Developer: Reidel Software Productions
Publisher: Hi-Tech Expressions
Release Date: December 1993
Unique Feature: A funky Beethoven soundtrack
There’s a reason why if I had the type of friends who gave me funny nicknames they might very well call me “Sir Likes-A-Lot.” I will play just about any game, and it usually doesn’t take much for me to have a good time. I will acknowledge right up front that Beethoven is not a very good game. At the same time I had a good time playing it. Perhaps it’s because I hadn’t played through a Super Nintendo game on the original hardware in so long that just about any game would feel entertaining. Perhaps it’s just that 16-bit gaming is my comfort food, and I need some comfort these days. So I did have fun, but it’s not a very good game.
(This is one of those title screen doesn't match cover art games)
If you have any knowledge of movie based games you probably already know what kind of game this is going to be. Yep it’s a lazy side scroller. I did at least like the premise. Despite the name on the box it’s actually based on the second movie so Beethoven has to save his kids. In the first level of the stage he finds his wayward pup, and in the second level he returns the pup to his wife. I have not seen the movie so I’m guessing her name is either Beetovina, Beetovette, or Sheetoven. Am I anywhere close? I have to say as a father myself it was fun playing a game that cared about family so much. Of course that leads to a major flaw of the game. You spend a good portion of the second stages with your pup in your mouth, and when you do this you can’t attack. This leads poor Beethoven to experience too many cheap hits. He’s a big target too. However, the pup is able to locate traps so it is mitigated somewhat. Still I like the overall setup, and at least they were trying to make it slightly different.
This is one of those games that is both way too easy and too hard at the same time, and that’s its biggest flaw. It only has eight levels, and there aren’t any bosses so if you are good the whole thing can take less than thirty minutes. However, Beethoven is very big and a bit difficult to control. It’s very easy to miss jumps because he hadn’t gained enough speed. There are also plenty of blind jumps and sudden falling platforms. There are only three continues, and damage from previous levels carries over, so this could add some urgency to the gameplay. However, almost every level has an extra life which is usually near the beginning and respawns after death which ruins the whole point of having limited continues. Also, the levels don’t have any checkpoints in them so you have to complete them in one go which gets annoying on the later, more difficult levels. There is also a timer, but even when being extra careful I never had to worry about it much. It seems like it was just there because games were supposed to have one. It’s a shame because with some more care this could’ve been a good game. The same team got much better results a year later with their Tom and Jerry game. I suppose they had better source material to work with for that one though.
By 1993 John Hughes was in the final stage of his career. He had gone from comedy writer to 80s teen movie auteur to reclusive screenwriter of weak family fare. It’s in this third stage that we are going to also see a lot of weak games. Beethoven certainly fits the bill as it’s a somewhat weak game based on a weak movie franchise that had a lot more shelf life than it should’ve. The game is a textbook case of lazy movie cash in, but it’s one made competently enough that I was still able to get some enjoyment out of it. I’ll put it in the upper portion of the purple section making it one of those games that if you see for a couple bucks at a used store you won’t regret buying it. I am putting it at number 39 just above Hogan’s Alley which isn’t too bad. Maybe I’ll do a deep dive into John Hughes games someday and see if any of them were worth playing.
SNES Quality Percentage: 3/5 or 60%
1. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
2. Super Mario Odyssey
3. The Legend of Zelda
4. Galaga
5. Donkey Kong
6. Exodus: Ultima III
7. Pac-Mania
8. Wrecking Crew
9. Super Pac-Man
10. Pac-Man
11. Viva Pinata
12. Dragon View
13. Excitebike
14. Drakkhen
15. Todd’s Adventures in Slime World
16. Arc the Lad
17. Clu Clu Land
18. Tails’ Adventures
19. Scrapyard Dog (Lynx)
20. Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX
21. Mickey’s Racing Adventure
22. Metro-Cross
23. Double Dragon
24. Panic Restaurant
25. Felix the Cat
26. Ice Climber
27. Gaplus
28. Dragon Spirit
29. Pinball (NES)
30. Ninja Golf
31. Super Soccer
32. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour (GBC)
33. Red Sea Crossing
34. Baraduke
35. Demon’s Crest
36. Evoland
37. Tennis
38. Renegade
39. Beethoven
40. Hogan’s Alley
41. Gamma-Attack
42. The Legend of “Valkyrie”
43. Galaxian
44. Dragon Crystal
45. Cosmic Commuter
46. Hot Pixel
47. PocketBike Racer
48. Wild Gunman
49. Defunct
50. Gyruss (2600)
51. Looney Tunes Racing
52. Squidlit
53. Gordo 106
54. Baseball
55. Birthday Mania
56. Bad Street Brawler
57. Burly Men at Sea
58. WeakWood Throne
59. X-Men (HyperScan)
60. My Name is Mayo
61. Marvel Heroes
62. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
63. Ben 10
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