Zapper : One Wicked Cricket (GameCube) Quick Review
A while back in one of my reviews, I mentioned taking a trip to my local retro store with my then fiancee (now wife) and telling her to just snag a few random things for me that I probably wouldn't grab myself normally. This was one of the things she snatched for the GameCube and once I saw the cover I knew she was right, this is not something I would've grabbed on my own. It's been sitting for a bit, but every time I glanced through my GameCube section my eyes kept finding this game. It seemed about time to finally fire this one up so, let's get zapping.
Zapper follows the story of...well Zapper the cricket. While at home one day trying to watch TV with his family, the antennae stops working. In a fit of immediate brilliance, Zapper picks up his little brother and holds him out the window to gain some reception. A thieving magpie named Maggie swoops by and snatches up the little brother and kidnaps him. Zapper sets out to rescue his brother and get Maggie punished for her numerous crimes.
The game is played from a semi-top-down perspective, with a playstyle extremely similar to Frogger Ancient Shadow. You have to work your way through sixteen different levels collecting a number of eggs that Maggie is infamous for leaving behind at her crimes.
What's Good?
- Hidden Areas. Throughout each level, there are "secrets" that you can find. These are off-shoot areas of the level that offer more fireflies to collect, and they can be a bit more difficult than the rest of the normal portion of the level despite these areas being so small. They're filled with missing gaps, enemies, and moving platforms which you'll need to know precisely how and when to move Zapper to get whatever is inside.
What's Bad?
- Short and Not So Sweet. When I threw this game in, I intended to make it for a full review. However, I realized that wasn't going to happen when it barely took me a half an hour to finish this four levels (25% of the game). And the levels instantly end as soon as you collect the last egg, so there's no option to keep bouncing around to find the exit and collect more fireflies. As soon as you have the six eggs you're done. The levels are short, not a whole lot of depth, and even if you go for the secret areas, it doesn't add much time to your file.
- Nothing New Learned. All of Zapper's moves are available from the beginning.So really, no matter how far you go in this game, it all feels the same after the first level. Everything just becomes a process of testing you slightly harder at how good you are with the moves. Zapper can leap which will either let you reach a higher level or skip a "space" when moving, he can use his antennae to point in the direction of the next closest egg, and he can use a zap of electricity to destroy an enemy immediately in front of him. They're simple moves that, no matter the test, are easily mastered in moments.
Is it Worth it?
It's short, it's easy, and it's only the tiniest little bit of fun. And on top of all that, it only costs around $5 or $6 for a CIB copy, and only a buck or two less for just the disc.If it were more challenging, or had some depth to it I would honestly say go run out and grab this now. But there's not much to this one at all, and the only people I would recommend this game to are those that want to play a Frogger game with a frog. Otherwise, if you see this little cricket sitting on a shelf in your local retro store, keep digging on the shelves.
It wasn't hard to finish this game. Like I said, this was intended to be a full review, and ended up throwing things off by a day or two so this week's full review may be a bit delayed (apologies). Zapper is okay for a quick throw in to rip through the game, maybe see if you can beat it in a new fast time, but this one is more worth it if you just pass it by.
Zapper follows the story of...well Zapper the cricket. While at home one day trying to watch TV with his family, the antennae stops working. In a fit of immediate brilliance, Zapper picks up his little brother and holds him out the window to gain some reception. A thieving magpie named Maggie swoops by and snatches up the little brother and kidnaps him. Zapper sets out to rescue his brother and get Maggie punished for her numerous crimes.
The game is played from a semi-top-down perspective, with a playstyle extremely similar to Frogger Ancient Shadow. You have to work your way through sixteen different levels collecting a number of eggs that Maggie is infamous for leaving behind at her crimes.
What's Good?
- Hidden Areas. Throughout each level, there are "secrets" that you can find. These are off-shoot areas of the level that offer more fireflies to collect, and they can be a bit more difficult than the rest of the normal portion of the level despite these areas being so small. They're filled with missing gaps, enemies, and moving platforms which you'll need to know precisely how and when to move Zapper to get whatever is inside.
What's Bad?
- Short and Not So Sweet. When I threw this game in, I intended to make it for a full review. However, I realized that wasn't going to happen when it barely took me a half an hour to finish this four levels (25% of the game). And the levels instantly end as soon as you collect the last egg, so there's no option to keep bouncing around to find the exit and collect more fireflies. As soon as you have the six eggs you're done. The levels are short, not a whole lot of depth, and even if you go for the secret areas, it doesn't add much time to your file.
- Nothing New Learned. All of Zapper's moves are available from the beginning.So really, no matter how far you go in this game, it all feels the same after the first level. Everything just becomes a process of testing you slightly harder at how good you are with the moves. Zapper can leap which will either let you reach a higher level or skip a "space" when moving, he can use his antennae to point in the direction of the next closest egg, and he can use a zap of electricity to destroy an enemy immediately in front of him. They're simple moves that, no matter the test, are easily mastered in moments.
Is it Worth it?
It's short, it's easy, and it's only the tiniest little bit of fun. And on top of all that, it only costs around $5 or $6 for a CIB copy, and only a buck or two less for just the disc.If it were more challenging, or had some depth to it I would honestly say go run out and grab this now. But there's not much to this one at all, and the only people I would recommend this game to are those that want to play a Frogger game with a frog. Otherwise, if you see this little cricket sitting on a shelf in your local retro store, keep digging on the shelves.
It wasn't hard to finish this game. Like I said, this was intended to be a full review, and ended up throwing things off by a day or two so this week's full review may be a bit delayed (apologies). Zapper is okay for a quick throw in to rip through the game, maybe see if you can beat it in a new fast time, but this one is more worth it if you just pass it by.
