Let's talk Cratermaze!

[ccovell]

This game is fantastic.  All too often it gets passed off as some third-rate maze-chase or Bomberman wannabe, and yet it has more depth and breadth to it than most maze-chases out there.  It has far more variety and technique to it than the single-player mode of Bomberman, even!

The depth: You could play it as a bog-standard action game, chasing after enemies, trapping them in a hole, picking up the treasures and key, and leaving for the next stage.  1,000 points for each enemy buried.  This straightforward, linear action is actually the least fun way to play it.

Once you realize that there's a 20,000-point bonus item if you pick up all treasures without burying a single monster, the game opens itself up to you.  It becomes a frantic chase -- that is, monsters chasing you which delivers the same play style and adrenaline rush as the classic Pac-Man.  The game is more about navigating tight corridors and outmanoeuvring enemies than killing them outright.  Several 20,000-point bonuses later, the extra lives are beginning to rack up, which shows that this is how you are supposed to extract longevity from a single credit.

While attempting to avoid burying an enemy to reach that 20,000 bonus, further techniques reveal themselves, showing the nuance and depth to Cratermaze.  For example: If you use a flashlight, yo-yo, or ice power-up on enemies, your bonus is forfeited.  However, if you're in a pinch, you can dig a hole and let the enemy walk into it.  Don't fill in the hole; just walk over the enemy and leave it, and your chance for the 20,000 points is still intact.  It's basically Pac-Man married to Lode Runner.

You are thus compelled to make selective choices when picking up power-ups.  The multiple-hole shovel power-ups are useful, but can become suicide in Difficult or Expert mode since you dig a line of holes, an enemy falls in only one of them, and you can't fill them in for fear of losing the bonus, yet you need a clear path in order to escape.

After you pick up all the treasures and the bonus point-bearing "NEC" icon, you are now finally free to start killing enemies with reckless abandon for those 1,000-point bonuses.  You can also kill the same enemy many times in a row for kill bonuses increasing to 3,200 points.  This gets much tougher in the Difficult mode since there's a much larger number and variety of enemy on each stage, and a tighter time limit.

I might seem to be going on at length all about "points, points, points", but these bonuses are a hint from the designers as to how the game was meant to be played.  Don't attack violently like some weapon-toting brute, but rather, evade and incapacitate like an Aikido master.

Online reviews when the Virtual Console version was released show how much they missed the point: "there's really no point to Cratermaze. They're both maze crawlers, but Bomberman '93 delivers the explosiveness that Cratermaze lacks..."  I'm willing to bet that put side-by-side, BM'93 would be the more tedious game, your player having to trudge from block-to-block, destroying only one or a few blocks at a time, and perfecting the timing through trial-and-error to blow up your enemies.

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Other things: the music to Cratermaze is fabulous.  Groovy boogie-woogie gets your toes tappin' far more than the PCE's Doraemon version of this game.

Perhaps this game (and its arcade parent) had gameplay that was too classic and old-fashioned (like Pac-Man & Lock 'n Chase) and so people never quite figured out what it was meant to be in the advanced year of 1990.

Any other comments, discuss!

[geise]

I'm so glad you started this thread!  I was about to start a Cratermaze thread as well.  I was going to do comparisons to the original Doraemon game.  I love the music in the US Turbo port a lot more.  The game is so much fun.  I played it last week for hours.  In a weird way I kind of compare it to a top down version of load runner.

[turboswimbz]

I really do love this game when I play it.  And I will second that if you outright kill your enemies then the game becomes, less than challenging, and somewhat tedious.  BUt here is the thing, It is very hard (and yet still easy) to get a great score as you mentioned.  And the power ups, and quick movment around the board lures you into a sence of security that can be ripped away as you accidently kill an enemy or fall into some water.

Also I find that if you really try to get all the bonuses that that timer actually becomes important.  I hear all the time "why have the timer"  well here is the point, the programmers wanted you to take that long, trying to steal every bit of treasure/power-ups/and destroy as many enemies as possible.  They expected you to blow through it, then say hmmm, how can I become better, get a higher score.  I truely wish that publishers/programmers today got this!  who cares if you make some linar gameplay with great graphics.  Give me a game I need to master and want to master!

as a side not to follow up: Cratermaze Highscores need some love.

[geise]

I think the devs of this game had a lot more fun making crater maze since it wasn't restricted to Doraemon.

[CrackTiger]

The soundtracks to both versions are solid.

These types of games are underappeciated in general. Bomberman only gets the attention it does because of how high profile the brand is. Bomberman is still great, but so are so many other "maze" games.

I think the devs of this game had a lot more fun making crater maze since it wasn't restricted to Doraemon.

It was never restricted to Doraemon. The Doraemon license was simply slapped onto a port of an existing arcade game. The Turbo version is just the original game. I'm guessing that the Booby Kids/Cratermaze port was complete for PCE when the Doraemon license was acquired and added at the last minute. It seems unlikely that they'd put so much effort into restoring the game just for the Turbo market.

[NecroPhile]

I don't buy that you're playing it wrong if you kill enemies; if you're supposed to play like a pacifist and run away, why are there so many different weapons to play with?   And no matter which way you play it, it'll still have little variety in the scenery and the same play strategies apply from beginning to end.

[A Black Falcon]

The soundtracks to both versions are solid.

These types of games are underappeciated in general. Bomberman only gets the attention it does because of how high profile the brand is. Bomberman is still great, but so are so many other "maze" games.

Cratermaze can be fun for a while, but it doesn't have Bomberman's challenge or depth.  The lack of multiplayer is also a big issue of course.  A sequel, with multiplayer, could have been interesting... too bad it didn't happen.  I like Cratermaze (well, I have the Japanese version, but same thing music aside), but the low difficulty level, even on the harder setting, is kind of an issue -- the game doesn't challenge you much.  Still fun though, and I wish it'd gotten a followup.  But yeah, I can see why Bomberman was more successful.

I think the devs of this game had a lot more fun making crater maze since it wasn't restricted to Doraemon.

It was never restricted to Doraemon. The Doraemon license was simply slapped onto a port of an existing arcade game. The Turbo version is just the original game. I'm guessing that the Booby Kids/Cratermaze port was complete for PCE when the Doraemon license was acquired and added at the last minute. It seems unlikely that they'd put so much effort into restoring the game just for the Turbo market.

Yeah, the arcade original ("Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen") clearly looks more like the TG16 version: Arcade Game Showcase 004 - Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen (Booby Kids)

Also, the clear originator of this game style has to be Heiankyo Alien (from 1979)... which, QUITE unlike any form of Cratermaze, is a challenging game due to how long it takes to make each hole.  Heiankyo Alien (1979 Denki Onkyo)  I have the Game Boy Heiankyo Alien game, from hte early '90s.  It has one mode like that original game, and another new mode with a lower difficulty level, better graphics and an ending.  It's still a single-screen-per-level arcade-styled game, though: Game Boy Longplay [059] Heiankyo Alien  I think I like Cratermaze more than GB Heiankyo Alien, though, even though it's easy.  I like the big scrolling levels, and the varied weapons and features (doors, warps, etc.) add some variety as well.

I don't buy that you're playing it wrong if you kill enemies; if you're supposed to play like a pacifist and run away, why are there so many different weapons to play with?   And no matter which way you play it, it'll still have little variety in the scenery and the same play strategies apply from beginning to end.

I agree.  That's a way to play the game, but it's not the intended one.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Wait, people gloss over Cratermaze? 

fuhhhhh.


I thought it was like, one of those games everyone gets and enjoys.   I don't count virtual console reviews as being done be people who have brain cells, because most of the people doing those reviews never touched/heard of Turbo Grafx-16 until the Wii had the games available.


So, they're plebs.  Screw that.

[Flare65]

This game is one of the few US games for the system that I have not played.  Am I missing out?  Does it have a lot of re playability?

[turboswimbz]

I don't buy that you're playing it wrong if you kill enemies; if you're supposed to play like a pacifist and run away, why are there so many different weapons to play with?   And no matter which way you play it, it'll still have little variety in the scenery and the same play strategies apply from beginning to end.

I Think it's more like approaching the game from a pure arcade type of view, where racking up bonus points before smiting your enimies adds a layer of depth and challenge to the game. . . peharps you have a point though.  .  . It is a very generic arcade maze game in the sence that the gameplay has little variety.  I think bomberman is a better game by all means,  (or even better stratgy/maze/enemy destroying game parasol stars, if you consider it with the other two) but I don't think cratermaze is terrible.  I'm just saying there is fun to be had here, and some depth if you look for it.  But what to I know; I actually like playing Drop rock/ Drop Off . . .

[esteban]

This game is fantastic...

covell, your post has intrigued me. I never really considered playing Cratermaze in a different manner.

I must find time to explore this, to see what it adds to the game in terms of strategy and enjoyment.

I also never noted the differences between the games (beyond the different sprites)...I will find it interesting to compare them side-by-side.