Level Up: Yo! Noid

I think I made it pretty clear at this point that when I plan on writing my own reviews, I read, watch and listen to other people’s reviews on the same game. I do this to see what other people felt was important to mention (in case I overlooked something) and how some people justify a good or bad game. The reason I say this is because there are some games where the opinions are basically split. But I am not exaggerating when I say that I have checked out dozens of reviews on today’s game and for each that says it’s good, another says it’s bad. So now I’m going to put my opinion out there on Yo! Noid for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Coming out in 1990, Yo! Noid is an “advert-game”, meaning that it was basically made as promotional material. In this case, it’s for the Diminos pizza company, since their then mascot, the Noid, is the player character. However, to give you a quick history lesson, this was never the subject of the original game. This is a localization of a game known as “Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru” (which, according to Wikipedia, means “Masked Ninja Hanamaru”). Though the game was completely re-skinned, changing the settings, plot and characters, the game play was pretty much left intact.

This is basically your usual platformer where you move from left to right to get to the end of the stage. Along your way, people will be trying to attack you, but you can eliminate them by using your yo-yo. But that’s not your only defense: as you’re playing along, you’ll be collecting scrolls, some of which you can open with your yo-yo to get a new power. By pressing up and the attack button, you’ll use whichever skill you have equipped (which will normally get rid of all enemies on screen). This is all important to know because the Noid can only take one hit before having to restart the stage again. Luckily continues are easy to get and the game is not all that hard.

To mix things up along the way, you’ll get levels with slippery floors, flight stages, moving stages and a skate-boarding level, but the boss battles would have to be the most unique aspect. Every second level ends with a boss battle/pizza eating contest (its part of the plot). The way that works is that you and your adversary are given 16 numbered cards which represent how many pizzas you’ll eat. Your adversary will choose a card and then you choose one. Whoever has the highest number will be given point equal to the difference. Your goal is to prevent your opponent from filling up his meter. You’re given the advantage of special cards that can either multiply the number of pizzas you want or make the other guy lose some pizzas. However, the special cards will mostly be invisible items found in the platforming stages, so look around. A fair bit of strategy is required, or you’ll be frustrated by these.

This game has some major programming flaws though. Remember I said there were flying stages? These work kind of like if you were constantly jumping: press A to bounce up, don’t press anything to go down. However you’ll be bouncing the whole time making it ridiculously hard to get through a tight spot. Another ruined stage hazard is the skateboarding: you can’t use your yo-yo on this one, so the only way to kill enemies is by jumping on them. Sadly, if you hit them at just the wrong angle, you’ll kill yourself. But I think the thing that annoys the most people is in the first stage: you’re on constantly rising and lowering docks some will lower you into the water. However, the line between when you can land on a platform and when you it’ll kill you is a little unclear. Along with the fact that there’s a level timer, you might make a wrong choice while rushing. This is just a horrible first impression for the game.

So there’s Yo! Noid; a game with its share of flaws and a stupid plot that’s basically an ad for a pizza chain. However, I don’t think it’s a bad game. The flaws mostly just come from the level hazards, but the core game play isn’t all that bad (other than the boring and lengthy bosses), the plot never becomes too intrusive, the graphics and sounds are more than acceptable and unlike really bad games, I wanted to (and could) beat this game. Really, I think a lot of people are pre-judging it based on the fact that it’s an advert-game, but that never bothered me. Since I don’t think this game is bad, by default, I think it’s good, but I am aware of its flaws and why some people don’t like it. My suggestion is to play it and make your own opinion on it before getting it. And if you can’t do that, this game is pretty cheap. I give Yo! Noid for the Nintendo Entertainment System 6.5 level out of 10.

And yeah, I got through this review without mentioning Adam West!