NES Games I Beat #37: Bugs Bunny’s Crazy Castle

 

 

  Bugs Bunny’s Crazy Castle is a puzzle game released in 1989 for NES by Kemco, known for their classic point and click trilogy of Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, and Uninvited though these days remembered for the infamous Universal Studios Adventures game. It’s a title with a few unique mechanics, a few problems, and a lot to like. While not perfect in any regard I expected a shit game after AVGN’s review and what I got was no such thing.
When you first booted it up, immediately you’ll notice the music is catchy and the graphics are decent for their time. While there are only a few tracks, they don’t seem to get old at all. The password system is beautiful for an old game, four letters or numbers, no bullshit, short, sweet, to the point. Appreciated Kemco. This makes traversing the 60 levels a comfortable experience that can be done in any amount of time.
    As mentioned prior, this is a puzzle game, the object being to collect all the carrots in each level. Enemies have set areas they wander around and guard but can deviate on occasion. The trick to getting past them is the timing or strategizing to use one of the weapons or pipes to avoid their hit. One hit and you’re dead. But isn’t so bad. You have unlimited continues in 5 live increments which do next nothing except very rarely push you back a few levels which can always be fixed with the passwords you get between every level.
    So there are a few weapons, things you can push off ledges which if timed right will take out an enemy, invisible ink, which allows you to run through enemies and kill them for a very limited amount of time, and finally boxing gloves which allow you a free hit to an enemy anywhere but you can only hold one at a time. These items make taking out your enemies fun and strategic because you’re always facing death and risking getting past an enemy to save your glove for another one. Also, if an enemy is on the staircases or in the pipes you can bypass them without a hit. Enemies are all Looney Toons characters, Sylvester, Daffy, Yosemite Sam, and Wile E. Coyote.     They have no difference but it’s nice to see them use the license a bit more.
The challenge is a mixed bag. Often, stages are simple in concept but avoiding the enemies is challenging because of Bugs’ momentum. Often when going of a ledge or down a staircase, Bugs won’t stop even if you do which is the biggest flaw I’ll admit but it didn’t ruin the game for me, you adjust to the control eventually. Besides, if you die there really isn’t a punishment. Stages are short so you won’t well too overwhelmed to recomplete the pieces you had prior to death. Even if lives did matter, every time you collect the carrots and pass a stage, you’re awarded a 1 Up so the game is beyond for giving for fucking up. In my opinion, this lenient system allows for fun because you aren’t worried about consereving lives or stressed that you’ll die and go all the way to the start. None of that here. Also sometimes enemies corner you but I never really thought it was too bullshit because it’s part of the challenge. You sort of have to bait them to go different directions, it’s hard to explain.
    Look, the Angry Nerd often reviews games for parody and takes any crack shots he can get on games. The slew of sequels was excessive but for a very hated game, this is actually an underrated gem in my opinion. The music is good, the levels fun, it’s very forgiving, the passwords are easy, the challenge is fair, and it’s overall a very solid puzzle game. It’s no Fire N’ Ice or anything but it’s much less expensive and totally a fun pick up and play sort of game you’ll get a few nights of good fun out of. Take it from me, I was so into this game that every night since I beat Donkey Kong I’ve had an itch to go back and play this game as much as possible. It has some of the addiction that puzzle games like Tetris have, not too hard, always fun but is sort of challenging and mildly brain bending with vastly easier puzzles than a complicated puzzle game like Fire N’ Ice. At the end of the day this is a fun, hidden gem well deserving of a 7.2/10.