Transformers: Mystery of Comvoy (1985)

Preliminary: The Sound is ugly and the gameplay tacky (tho in usual NES style, the arcade-degree responsiveness of the controls was nice for those last second dodges!), here I was, on Stage 4 (out of 10! very doable amount), wondering why I do this to myself ha. The power-ups were sparse, the mechanics sometimes unintuitive, and its reputation very low. The bosses were lame (so far), the Truck mode was used really poorly, and you lose your power-ups when go to bosses (hate when games do that)... and the music kept repeating and repeating and repeating. Yet here I was... Finishing Stage 6... There was something oddly addicting about the simple bosses (the bosses basically all had a simple attack pattern and the real challenge was dealing with the awkward specific-time-you-should-hit-fire-during-a-jump-to-hit-their-small-weak-spot mechanic)

Look: 7/10 Decent. If I were more into Transformers, I'd probly recognize more of it. Nothing special though. The bosses had that cool look I associate with Transformers, though.

Sound: 6/10 No. Mostly annoying. Not necessarily bad, but not good enough to be repeated that many times. And without some striking jingle at the end to boost it up.

Play: 7/10 Welp, I guess Imma do a full review. Me and platformers ha... I don't find some of the contemporary and later criticism fair: I see some reviews act like it's crazy to require the player to do a certain path through a level in order to complete the game (in an endgame level, no less) yet Mario decidedly did that a lot... also the difficulty and, indeed, a lot of the mechanics and gameplay reminded me of the acclaimed Metroid. I mean, don't get me wrong, the bosses felt lame, the levels where it was the same as a prior one but going backwards felt silly (but sort of Metroid/adventure esque), but some of the criticism felt like it really only happened because it was a tie-in.

(Once I got to Stage 9, I saw how frustrating it was, but again, that could be said about the "puzzle" Mario castles etc. If only the mechanics in this were a bit more solid and not one of those invisible ceilings you bounce off of situations lol, the music a bit less annoying, and the boss mechanics more varied and interesting, this could've been a great game!)

Feel: 8/10 Uff, indeed, a lot of the mechanics introduced in Stage 7 (the icey one) were really frustrating. The honing enemies (pro-tip: the Truck mode helps a lot with them, tho you will quickly have to change out of it), the things jutting suddenly out of the ground with a floor enemy up ahead, etc. Still, though, Metroid did a lot of those antics too.

Attachment: 8/10 Always nice when an action platformer game includes collectibles and different endings. In this case, both: by collecting the Rodimus letters you get the good ending. I, however, didn't even try for that and didn't refer to a guide at all ha. Which is rare for me. I just enjoyed the straightforward, Metroid-style, difficult action fun. That being said, I love that they included that to encourage replayability beyond just high score chasing. Believe it or not, I could see myself returning to this game. It's not some incredible game, but it's a classic-feeling NES platformer that plays like a simpler, more straightforward Metroid. If you enjoy the action platformer elements of Metroid more than the epicness, puzzles, and adventure elements, then this is worth a try. Just be ready for the high difficulty (as to be expected from a Japan-only Famicom game, though) and nothing spectacular--just good. And that's the kind of stuff I enjoy :-p

Completion: Main story, Score: 248,600 Playtime: ~30 mins