Developer: Data East Publisher: Data East Released: 1993 Genre: Action
During the heyday of the mascot platformer Data East were curiously left out. The closest they came were Will and Rick, the stars of Dashin’ Desperadoes and Neo Geo classic Spinmaster. It is interesting to see two entirely different takes on the action genre featuring the same characters. While I applaud their attempt I do think Data East would have been better served porting over the Neo Geo game. Dashin’ Desperadoes is original but not something I can outright recommend unless you have a stable group of friends.
Technically there is no story in the game. Will and Rick are two rivals competing for the affection of Jenny, who encourages them to risk life and limb for her attention. Sounds a bit psychotic if you ask me but what do I know? I find it dubious that she is a willing participant in this battle of wills time and again considering Rick straight up kidnaps her every third level out of frustration. But I digress.
Dashin’ Desperadoes is not a platformer in the traditional sense. Think of it as a full blown version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s multiplayer mode. Using a split screen view you race your rival to reach Jenny at the end of each stage. The comparison to Sonic goes even deeper; each location around the globe has two levels with the third being a boss battle against Rick in some manner of vehicle as he tosses fair play to the wind and kidnaps Jenny. But where that game focused strictly on the race itself with no interaction between players here you are encouraged to bludgeon them with items to stun them and take the lead. You can even roll into a ball to trip them up!
The level design is generally well done. Every level has multiple paths and like Sonic 2 the upper path usually has less enemies but tight platforming that can cost you precious seconds if you screw up. The lower level has more items and enemies and offers opportunities to skip large chunks using vehicles or friendly animals. It is hard to appreciate at first but every level has a flow to it in platforms and enemy placement. Once you memorize the layout the way you can coast through a map is almost poetic. But that only applies in the early going. Where you generally can make a few mistakes early on and even linger a bit midway through it becomes more complex. At that point you need to always stay I motion lest Rick pass you by.
It is in this aspect that the split screen view becomes a detriment. Early on the maps are simple. But once they become more complex, with multiple enemies in a row followed by obstacles and walls the fact that the screen is so compact is a disadvantage. Blind leaps become common and enemy placement borders on gotcha style moments that are unfair. Considering how aggressive the AI is the single player mode becomes a chore to play in short order.
The difficulty is extremely high in Dashin’ Desperadoes. The main problem is the too perfect computer AI. Where you fight to navigate the levels, carefully avoiding enemies and such, the computer will steamroll that shit at a breakneck pace. There is some aggressive rubber banding and it is fascinating to see in motion. If the computer gets too far ahead it will purposely trip up and wait for you. But if you get ahead even slightly the boost is noticeable. I used a cheat code to air walk and the computer was still able to keep up to an extent. I am not a fan of rubber band AI and in this case I feel it ruins the single player campaign. It makes only the last few seconds of every level count. With few continues and no passwords few will have the patience to see this to the end.
While the single player is a bust depending on your tolerance for rubber banding Dashin’ Desperadoes makes for an excellent multiplayer game. The competitive levels draw from the same themes as the single player mode but the level design is different. Against a human opponent gaining a lead or falling behind is more natural since it is a real test of skill and not how much the game decides to give the computer a helping hand. Like Mario Kart 64 the player that is losing gets preference in better items. But it is not as bad as that title. The game even keeps track of stats and such. I can honestly say I was expected a tacked on bonus mode but came away surprised at how well Data East adapted the game for multiplayer.
In Closing
Dashin’ Desperadoes excels in multiplayer but is a mixed bag when played alone. If you have a group of friends it makes for an awesome party game. If you like your action solo you are better off looking elsewhere.
