Here's the last of July's Switch Online updates. Three games is pretty bare, and the only update for the NES side is an SP version of Mario 3 (it's just a save state). BACKGROUND:
Nope. Still not a game I've heard of before. For the record, I am not complaining every time I say this. As much as I'd love to explore some heavy hitters through the emulator service, these obscure, off-the-wall picks are just as interesting to me (and I'm aware that I'm the minority when it comes to this). SUMMARY: Claymates is a side-scrolling 2D platformer where you play as Clayton, a boy who was transformed into a ball of clay by an evil witch doctor, who also kidnapped his scientist father and stole a serum that can transform people into animals. It is as bizarre as it sounds. Pretty much all the levels just require you to get to the end, but they're all large enough to allow for exploration. However, there isn't a lot to find in terms of secrets; apart from three special tokens that unlock purple boxes in the levels (which themselves don't have any unique rewards), it's mostly bonus gems (which are like Mario coins), extra lives, the occasional power-up, or bonus rooms (which, again, just have more of the same). That said, I did enjoy simply exploring, though the ten-minute time limit kind of took away from the fun of it. As a clay ball, you don't have a lot you can do both platforming and combat wise. In order to stand a chance, you'll have to pick up one of five colored balls to transform into one of five animals. There's the mouse that runs extremely fast, the cat that can walk vertically up walls (an ability that I'll note is somewhat hard to use), a squirrel with a projectile attack, a bird that can fly short distances, and a fish suited for underwater movement. Many of the levels are built around a couple of these transformations, but only a few really have you switching between all of them in relatively quick succession. As far as attacks go, the squirrel is by far the most effective for obvious reasons, but everyone else can get a ranged attack by picking up an extra transformation ball, which becomes a projectile that follows you and whips forward when you press attack. This attack makes most enemies trivial, since it has great range and goes through terrain. Enemies themselves have interesting designs, but they're mostly obstacles, so don't worry about intense combat. Even the bosses aren't too tricky, especially when you have that ranged attack that lets you wail on them from a safe distance. Depending on certain conditions (like collecting all the CLAY letters at the end or obtaining a specific number of gems), you can end up in special bonus levels. Accomplishing the former puts you as your ball form in a pinball area, where there isn't much to do other than bounce to the end (which is much harder than it sounds) and rack up points (which don't seem to mean anything in the grand scheme). The other bonus level is a neat bouncing game where you try to hit the glowing tiles without missing. Getting them all awards an extra life. Interestingly, the overworld you traverse between levels is a game in itself, as each section is a puzzle where you have to guide two robots (walking on their own) to tools like axes or bombs to clear out the exit (blocked by trees or rocks). This is accomplished by pushing things like rocks or minecarts to block or open up paths for the robots to walk through, and it's a surprisingly engaging mini-puzzle each time. The only gripe I have is the collision of your character and certain elements in this section can be inconsistent, but other than that, this segment could easily be its own game. With the whole clay theme going on, the art style has this claymation look to it, and surprisingly, it translates rather well to the Super Nintendo's 16-bit capabilities. It still very much looks like a video game, but the clay texture to a lot of elements does come across clearly. I can't recall off the top of my head any modern games with a similar aesthetic, but it'd be neat to see this game's look fully realized with today's graphics. VERDICT: Though I'd say the main platforming bits of Claymates are standard fare, the transformation gimmick is still pretty fun in conjunction with the big levels, and strangely enough, I found the interstitial moments in the overworld to be engaging puzzles. I thought this was a neat game, and I quite enjoy the claymation vibe of it. As far as SNES-era platformers go, this may not be iconic, but I think it still offers a decently fun time if you just want to chill out and not really stress about tough platforming. Just don't expect any particular challenge if you're familiar with platformers. - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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