Jaws
System: NES
Release Date: November 1987
Developer: Westone
Publisher: LJN
Genre: Shoot ‘em Up
We’re up to Jaws! One of the Internet’s most derided games, thanks to being published by LJN. Don’t let the AVGN fool you, though, this game isn’t terrible. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not particularly good, but it works.
You are someone who wants to take out the mean old shark, Jaws. So you pilot your boat around, getting dumped into random battles against sea creatures. You leave the boat and dive into the waters equipped with a harpoon gun. You fight against jelly fish that float up from the bottom of the sea. Sting rays that come from the sides just below the depth the diver is on. Sharks that take a bunch of hits to put down. And finally, Jaws himself.
When you defeat the wildlife, they may drop one of three items. The conch shell is the most important thing to collect, as those can be turned in for an increased power level. You need to increase this score in order to injure Jaws. Enemies may also drop crabs, which when collected make the diver move more quickly. There are also starfish, which give you some bonus points. It sucks if you get killed with a ton of shells in your inventory, because you lose a power level and half of your shells!
Collecting the points actually has a point in Jaws, because when you collect around 30,000 points, a submarine appears somewhere on the overworld map. The submarine is neat because it zips around more quickly and has less momentum than the diver. It also can shoot missiles and throw cannonballs in order to defeat enemies on a different plane. Another bonus is that it gives you an extra hit before death. The diver has no life bar and contact with any of the sea creatures causes instant death. Look at the gruesome death from being eaten!
When you get sent to the diving portion, the goal is kill things until the level ends. Sometimes at the end, you’ll be sent to a bonus stage where you control the speed of a plane and drop bombs on jellyfish that swim around in a pattern. The more jellyfish you kill, the more bonus conch shells you receive. Once you’re powered up sufficiently, search for Jaws and just blast away at him. After awhile, his power level will drop all the way and it’s time for the end game. You’re back on the boat and Jaws charges. You have to hit the A Button at the right time to fire a strobe and get Jaws to breach. Then you have to hit the B Button to spear through his exposed belly. If you can do that, congratulations, you just conquered Jaws!
Graphics: 1.5
The graphics aren’t bad and I’d argue they’re alright in some places, like the final battle with Jaws.
Sound: 1.5
The music is alright and the sound effects from shooting are too loud.
Gameplay: 2.0
The game works. Shoot the sea creatures, collect conchs, go to port to power up, and kill Jaws!
Difficulty: 2.0
You can beat this sucker without powering up too much if you’re a masochist. It’s easy enough to beat in about an hour of playing, which is what I did.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I didn’t hate my time playing this by any means.
Overall Grade: 1.7
Jaws gets a C-. It wasn’t great, but certainly not terrible. I think this game gets too much hate because of AVGN and his hate of LJN.