it in the "rear-view mirror" in the lower-right corner of the screen. Trust me, this mirror will definitely come in handy later in the game. Of course, once you get so far away from an enemy, the rear-view mirror will disappear.

The yellow meter in the lower-left corner is your health. You can do the tornado attack that Taz is so well-known for, but use it wisely as it slowly drains your health the more you use it. At least the tornado attack gets you up to speed in a quick second, and it also lets you tear through the scenery. If your health meter is flashing, you won't be able to use the tornado attack. Refill your health to regain use of it.

It should be pretty obvious, but please make sure not to run into the scenery. It kinda hurts. Also, you go much slower off-road.

When you eat all the Kiwis the level wants you to eat, the level is cleared. You'll then get a points bonus based on how much time you have left and how many things you've collected.

The Outback

You'll see the intersections with the traffic light and the water here. Jump over the water so you don't get slowed down. The intersections are no threat now, but in the next level and afterward, trucks run from one side of the screen to the other when the "Stop" sign appears. If they run into you, you're taking damage.

You'll actually start seeing the road go up and down like hills. Sometimes, you'll barely be able to see the road on top of the hills, so pay attention to where you're going.

Buddy Boar will be so busy talking on his monster-sized cell phone that he won't be paying attention to the road, and if you're not careful he'll run smack-dab into you! Avoid him like you would the bus.

If there is water on the sides of the road, don't fall in unless you want to lose at least two seconds and a bit of health.

Kiwi Cross

As mentioned in the last level, watch out at the intersections. When the stop sign is up, a truck will go from one side to the other.

The red birds start showing up here. They leave a little sparkly pattern when they fly, and eating one will add 10 seconds to your timer.

Bonus Level: Kiwi Grab

Every three levels, you'll get a bonus level. During the bonus level, grab as many birds and items as you can in one minute!

The kiwis are really crafty in the bonus stages. They can actually stop and head in the other direction, on you, and they'll start doing that in the main levels, too.

You [b]can[/b] find the red birds in the bonus stages, but that's only going to happen once in a blue moon.


Also, if you grab a kiwi right when it's about to turn around, you'll get a "2X" to pop up above where the Kiwi was. This indicates that you got double points for that Kiwi.