Casper (video game)
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Casper | ||
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Composer(s) Kinuyo Yamashita (SFC) | Allister Brimble (GBC) | |
Platform(s) | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO, Game Boy, SNES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Windows 95, Windows 98 | |
Release | 1996, 1997, 2002 | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Casper is a series of action-adventure games based on the 1995 film of the same name. Two different games were released in 1996 and 1997 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, by different publishers, in different regions. A third game was released for the 3DO (the final release for that system), Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color, published by Interplay Productions. There was also a Game Boy game developed by Bonsai. A PC game, Casper: The Interactive Adventure, and a Game Boy Advance game, simply titled Casper, were released in 1997 and 2002 respectively serving as sequels.
Windows/Macintosh game
The first PC game based on the film was the Casper Brainy Book which was developed by
Mini-games
- Fatso's Creature Feature is a simple puzzle game with players completing puzzles that result in brief animations once finished. "Easy" has the player assembling Casper and his uncles, while "medium" has the player assembling puzzles featuring the Ghostly Trio in different shapes, colors and patterns. As explained upwards, the hard difficulty puzzles consist of stills from the film which when completed, play a scene relating to that image.
- Stretch's Shake Rattle and Roll is a spelling game in which players have to free Casper from the kitchen stove chimney (Stretch had trapped him down it) by spelling words in a Tetris-like fashion. Players have to use the arrow keys to put each letter into the correct boxes and each time a word is completed, Stretch moves Casper up a level until he reaches the top. On higher difficulties, the letters will fall faster and even appear in different orientations, so players must also use the up and down arrows to turn the letters. If no letters match any in the current word, they can be given to Fatso, though he will also eat any letters that are incorrectly matched or are in the wrong orientation even if they are matched.
- Stinky's Peek-A-Boo has the player help the ghost version of Dr. Harvey (who is trapped in the Lazarus) catch Stinky, who has stolen the Cellular Integrator for the Lazarus in an attempt to keep Harvey as a ghost. Stinky will turn himself into random shapes and players have to click on different tiles on a board to find words or objects (based on the current difficulty) that match the current shape he has become or something within the shape itself (i.e. a day of the week). The higher the difficulty, the more words/objects the player has to match to catch Stinky.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System game
Casper is a game developed by Absolute Entertainment and published by Natsume Inc. for the Super NES.[1] The player controls Casper who is followed by Kat Harvey, and he has to protect her from any danger. Being a ghost, Casper can pass through walls and other obstacles, unlike in most Casper games, but he can't go away from Kat too much or else Carrigan's ghost will abduct her. The game follows loosely the plot of the film. This game uses a revised Absolute A Boy and His Blob engine. Picking up special objects allows Casper to morph into these objects to clear rooms of enemies, and to protect Kat from certain hazards. Mirrors placed throughout the game allows Casper and Kat travel to other parts of mansion, and outside electrical lines allow Casper to pick up the last of the toys when he picks up the electric bolt morph.
Super Famicom game
Developed by
Baseballs are used to stun the enemies. Getting hit by an enemy results in a game over. There is even a box to the bottom right that keeps track of time (in seconds and minutes); the game starts with ten seconds elapsed. Saving the game is performed by finding mechanical contraptions and activating them. While saving the game, the game counts all the coins and gems; it uses that count to tabulate a percentage to decide how much of the game has been officially completed.
Sega Saturn, 3DO, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color game
The version published by
In an odd seeming oversight, in the game, no matter what one does, the player seems to wind up with an extra red key.
The Game Boy Color game is a scaled-down version of the Saturn/3DO/PS game with the only puzzles and morph icons being the ones required to reach the ending and the sound and graphics are rendered for handheld.
Game Boy game
This game was developed by Bonsai Entertainment and released by Natsume Inc.
Each of the levels consist of four main mini games, which the player can do in any order, and two final mini games that only appear at the end of the game. However, three of the main mini games are the same every level, with their only difference being a slightly increased difficulty level. The main goal of these games are to make it to the end with as much ooze as possible (ooze being fuel for the Lazarus and is much like points).
Windows 95/98 game
Casper: The Interactive Adventure is a
in 1997 and takes place after the 1995 film. After the Harvey's go on vacation, Casper's human friends throw him a party to cheer him up but a revived Carrigan turns them into ghosts, using a magic spell from an old book in the library, and hides them somewhere in the manor as revenge for being tricked out of the ultimate treasure. The player must use various items to travel around Whipstaff to find traces of Casper's friends and take pictures of them for hints and collect items while defending against attacks by the Ghostly Trio who are on Carrigan's side. There was supposed to be a sequel as stated in the ending and the manual where the player would help Casper turn his friends back into "fleshies" but Morning Star went bankrupt before it was made.Game Boy Advance game
Made by
Development
Silicon Graphics workstations using Alias software were used to generate the character graphics and backgrounds in the Saturn/PlayStation/3DO game.[4]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | (GBC)[11] (PS1)[12] (SAT)[13] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6.75/10 (3DO)[5] |
Next Generation | (3DO, PS1, SAT)[6][7][8] |
Sega Saturn Magazine | 70% (SAT)[9] |
Reviewing the 3DO version, Electronic Gaming Monthly's team of four reviewers criticized that load times are frequent, it is easy to get lost, and that the puzzles are often obscure or even don't make sense. They nonetheless had a generally positive response to the game, with Sushi-X deeming it a strong last hurrah for the 3DO. They cited the stunning graphics and wide variety of gameplay elements.[5] A critic for Next Generation agreed that the graphics are exceptional, noting in particular the ghosts which have true transparency (an effect generally thought to be impossible for the 3DO). While also agreeing that some of the puzzles don't make sense, he felt the game was generally easy enough for its young target audience, and concluded it to be a solid though not amazing game.[6] The magazine's brief reviews of the PlayStation and Saturn versions made similar comments.[7][8]
Sega Saturn Magazine gave the Saturn version a 70%, calling it "a decent effort" when adapting the film into game, but noted some occassinal flaws in gameplay and called it "repetitive".[9] Their next issue printed a retraction, admitting that Interplay had not sent them a review copy of Casper, and that the review was actually based on an unfinished version of the game.[14]
References
- ^ "Casper for SNES". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
- ^ Michaud, A. (January 6, 2018). "Youtube Link to playthrough proving extra red key". YouTube.
- ^ michaud, A. "GameSpot FAQ about the Red Key".
- ^ "Interplay to "Spook" Platform Gamers". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 71. Ziff Davis. June 1995. p. 30.
- ^ a b "Review Crew: Casper". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 85. Ziff Davis. August 1996. p. 26.
- ^ Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 152.
- ^ Imagine Media. January 1997. p. 57.
- ^ Imagine Media. January 1997. p. 63.
- ^ Emap International Limited. pp. 80–81.
- ^ "Casper (Playstation) on Gamerankings". Archived from the original on 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Casper (GBC Review". Archived from the original on 15 November 2014.
- ^ "Casper (PS1) Review". Archived from the original on 16 November 2014.
- ^ "Casper (Sega Saturn) Review". Archived from the original on 15 November 2014.
- Emap International Limited. March 1996. p. 10.