Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring
Score: 80% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: NewKidCo. Developer: Cave Barn Studios Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: Who doesn't like cartoon violence. You can blow people up with dynamite, drop a ten ton anvil on someone's head, or have someone drop 100 feet from a cliff and the worst thing that happens is a bandaged head or black face. Now, two of the innovators of cartoon violence are taking their antics to the small screen in Tom and Jerry: The Magical Ring. Graphically, this is probably as close to the cartoon as you can get on the GBA. Each of the characters not only looks like they stepped out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, but move like it as well. From Jerry's quick mousy steps to Tom's heavy-footed jog, everything is here. As you progress through the game, things only get better. It's fun to see all the different 'detail' animations that have been thrown in for fun. For example, on the park level Tom has a run-in with Jerry's Uncle Pecos. Now, people who have seen the cartoon he appeared in will remember that whenever his guitar string broke, he always pulled one of Tom's whiskers. Well, not only does he yank the whisker like he did in the cartoon, but after having his whisker pulled, Tom does that weird jumping-pain animation. Soundwise, Tom and Jerry could use a little work. The background music is decent and provides a nice peppy 'chase' atmosphere for the game, but I would have liked to have heard some of the classic background music from the cartoons. It would have at least been nice to hear the Tom and Jerry theme song at the title screen. What's here is good however, but after seeing the other details thrown in elsewhere, it's easy to be a little disappointed.
Gameplay: Of course, there is an actual plot to the game - but in all honesty, I would have been just as happy if it was nothing but Tom and Jerry beating each other with shovels. Anyway, for those who just have to have a plot, Chip the sorcerer has instructed Tom to watch his magical ring while he goes to India to fetch a Calcutta cow. As things usually happen, Jerry finds the ring and (in a cross-dressing mind lapse) decides it would make a great crown. Tom sees this and, knowing his reward for guarding the ring is in jeopardy, the chase begins. This is where the game gets interesting. Since everyone has their favorite member of this duo, it was nice to see that you could pick which one you wanted to play as. Choosing to play as Jerry means you will have to face all the perils of being a mouse from being chased by the neighborhood cats to dodging the plates thrown by the screaming woman atop the kitchen table. Playing as Tom means catching Jerry and getting the ring back at all costs. The game is presented in pseudo 3-D side-scrolling levels in which your character can easily run between the foreground and background. The interesting thing about them is that they are usually only about three to four screens long and require you to run back and forth - taking full advantage of the terrain to evade Tom, or capture Jerry. Those looking for a little cartoon violence will be happy to know that there are plenty of shovels, eggs, and bats lying around to help you achieve your goals. For the most part, everything is laid out well, however I personally would have liked to have seen a few more environmental dangers (such as the first level's fireplace) and the ability to set traps like in Spy vs. Spy. A two player 'chase' mode also would have been a lot of fun - but maybe we'll see that in the next game.
Difficulty: Tom and Jerry is a nice challenge while not being overly complicated or hard to play. My biggest problem was the usually dumb AI of some of the enemies - especially the cats. It just seemed that they would only chase me until I was a certain distance away and then stop dead in their tracks. This made for some easy kills because I could just lead them to areas like the fireplace and toast them. Despite this, Tom and Jerry does offer a nice learning curve and even has a password option for when things get tough.
Game Mechanics: Tom and Jerry is very easy to pick up and play. Figuring out which buttons do what is easy to do and can be figured out without looking at the instructions. While the game is easy enough for anyone to enjoy, fans will probably have the most fun. Being a long time fan of the show, it was great to see cameos by even the most obscure Tom and Jerry characters such as Uncle Pecos, the robot cat, and even Droopy. Of course, they forgot to put in that big Aunt Jemima looking lady who owned Tom - but I can overlook it.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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