First time I'm adding something here that's MultiPlatform, which looks like it complicates things a bit on this site in particular. Was hoping I could really give myself credit for 3 games in on go, but I can only pick one platform here, and it looks like the entire system is missing the Sega Genesis entry. I'll mark this under my favorite of the versions and just kind of talk about them all I guess.

I caught somewhere on the RetroAchievements site that these were an easy 100%, then saw there were 3 of them, so figured I'd see how they all went. RA was right, they are an easy 100% if that's your thing. It was nice that each platform's set was actually slightly different, even though each game is almost exactly the same.

On that note, playing all three of them back to back is an interesting experiment in console differences too. For being "the same game", the pros and cons of each system do come across a bit.

The levels are all the same, but slightly altered per the graphical limitations of each system. The NES definitely had the chunkiest graphics, but it got similar points across. I don't remember exactly if each game has similar music, but the Genesis definitely sounded like a Genesis game. Very chunky and bloopy music, but it was alright. I'm not looking to do a deep dive into all the differences here, but since they were each so short, putting them all together as a whole experience was kind of nice.

Despite the differences, the games do all play pretty much the same. To beat a level, you need to find a Scroll, and a Waldo. If you do that, level is over, but along the way, you can also find the dog (Spot? I don't remember) for a bonus level, and also bonus points and time clocks along the way. The clocks extend the timer that you're running against to find the two main items.

After you beat the 4 (5? I don't remember) main levels, you get a final level that is one of the classic "Find the real Waldo in the pile of Waldos" levels, which is fun. You're looking for the one missing a shoe. Find him and the scroll, and the game is over.

There are two difficulties, where the harder has the items overlapped a bit more, and some other extra mechanics. There is a third mode where it's 4-5 "all Waldo" levels in a row. You're going for points, you're going for time. Without the RetroAchievements, it probably really does feel a bit "why would I ever touch this?", but I could see a time where I would have had some fun for a few minutes with my kids.

About the same time that they actually enjoyed the NES Sesame Street game, this would have fit into the rotation, they would have had fun scrolling back and forth to help find the items. According to the manuals, if you have the 2nd controller plugged in, you can do some "parent mode" things like auto-scrolling to the section with your item(s) and also pause the timer.

Quick and easy to get those RAs, could be fun with kids for a few minutes, not a horrible console version of the books, just a bit small and limited to expect much more out of it.