Jaws lacks variety and the game is too short - 15 minutes to full completion is possible.
Gameplay (6.5 out of 10):
Jaws has 4 main modes. The first mode is a ship out on the ocean. This 2D top-down view has a blue-colored ocean with a few spots of land around. There are two ports where the ship can dock, denoted by an anchor, and at random times, a submarine is placed somewhere which permits an extra hit in the second mode. By docking the ship at a docking station, upgrades can be achieved first a tracking device which is like Sonar only used to tell how far you are from Jaws, then power level increases, then extra strobes. There are cases where you could see Jaws on this map, but only when close. There are no enemies here and you can't lose lives here either. However, after some random amount of "steps", you'll hit something that loads the second mode. Hitting Jaws also causes this, but in a slightly different fashion.
The second mode is where you are in the ocean and is a 2D side view. Here, you battle any of 3 main types of ocean enemies - jellyfish, sting rays (?), and normal-sized sharks. By defeating the first two types of enemies, of which all enemies have very simple actions, occasional powerups are dropped. They may be a crab for boosting speed, a star (not a sea star (aka starfish)), for a score boost, or a shell, of which can be traded for powerups at the docks. The sharks, not Jaws, take many hits (about 12), and always drop off a shell. Jaws will only enter the scene if you hit something very close to him (within like 2 or so steps on the map in the first mode), or if you actually hit Jaws on the map. By hitting Jaws, the ship is used to shoot cannon balls at Jaws which cause double the damage the normal spears cause. Jaws takes several hits, but the higher the power level, the fewer the hits. At the bottom of the screen is Jaws' health meter. At a power level of 1, it takes around 30 hits to remove a single mark of Jaws' health and there are 20 or so marks so Jaws needs a lot of hits. At a power level of 4, however, it's only 5 hits to remove a mark. If all marks of Jaws' health are depleted, the fourth mode is used. If Jaws is not defeated by the time all the sea enemies are gone, his health is partially restored. After every 2 rounds of normal enemies not involving Jaws (although Jaws may slip into the scene if you're close), the third mode is used. It is during the second mode that you can lose lives and it only takes one hit to lose a life. By getting the submarine in the first mode, an extra hit can be taken without losing a life. The simple actions of the enemies make it very easy to predict their moves and dodge or fight them so taking hits is very rare with moderate skill. At the end of the second mode, the third mode may come at times, or the first mode will return with the ship where it last was.
The third mode is the bonus scene. It occurs after two or three normal runs of the second mode (usually two). In it, six groups of 5 jellyfish swim around in the ocean and you get an airplane that goes back and forth to drop bombs on them. The jellyfish have more complex actions than encountered in the second mode, but unlike the second mode, you cannot get hit or lose a life. Using the D-pad left and right can speed up or slow down the airplane. At the end of the 6 groups of jellyfish, the number of hits you got gives bonus shells that can be used at the docks in the first mode. You will always return to the first mode after this with the ship where it was before it hit something.
The fourth mode is a 3D-like scene. By depleting Jaws' health entirely, you'll enter this scene where you have Jaws going back and forth and randomly side to side which makes this a bit more difficult. This isn't the 3D you'd see in the Playstation or other such 3D consoles, but does have some sort of perspective and for the day Jaws was made, it's high end. The task here is to use the strobes in just the right way and if successful, Jaws is defeated and you win the game. If not successful (running out of strobes), Jaws' health is fully restored unlike the partial restoration as from the second mode.
The major downside in the game play is that the game is far too short. My record completion is 11.7 minutes and I normally get it within 15 to 20 minutes, unless doing a self-made challenge such as defeating Jaws without any of the powerups from using the docks or trying to get a million points. Most NES games I've played have completion times around an hour or so, but 15 minutes is way short. This has a huge negative effect on the gameplay rating.
Graphics (8 out of 10):
The graphics in the first mode are too simple and monotonic lacking texture. The second mode, however, is high-ranked for it's day as the scene is very good. The third mode is like that of the second mode, but not as decent and the airplane looks too bulky (the diameter of central compartment of the airplane where the passengers and pilots go is very large compared to the wings) and looks awkward. The fourth mode is moderately high, but I've noticed a mathematical error with the accuracy of the 3D effects, even using the simple 3D method (which is a simple ratio rather than complex trig functions and matrices).
The big downside to the graphics is the lack of variety, particularly the second and third modes. The second mode has only two distinct scenes: one is for deep water and another for shallow water. There should've been a bit more variety in the second mode, maybe 2 or 3 distinct scenes, chosen randomly.
Sound (7.8 out of 10):
The sound effects are great but the music isn't all that decent, but acceptable. There's a lot of shooting and enemies taking hits, grabbing powerups, and other such things and they are good-sounding for the day the game was made.
Value (5.4 out of 10):
The very short game play and lack of variety reduces the game's value, but there are some good self-made challenges available that make the game a bit more worthy. Once you've beat the game for the first time, try doing it within 15 minutes then try doing it without getting any powerups. This makes the game a bit better.
Tilt (6.7 out of 10):
The lack of variety or even difficulty settings makes Jaws not all that entertaining, but the sound effects and the two tough self-made challenges make the game more interesting. It's by far, not my favorite NES game, but the self-made challenges make it more worthy.
Other comments:
I would only somewhat recommend adding this game to your collection, mainly if you want to accomplish your own self-made challenges, or play it to pass 20 minutes' time.