Developer: Spidersoft Software
Publisher: Sony Imagesoft
Release Date: November 1993
Cliffhanger, based the cheesy Sylvester Stallone action movie, is a game that doesn’t make a very good first impression. I know I thought it was lame when my cousin rented it way back in the day. It looks ugly for one thing, especially for such a late release. It came out just in time for the NES’s next-to-last Christmas. By then they should’ve known how to push the limits and make a great looking game. Kirby’s Adventure came out just a few months earlier, and it’s a visual masterpiece. Also, there is a bit of a learning curve. I spent more time on the first level than I did on the whole rest of the game, and it really requires reading the instructions. Also, it’s almost universally panned. The old All Game Guide gave it one star. That puts it right down with the worst games of all time. However, I have to say it really grew on me. I wouldn’t call it a particularly good game, but it was one I still had some fun with.
I think what I enjoyed most was the kooky level design. It’s called Cliffhanger, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the game was full of death-defying jumps. Early in the game you collect a pair of boots that allows you to run, and this makes for some wild jumping. There were many times where I thought I couldn’t make a jump only to find out that I just barely could. There was something surprisingly exhilarating about it. Of course, it would’ve been better if you didn’t have to press up and the direction to run and having to find the boots is an unnecessary step, but it almost gave me Prince of Persia vibes at time. The levels usually had an upper and lower path, so jumping from above was relatively safe. It may be ugly, but the level design wasn’t terrible. There were also a couple other parts that really amused me. One of them is where you punch a henchman onto a spiked cliff and ride his dead body like a sled. It’s one of my favorite weird NES moments. The other part is having the whole plot of the movie condensed into text with some still photos. It made it seem like Cliffhanger the Little Golden Book. Also, now I don’t have to watch the movie which is another plus. As I said, it’s a bit kooky.
Of course, I don’t want to oversell it. The mere fact that it was fun at all was a complete surprise, but there are plenty of flaws. The combat is especially awkward. Stallone’s punch doesn’t do very much damage and is somewhat difficult to use. Sometimes I would fight a henchman and he would go down in a couple of punches and sometimes he would drain half my health while I helplessly punched away. There are weapons to collect, but they are very limited and hard to use. I died multiple times trying to get a knife which I thought would be a permanent upgrade like the boots only to find out that it was a single-use item that wasn’t even very good. Most of the weapons move too slow to be much help. It’s best to just avoid enemies. That’s never a good sign. There are also times where damage is unavoidable. Stallone has to climb up some cliffs with falling rocks. The rocks are completely random and almost impossible to avoid. I just ignored them since they didn’t slow my progress and appeared before a cutscene where I would get my health restored. With improved combat and more refinement this could’ve been a hidden gem. I guess they figured it was an NES game in 1993. Who really cared anymore?
After I learned how to play the game ended up being fairly easy. It’s one of those short, easy games which was good for a rental, but not really necessary for ownership. I’d love to know who got this game for Christmas in 1993. Of course, we got Rocky and Bullwinkle that year so there were worse gifts out there. I did enjoy this game somewhat, but objectively I can tell that it’s not that good. Still, I am going to put it in the purple section instead of the red, and it’s ending up in the middle of my NES rankings instead of near the bottom. It’s a good result for such a maligned game. It comes in at #58 splitting a couple of mediocre RPGs. I’m probably the only person on planet Earth who would rank it above Evoland, but that game just didn’t do much for me. Perhaps it needed more dead body sleds. Then again, what game doesn’t?
NES Quality Percentage: 13/24 or 54.16%
(Images are from mobygames.com)
NES
Zelda II
The Legend of Zelda
Super Mario Bros. 2
Wrecking Crew
Excitebike
Clu Clu Land
Balloon Fight
Double Dragon
Panic Restaurant
Felix the Cat
Donkey Kong 3
Ice Climber
Pinball
Cliffhanger
Tennis
Renegade
Hogan’s Alley
Wild Gunman
Mario’s Time Machine
Baseball
Home Alone
Bad Street Brawler
Wayne’s World
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
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