Cratermaze
System: TG-16
Release Date: March 1990
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Genre: Puzzle
I wanted some puzzle games from the TG-16 and it seems they all come at once, this time with Cratermaze. Opi is on his magic carpet ship traveling through time with his friends when ZAP! He’s attacked by the evil Kublai and his friends are taken captive through time. It’s up to you to help Opi collect treasure through 60 rounds of walking, digging, and jumping.
Each round has 16 treasure chests strewn about. You need to collect all 16 chests to unearth a key that opens a door to the next round. In your path are enemies that you can drop into holes that you’ve dug with Button II. If you bury them by pressing it again, you earn points and can continue with less harassment for a moment. Occasionally, there are powerups sitting on the stage ready for you to pick up. The shovel increases the range of your digging, up to the length of the screen. The skates increase your walking speed.
There are weapons that sometime drop after killing enemies. There’s a bubble gun (12:45), a yo-yo, and a freeze beam. There are also bombs (13:20) and an ice crystal powerup that encases enemies, allowing you to push them into walls. On normal difficulty, there are two wandering enemies that are rather slow and easy to dispatch. Some levels have enemies that attack from the walls, which were my first deaths. Higher difficulty levels introduce more enemies that move more quickly.
Levels are pretty simple, just requiring you to walk to each chest, sometimes needing to use a spring to jump where you need to go. Sometimes needing to use a warp panel. There was one time I got myself in a situation where I had no move to make because there was no way out but drowning. After fifteen rounds, you save one of your buddies. Rounds 30 and 60 put you in an open field with the big bads moving back and forth. Beating the game once unlocks the Expert difficulty.
Graphics: 2.0
The graphics are pleasant, but could benefit from more color and detail.
Sound: 1.5
The music could be better, the fidelity just isn’t there.
Gameplay: 3.0
Controls are easy to learn and there are plenty of ways to move forward.
Difficulty: 2.5
I’d say it errs on the easy casual side. There are passwords to save your progress.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I think the style of game came at the right time for me, I enjoyed it and would have played through all the difficulty levels if I was a kid.
Overall Grade: 2.4
Cratermaze earns a C+. It’s simple and fun and sometimes that’s all you need. Give it a shot.