Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates
System: NES
Release Date: January 1991
Developer: Richard Seaborne, Equilibrium
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Action
Find your way to Neverland to defeat Captain Hook in Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates! Captain Hook is plotting his revenge against Peter Pan and has brought his crew to Neverland. You’ll need to defeat his crew one by one across the island to liberate the Lost Boys for good.
Each level tasks Peter with moving to the right. All the while he needs to jump over obstacles and try not to fall down pits. There is a counter in the upper right corner showing you how many pirates exist in the level. You need to beat them all in order to move to the next area. It’s possible to defeat them with your short sword or use a cannonball that Hook has abandoned around the island.
Peter has the ability to fly, which you would think is amazing, but in practice is not. To activate, you press the A Button and Up at the same time. Then you can move in any direction, but I suggest not moving diagonally. I died so many times because moving diagonally and running into anything drops you out of flight mode. I was getting really angry before I realized I should only move in the four cardinal directions.
In the levels are treasures that you collect. These end up being your life gauge. Occasionally, a cage will drop on you when you collect one and take you to a bonus level. The only real threats I ran into were giant spiders falling from the sky. Nothing else made a dent. In levels with watery floors, if you get to close, Tick-Tock the crocodile will snap you up as if you were Captain James Hook himself.
The first level is a forest, followed by a cave. Then the scenes go back and forth until the first two levels are repeated with night time colors. The final series of rounds puts you on the Jolly Roger with platforms that blend into the background. If you can make it to the end, you go one on one with Hook and have to make him walk the plank in order to make Neverland safe for children once more. I feel like I could make a Michael Jackson joke, but will refrain.
Graphics: 1.5
The backgrounds can be pretty well done, but the sprites are below average.
Sound: 0.5
The music and sounds are bad. At least you can turn them off if you like.
Gameplay: 0.5
The controls are terrible. Peter Pan should be able to fly with grace, not constantly fall down pits.
Difficulty: 0.5
The controls are the difficulty. The levels are short and easy.
Fun Factor: 0.5
It’s not completely void of fun, but it brings very little enjoyment.
Overall Rating: 0.7
Fox’s Peter Pan and the Pirates earns a D-. This game is garbage. Stay away.