Warning: Spoilers.
Last year, I did a blog post celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the NES game
Dr. Mario. Well, there's another video game I enjoy playing that is having its own 25th birthday come this December.
You guessed it!!! It's TINY TOON ADVENTURES!!!!!
This is not my cartridge, although I do still have it.
I was a bit of a late bloomer on the
Tiny Toon Adventures bandwagon, but I did always like the concept of it. Most of what I've seen of them (which is not very much), I've seen on YouTube, and boy, did I enjoy it. For those of you who don't know,
Tiny Toon Adventures is a show about a bunch of animals that are essentially
Looney Tunes doppelgangers. In fact, they're their protégés at Acme Looniversity, where they learn to be entertaining cartoons, while having their own personal life adventures.
(Click here to see the list of the characters.)
The show poses some nice moral lessons along with zany animations that many of us grew up loving. Oh, and the pop culture references are EVERYTHING in this show, even to the point of parodying the original
Looney Tunes shorts!
Tiny Toon Adventures started in September of 1990, and it kicked off a wonderful time of
WB cartoons (
Animaniacs,
Freakazoid!,
Pinky and the Brain,
Histeria!,
Taz-Mania, etc.). AND FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, DON'T TRY TO BRING THEM BACK AS NEW, PROSPECTIVE SERIES-MAKERS. You've seen what's happened to the PowerPuff Girls.
Sad.
Anyway, I remember this game from the deepest reaches of my childhood. I used to watch in awe as my mother and two of my cousins would play that game with such ease, and the moment my mother finally conquered the last end boss was almost magical! Then I would try to play it and... well, I didn't get past level 2 for a while. I advanced a bit, but never quite made it to beat Montana Max.
Years passed, things got moved around, then finally, I came across it again, so naturally, I put it in and started playing it.
Boy was I HORRIBLE at that pain-in-the-neck.
However, I did learn (mostly via the internet) how to beat the game, so here goes the walkthrough.
If you wait at the "start" menu, it will show the original backstory, as many NES games did. Buster Bunny finds out through his TV that Montana Max has captured his girlfriend, Babs Bunny (obviously, no relation). Buster decides to rescue her, but he needs your help. This returns you to the start menu.
After you push start, it takes you to a map that shows Buster hopping from his starting point (I'm assuming a hole in the ground?) to level 1, Acme Acres. There are six levels total. You then see (as you do at the beginning of every level) Shirley the Loon and three characters at the bottom: Plucky, Dizzy, and Furrball. As Shirley explains, you can use your controller to decide which character you want to be your traveling partner for the level. You can choose whomever you wish, but for some levels, Shirley will make a recommendation based on her "fortune-telling" skills. I should let you know right now her fortune-telling skills in this game are as valid as those in the actual show.
She doesn't recommend anybody for this level, and honestly, you can use whomever you want. I've played as all four characters. Each one has specific abilities.
Buster Bunny: Fastest running, highest jumping. You always start with him on any level, and can change by jumping on a ball retrieved from certain balloons.
There are other balloons that hold hearts. If you get a heart, you have one hit point before you die, unless you fall down a hole, or hit a stationary spike (of course). If you get a heart after already having a heart, you get a 1Up (no extra hit points are added). You start the game with two extra players (you can still play with a P x 0), and can go all the way up to P x 9.
Yeah, I don't get it either.
You can also attain lives by collecting carrots. The carrot counter only goes to 99.
Again, what?
Some stages have small doors that lead to Hamton's house. You exchange 30 carrots for an extra life, and you get points for each carrot. If you have fewer than 30 carrots upon entry, he'll just send you out to "try to get more." He tells you to do that even if you have more than 30 carrots. Either way, you cannot go back into his house (the door disappears)
unless you re-start the stage, usually by dying. Also, carrots do not regenerate upon exit.
If you die on a P x 0, the game is over, and you see a sequence of Calamaty chasing Little Beeper, until the former gets squashed by the actual phrase "game over." It does give you the option to continue where you left off, but you have to start at the beginning of the level that you've lost, and you start with a "P x 2," no carrots, and no heart. However, if you select "No" when they ask you, you go all the way back to the title screen and have to start the game all over again.
Anyway, back to the characters.
Plucky Duck: Ability to fly by jumping into the air (using "A," of course), and hitting the A button over and over again. Also the fastest and best swimmer.
Dizzy Devil: This guy is the slowest of the bunch. With the other characters, you hold "B" as you hold a left or right button to make them run, but if you hit "B" with him, he spins, which makes him move a little faster. This can help you out of tight jams and gives you temporary invulnerability. This also makes him the only character to defeat Arnold the Pit Bull in one blow. But other than that, he cannot run.
Furrball: He's the worst swimmer of the bunch, but can climb any flat, vertical surface, making him the most versatile of the group, in my opinion. And honestly, he's my favorite character to use most of the time.
Stage 1-1 is fairly simple. You go along, collect carrots, can collect a heart, and even change characters. The entire gameplay is very similar to Super Mario Brothers 3, with a back-and-forth 2-D scroller, and regenerating enemies. If you accidentally change your character and want to change back, just go forwards a bit, and then go back. The balloon will still be there, ball and all. If you immediately lose your heart after gaining it, however, you cannot get another heart. Kinda stinks, but that's the game. I usually play Buster Bunny through it, speeding through the stage in 12 seconds. You have 200 seconds per stage, and die when the time is up. Your enemies are Roddy Rat and Danforth Drake (honestly, I thought that was a bumblebee, at first). The fun part about playing Dizzy at this point is that immediately following the transformation, you can wait until Danforth is low, then jump into the air, immediately hit "B" for the spin jump on Danforth as you're spinning, causing him to kinda "blip" into the air, then try to get right under him to make him fly up! It's HILARIOUS!!! It's a tricky thing to do, but SO worth it when it's done.
After every stage, save the last, you see your remaining time converted to points. You can gain a life after every 20,000 points earned. After the time counter hits zero, Concord Condor delivers his catchphrase "Nope, nope," and you're sent to the next stage or level.
Stage 1-2 is again, simple. You're still in Acme Acres, and you face more enemies. This one has Hamton's house, where you can trade in your carrots. This is optional, however. The enemies are the same, except there is one Arnold Pit Bull (Gee, I wonder who
his character is parodying). You can defeat him as any character. For Buster and Furrball, you can jump from a high platform (for Buster, by jumping on a Roddy and jumping high by holding the "A" button; for Furrball by climbing up a wall to the top of the platform), then hitting him again after he throws a couple of weights at you. This is quite difficult and requires good timing. Another way is to defeat him by using Dizzy Devil. He can't jump very high at all, so you need to go the low route. After getting to Arnold's area, hit "B" and jump to him. He immediately disintegrates. I've never mastered this task with Plucky, so.... good luck with that.
There is no heart balloon on this stage.
After you complete this stage, you go to another stage, which has...
*gulp*
Elmyra.
Actually, her stages are not very hard to complete. You basically make sure you don't get caught by her while you wait for a door to appear. When it does, go there before she catches you. If you do get caught by her, you don't lose a heart or a life, but you do have to start the level over.
Buster: You can jump from one side to another, and buy time as she hits a wall and stands still before discovering she can chase you again. or you can jump back and forth and have a never-ending chase sequence until the door comes out. What I like to do is make it to the middle, then keep jumping as she runs back and forth under me. Sometimes she'll stop and I have to run to one side again to ensure safety. If it works well, she chases me until I jump into the materializing door right in the right spot. Sometimes, however, the game will glitch, and she'll disappear, then drop out of the sky and run. Definitely have had a few "heck-the what" moments with that, but it doesn't happen very often.
Furrball: This is the easiest stage to escape. Just climb a wall to the top and stay up there. There's an invisible "floor" at the top, and you can stand there until the door appears. Just make sure that you go quickly, otherwise she'll catch up to you.
Plucky: I would suggest the first version of Buster's keep-away. And definitely NO FLYING. Your flying is more of a floating with direction, and this gives Elmyra time to catch up.
Dizzy: Elmyra's speed is about
Kid Speedy's pace (her speed varies with character), so you have some time to get away. Also, she'll run a distance and stop, again, giving you time to get away. You can also use your spinning power to run past her without getting caught.
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention, if you use your spin power, you lose power on the "Pow" dot line (found above your player counter) down to zero, and you have to wait to recharge. This can make gameplay with Dizzy pretty frustrating sometimes, but rest assured, you more than likely have ample time.
Stage 1-3: You're in a spooky, haunted castle. Enemies here are Roddy, some pumpkin ghosts that can be defeated by jumping on them once, then (optional) knocking their pumpkin heads out of the way without any harm, ghosts that can appear out of nowhere, and really can't be defeated, just run from (believe me, those little guys eventually separate, with one of them out to quickly hit its target, aka. YOU), and some dropping spikes, which can only do one HP's worth of damage.
This stage is kind of an oddball. It's the only one (to my knowledge) that has a balloon which contains a clock which will pause time for about 10 seconds. This helps in speeding along the level without enemies advancing towards you, or getting a heart balloon without getting interference.
I tend to use Dizzy Devil only for this stage due to the sole fact that I really can't find that much use for him anywhere else. I can understand his powers' usefulness, but I prefer using Buster. I used to use Furrball as a means to avoid spikes, but after finding out just how quickly Buster runs, I don't even use Dizzy that much anymore. I did use Plucky for the sake of doing so for a little bit, and he did give me a chuckle. If you have him run, then jump up just as he approaches a wall, he smacks up against it and slides down with about the funniest expression on his face. I used to love watching Mom do that to him again and again when I was little.
Quick side note before I move on: it seems that each character has at least some form of unique reaction to a wall. Plucky, as I've mentioned, smacks up against a wall, Furrball climbs walls, Buster leans against walls, and Dizzy.... I
still haven't figured out what he does, if he does anything to a wall. Ah, well. If anybody knows, please tell me along with what buttons to push. I think I've even tried the "select" button, for crying out loud!
Anyway.
Level 1 Boss: The next stage is a Boss stage, and you have your remaining amount of time to defeat him. In this case, your Boss is Gene Splicer. He rides a skateboard back and forth, throwing anvils periodically. Getting hit by him or an anvil will cost you a hit point. Three hits on the head by any character will defeat Gene. He jumps off-screen, and a key flies up. You will need to collect five keys total to make it through the last level.
On to level 2! You go back to the map, then get sent to Shirley again. Now, she suggests Plucky. I would not recommend him. Now, he is undoubtedly the best swimmer, and it's easy to go through one of the stages on this level, with him, but I always choose Furrball for this one.
Stage 2-1: You're on a beach. There are two quicksand waterfalls which require you to jump several times to get out. You will also have your first encounter with water. Enemies are hermit crabs which shoot their shells, fish which speed up and bite upon close encounter, and crabs which cannot be defeated. Fish can be defeated underwater by pressing the "B" button which releases a small air tornado that hits your enemy... maybe. Sometimes you need to "aim." Either way, the "POW" bar goes to zero and regenerates in the same way as Dizzy's spin attack on land. Hermit crabs can be defeated with or without shells, but they can each fire one shell at you, which can take away a hit point. They also speed up after firing.
Stage 2-2: You're completely underwater. Thankfully, unlike
Banjo-Kazooie, you don't have to worry about a health meter. You're a toon! You can breathe underwater just fine. Your enemies are fish, crabs, and jellyfish. Jellyfish can be defeated in the same way that fish can. Crabs are, once again, not defeatable. (Is that a word?) Hamton's door can also be found on this level.
Remember when I said that Shirley recommended Plucky Duck for this level? This level is all the reasons why. Plucky is a little hard to navigate at first, but he's definitely the best if you want to swim through the level quickly. I do use Furrball, though, even though he is the worst swimmer, mainly for the next official stage.
You come across another Elmyra room. This is one where the best thing to do is to stay right where you start until the door appears. Then you sneak down (not too slowly) and run for the door. She tends to take a few seconds to realize where you are. If you do happen to move from your spot, it's easier for her to catch you. In this case, return to where you started (or the similar spot on the opposite side of the screen), wait until she holds still, then try to sneak down. I think this might be the most difficult Elmyra stage in general.
Stage 2-3: Now we come to the part where I explain why I use Furrball. You start on the deck of a pirate ship, where you fight pirates that occasionally -- okay
sparsely -- throw axes at you. These are defeated by one jump to the head. The traditional way to move through this part is to go in and out a couple of doors before you go to the door that takes you inside the ship. However, when you do go out of the door and remain on deck, more pirates appear, which makes it a little tough to get through. Furrball really comes in handy, here, because there's a tall mast above the doors where you can jump, climb up (Buster can't even reach up here), and jump over, and no pirates will be there waiting for you, and you can continue to the door to the inside of the ship.
Once you're inside, you will have anvil-throwing Roddys, spikes, and exploding barrels as your enemies. If you come close enough, Roddy will throw the anvil at you. Sometimes, the game gets a little glitchy and Roddy will appear sans anvil. I've found this to be the case when I get to the main door within 11-15 seconds; the Roddy at the bottom of the ship will have no anvil. This trick usually works in my favor. Either way, I've found that if you wait until they turn away from you, you can go behind them, and avoid getting hit by the anvil.
I should probably mention that if you slide as Buster, Plucky, or Furrball (Dizzy doesn't really "slide") under a walking Roddy, it will fly up into the air. If you slide into a stationary jumping Roddy, it will disappear as though it has been jumped upon. For walking and jumping Roddys (you will encounter those), you're better off just jumping on them.
There are some spikes in this level that will shake and drop. Those will take away one hit point. If you hit any stationary spike, however, it's instant death. Also, near the end of the stage, there is an exploding barrel that will activate if you land upon it. This will also take away one hit point.
Level 2 Boss: You are kinda back on the deck (I guess?) to fight what looks like Captain Hook. You have to jump on his head three times. There are platforms you need to jump upon, and Captain Hook does run and jump frequently. He will also use his sword to "stab" you, if he's close enough. If you jump on his head the first two times, he will send a rolling barrel after you. Furrball, once again, comes in handy for climbing up the wall and off-screen, which will ensure that the barrel will not hit you. On the third hit, he stops, then flies off-screen, and throws up the second key.
Stage 3-1: You now move to the forest. Shirley the Loon will recommend Dizzy Devil. Really, the only thing he's good for is using his spin power to break some tree branches. This only really works if you want to go Hamton's house in Stage 3-2. Nope. Stick with Furrball. Enemies are owls, squirrels, and hedgehogs. This is also an oddball stage, because this is the only stage (and actually the only level) that you do not see carrots to collect. Instead, you collect apples, which are counted as carrots.
Stage 3-2: You're in the deep forest now. I like using Furrball here, too, because you can basically travel across the tops of the trees to avoid the weirdest maze on the floor. Enemies here are squirrels, hedgehogs, bees, and bats.
The Elmyra stage in level 3 is what I consider the most challenging. You are in a long room with Elmyra on the floor, and your escapes are walls, your starting platform, and a ton of columns with spaces between them. I tend to wait until she runs to my platform, and then hop onto the first column. After about 5 or 6 seconds, I fall through the first space and run like the wind to the exit door (usually materializes by then).
Stage 3-3: You're now in the spooky cave. Furball, again, helps with some top-of-the screen travel. Enemies are: bats, Roddy, fish, and spike balls that kinda look like faceless, round, purple Thwomps.
Level 3 Boss: The Wolverine. You have two floor platforms with space on either side of each platform. Above are columns that spin like Russian Roulette. The Wolverine will jump down on one platform, run to the center, and fall down the middle space, and the whole cycle repeats. Your job is to jump on him three times for him to fly off screen and get your third key. The way to tell which platform he will land upon is to see which direction the platforms above are spinning. If they spin to the right, he'll land on the left, and vice versa.
After defeating the wolverine, you move on to Stage
4, which is more urban-themed. Shirley the Loon recommends Furrball for this
level. She FINALLY gets one right, and sadly, it’s the only correct
recommendation. Granted, she’s just making sure that each traveling companion
gets a turn, according to how their powers are best used, but the fact is,
Furrball is the best companion for half
the adventure.
Stage 4-1: You’re now in the streets, where you
face dogs that pop out of random windows, throwing vases at you and cats that
pop out of random trash cans and throw open tin cans at you. Each object thrown
cannot be stopped (I don’t think so, haven’t tried Dizzy on this level yet),
but they can be pounced upon. There’s also one walking/jumping Roddy.
Stage 4-2: You’re behind a fence, where your
enemies are the cats, explosive oil barrels (similar to the wooden ones in
stage 2-3), and Rhubella Rat, who jumps out many places and runs after you. She
doesn’t really pose a threat unless you slip and can’t get out of the way in
time, and can be defeated in one pounce. Hamton’s house is nowhere to be seen
in this stage or this level. This is also the last stage that you can collect
carrots. This is one of my favorite stages to play due to how faced-paced it
can get. I usually try to run straight through without stopping, which usually
ends up with so many Rhubellas chasing me that the game lags. Hey, it is an
NES.
The last Elmyra stage is the absolute hardest to
get past… if you aren’t Furrball by this point. Remember how I’ve said that
Furrball can climb walls? Well, you basically use that to get past Elmyra, and
you really don’t need any of the flying platforms.
Stage 4-3: You start at the bottom of the inside of
the skyscraper. Your enemies are Roddy and Sweetie Pie. This is the last time
you’ll see any Roddys in the game. Furrball is amazing when it comes to this
stage, as he can once again climb walls to avoid those pesky flying platforms.
DO NOT GET THE FIRST BALLOON AT THE BOTTOM PLATFORM. It’s a ball, and it’s really
annoying to change from Furrball to Buster. Thankfully, it’s not hard to dodge,
but it is an annoying lesson you may learn the hard way once.
Boss Level 4: I used to hate this boss with a
vengeance. It’s basically King Kong jumping on a platform. Each time he jumps,
a small monkey comes down. Also, if you are on a platform when he lands, you cannot
move for about a second or two. You start on the left, short, downward-sloping
platform. Monkeys never go on that platform. At first it seems as though they’re
trying to get you to run out of time, since there’s no way to physically touch
King Kong, and you need to hit two monkeys to have one quarter of the platform
drop. After the last platform is dropped, King Kong falls.
Now, the hard part is that you need to hit the
monkeys that drop at random points at the longer, downward-sloping platform.
Two are dropped every ten seconds, approximately. I used to try to hit one of
each, but that would often result in my finishing the boss with less than 60
seconds to spare. Then, timing got to the point where I would hit two monkeys
every so often, taking me down to under 90 seconds remaining. Then, it occurred
to me: some monkeys that land closer to the edge of the platform after the
first King Kong jump could be pounced upon when King Kong goes for his second
jump. This way, I can use my first pounce to gain momentum on the second
monkey. This method has caused me to finish as early as 130 seconds. A caveat: try to make sure the second monkey doesn't land on top of you.
I can also be a little bit stupid-sticious about
this end boss. I usually stand after the second rivet on the left side, and
jump while King Kong is mid-air. Often times, if I get the timing right, the
monkey lands far up the other slope. I dunno, it usually works for me.
After defeating King Kong, you get the fourth key
and advance to the next level.
I feel that now is a good time to tell you –
especially since this is usually when I get there – about the Duck Vader stage.
Boy, do I remember this bringing me and my mother grief, since we didn’t
originally know how he came up, so it seemed perfectly random. I think I may
either cried or almost cried every time he came on, mainly because he seemed so
difficult to defeat.
You achieve this stage when the number of carrots
you have is divisible by 11. The reason I get Duck Vader at this time is that I
have (strategically) collected 99 carrots. I don’t really go into Hamton’s
place anymore, because it’s fairly easy to get to P x 9 on your own. I don’t
think you can get Duck Vader two levels in a row, if you do not collect any
more carrots by the next level.
I could be wrong.
Duck Vader comes to you on the map, and then you’re
in his scene. He’s his own boss level, and you have two robots on either side.
You always play as Buster, which works because of his high jumping ability. You
have to hit Duck Vader on the head three times to defeat him, and you can use
his robot henchmen to try to jump on his head, if he’s high up. After the third
jump, all three disappear, and a large heart with an “ACME” label on it
appears. You should get it, as the game will not advance until you do, like you
should get the keys. You gain no points in this round, but you do get a 3Up,
regardless of how many extra players in the game. If you get to P x 9 in this
game, the counter just stops counting. However, you can lose a life if you get
shot or bumped into.
Next you go to level 5, and you choose your
companion without Shirley’s help. She doesn’t recommend anybody after level 4.
My mother figured out early on that Plucky is the best companion because you
will need to fly in order to fully master this level.
Level 5: Welcome to Wackyland! It’s every bit as
trippy as the show. You start off in a door (huh?) and go and jump across
flying platforms, and a little Gogo Dodo. Should you jump on him? Why not? It
merely disappears with a weird sound. No harm done…
You will find Hamton’s door in this scene, and it’s
the last one of the game, which helps if you need to exchange some carrots for
lives. There is no Elmyra (the last level had the last one), so you can’t
exactly “re-do” this stage without going through the “game over” scene first.
You will also find… these… green… Goober-looking… I
dunno WHAT they are, but just avoid the squares that go in a straight line,
okay? They’re only found in this scene.
You go to another door, and go through to the next
scene. There’s a balloon which changes you to your character (I hope you have
chosen Plucky!). There are also, in this
particular scene… bubble-tossing buckets and jumping footballs. And the bubbles
that are tossed are harmful. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!! That Bugs
Bunny’s 50th Birthday game also had harmful bubbles. Why are bubbles
harmful? They’re BUBBLES!!!!!
Whatever.
There are two Gogo Dodos, and if you jump on them,
they do the same as the first Gogo. You go to another door (good grief, where’s
the exit???) and go to the third scene. Now you’re coming across running
eyeballs wearing fedoras and jumping teapots. Why? I think the people who
designed this level intentionally deprived themselves of sleep for two months
straight, watching only the Tiny Toons and Looney Tunes episodes that contained
Gogo or Yoyo. And possibly some Rod Serling programs. Anyway, there’s one Gogo
at a high platform, and another Gogo in a kinda tight, vertical mini-maze. You
basically have to Mission Impossible your way through that.
And yes, I did make Mission Impossible a
verb.
Continuing on, you can collect a heart, then go
through yet another door, and…. wait, you’re back at the first scene. This is
Wackyland, folks, so there’s no “exit” door. So how do you get out of there?
You know those Gogos you see that make the weird
noise when you jump on them? If you had been counting, there are five
altogether. When you collect all five, the level ends, and you go to a separate
scene. Is it an end boss? Not really. The five Gogos jump out of you, form a
full-size Gogo, which then disappears, revealing…. YOUR LAST KEY!!! You go get
it, because you’ve had enough of this weirdness (although, it is super fun
after a while). So long, Gogo and Wackyland, it’s been surreal.
What happens if you don’t end up with Plucky and
you really wanted to do so, but an accidental slip of the finger had you end up
with Furrball or Dizzy instead? Well, I think Dizzy is impossible to win with,
because he can’t quite Mission Impossible his way through low, tight spaces,
and you can’t break through things here. You can win with Buster or Furrball,
though, although I prefer using Buster over Furrball.
Finally, you reach stage six, and Shirley (once
again) does not recommend anybody. Well, I recommend Buster. You can play as
any character, though. My mother loves using Dizzy, but oh, my word, it takes
so long to get past that level with him.
Level 6: Montana Max’s Mansion. Whoever designed
this level clearly did not get enough hugs as a child. Granted, this level is
pretty true to canon, but still very sadistic.
Your enemies start off with these security guys
that throw… knives? If you don’t get them right away, without getting away, they will get you. You also have the
butler, who turns off the lights to keep you from seeing. Thankfully, I have
this scene down to a rhythm. Oh, and watch out for falling chandeliers. As you
approach the end of the scene (and each one here), you see a white, bolted
door. What to do? You just come up on it. It disappears, along with one of your
keys. You should have all five keys at this point.
The second scene takes you to more security guards
and a series of stationary spikes. As mentioned before, these mean instant
death, with or without a heart. If you play as Dizzy, use your spin power, but
you have to stay put (lest you run
into another security guard by accident) and wait for your power to recharge
before going past more spikes. This can also knock away the security guards and
provide immunity to their weapons. As the others, though, you may find it best
to Mission Impossible your way past the guards and spikes.
The third scene gives you an elevator platform that
has you jumping and ducking money bags being shot left and right. Again, as
Dizzy, the spin move helps at one point, whereas you have to work on serious
rhythm as the others. After the maze, if you make it out alive (I tell you,
it’s like the fall of shame if you die here), there is a heart balloon waiting
for you.
The fourth scene gives the return of Arnold the Pit
Bull. He will charge at you, top speed. You can jump over him as any character,
but I think you still have to hit his head twice for him to disintegrate. I
don’t know, he gets away too quickly for me to find out. However, as Dizzy, use
the spin move, and as in Level 1, he will disappear.
The last scene contains no enemies. They’re
platforms monogrammed with “M” that go out and in. Your timing and jumping are
the only things that will be your literal downfall. You can use Furrball to
climb walls with ease here.
Finally, you make it to the last door, use your
last key… and…
FINAL BOSS: You’ve finally made it to the Montana
Max stage. You start with a spring-loaded Boxing glove that shoots at you.
Montana Max will appear in one of two “doors” on a high platform. Also, a coin
will shoot out. You need to use the boxing gloves (after they’ve punched out)
and the coins (after they’ve fully materialized) to get to Montana Max. Three
hits will mean his end. But be careful, upon the first hit, you will get two
coins to defend against, and upon the second hit, two boxing gloves will pop
out at a time. If you lose, you need to start the level all… over… again.
Now, when you hit Montana the last time, he falls
over and throws a fit, indicating his defeat. Then everything except you
character disappears, and a curtain falls. After a moment, the curtain lifts
revealing your character with Babs Bunny!!! Yeah, they don’t exactly show how
it happens, but who cares? What’s hilarious is that none of your stats matter
anymore when Montana’s beaten.
Back in the day, lots of games had “bad,” “good,”
“better,” and “best” game endings (or some variation thereof). This one, sorta
has it. You can end as any character, but if you end with Buster, she will
bounce at the same speed as Buster when he’s stable (not moving via the player).
With any other character, she bounces at half-speed.
Forgot to mention:
Buster, stable: bounces up and down on his
toes.
Plucky, stable: Furrows his brow and taps
his foot.
Dizzy, stable: Pants and bounces naturally
with pant.
Furrball, stable: His tail twirls around.
Congratulations, you’ve beaten the game! There’s an
epilogue and credits sequence that awaits you. This game was made by Konami
(Warner Brothers had nothing to do with its actual development), and every
name, I kid you not, on this game is Japanese. How cool is that?!
They also thank you for playing (D’aww, shucks.
Weren’t nothin’.), and then the “The End” title. And that’s it. Nothing else.
Lots of games would end that way. You can’t exactly “restart the game” without…
restarting the game. I guess that’s their way of saying, “Good job. Now go play
outside or something,” or something to that extent.
So that’s a pretty good part of my childhood. And
you know what? I still play it to this day, as a stress reliever. I would
recommend you play this game, too, at least once all the way through. There is
also a code that you use (I’m not telling it to you here, I haven’t even gotten
my mother to figure it out!) that can help you start at any stage in the game,
and give you the appropriate number of keys, as well. For instance, if you
start at stage 3-2, you will have two keys to start off with. If you start at
the Duck Vader stage, you could potentially start the game with a P x 5.
You know? It’s taken me a good honking long time to
fully write this out. I could use a stress reliever. I think I’ll play the game
right now.
Toodles!
*hums Tiny
Toon Adventures theme song*
What’s your favorite NES game? What’s your favorite
cartoon show / theme song?
