A sadly underrated gem for the Sega Mega Drive.
So the story goes like this: The penguins magical "Cristal" is broken by a falling star, (and i think it makes the icecaps melt, im not sure.) and an evil Snobee escaped with the pieces of the "cristal"(?) to an alternate dimension, and pengo decides to follow and stop him.
the gameplay is more arcade-ish and takes a while to understand what you're doing. What you're supposed to do is defeat three levels of enemies and a boss on the fourth level using ice cubes, either by laying them or by using the ones already at the start of the level. after you beat a boss you get one of the 10 shards, meaning there are 10 worlds. The bosses are defeated in a certain pattern of ways; either by flipping some switches to beating them with ice cubes. Some have different segments you have to attack before you can land a hit. Most bosses need planning out a strategy on how to beat them.
the list of worlds go in this order:
1. ICE WORLD
2. DINOSAUR WORLD
3. SEA WORLD
4. WOOD WORLD
5. SAND WORLD
6. STONE WORLD
7. TOY WORLD
8. ELECTRIC WORLD
9. ROBOT WORLD
10. STAR WORLD
Another feature is the game has a password system so you don't have to start from the start when you turn the game off. Luckily the password system is 4 digits, so you can just easily memorize them instead of having to write them down, and they consist of numbers only (1-9) you get three continues before you get a game over and there is a high score list. And if you complete the game and want something else to do, you can select to play the arcade version. And if thats not enough, there is a multiplayer up to 4 players where you can make teams and/or face off with your friends and/or the computer!
The music is also pretty kickass. While some people might not like it, you are guaranteed to find some pretty memorable tunes. They even included a sound test for anyone who wanted to listen to the music.
the graphics are what you expect for a genesis game, so we haven't got a problem in that place.
Once you beat the final boss, Snobee, you return to your icy homeland with a "cristal" much smaller than the original (?!?) but apparently its enough for them, and at the end you get pengo's signature and footprint.
so this brings my review to a conclusion, gameplay is great, graphics are good, and the music is great. while there are some flaws, this game still manages to give a solid game which i think needs more recognition. the least they could have done was release the VC version to the west. while you may think this game is repetitive, trust me my friend, it's anything but.
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Final Score: 9.5