Developer: System 3 Publisher: Varie Release: 07/30/93 Genre: Action
During the 16-bit era the best platformers came from Japan. That is not personal bias speaking; the results speak for themselves. That being said a lot of interesting titles came from the US and Europe that were almost as good and sometimes more creative. The problem those games often face is they lack that last little bit of polish that would make them great. Super Putty is one such title. Creative mechanics and good level design are ruined by a game that does not know when to dial it back.
Putty Moon, the place where Putty lives, has been taken over by an evil wizard named Dazzledaze. Dazzledaze planned to capture the Putties and ship them to Earth as gum. To save his friends and oust the evil wizard, Billy Putty enlists the help of some robots (“bots”) to build a skyscraper that will reach up to Putty Moon. Super Putty is a port of the Amiga game Putty. The two games are virtually identical outside of the SNES game using nearly all of the controller’s buttons. While the port is admirable I do wish they did a balance pass as it becomes frustrating in short order. Whether that is enough to turn you away comes down to personal preference.
As malleable putty your body bends and stretches for a variety of purposes. Mechanically Super Putty is dense. You can deal with enemies in two ways: a punch to the face or melting in to the floor to absorb them. Enemies you absorb restore some health and in some cases you morph in to them and use their abilities. Sinking in to the floor also makes you invulnerable but the aggressive clock forces you to stay on the move. You can inflate your body to cushion the bots you are saving or over-inflate as a smart bomb at the cost of some health. Most importantly you can stretch in any direction. This is for quick movement, crossing gaps and to rapidly ascend or descend platforms. That’s a lot of power in your hands and the controls make use of every button to make facilitating it easier.
The objective in each level is to carry a set number of bots to the end goal which is usually at the top or beginning of the stage. The bots initially are stationary, allowing you to easily absorb them and carry them to the goal. But midway they become active and jump around. You can only carry one bot at a time and some attacks can hurt them inside your body. If a bot dies you must find another to replace it which costs precious time. Things start simple; you only need to save three bots and have ample time. But it ramps up quickly. Eventually you will need to save six and time is of the essence.
In general the level design is strong. The levels are three screens high but pack in all manner of obstacles. From floating platforms to invincible enemies you must plot an optimal route to carry bots to the goal as you just barely have enough time. The maps are mini puzzles in that regard. There are plenty of hidden items to aid in your progress, from extra time, invincibility and even shortcuts which are a massive boon. I like that the game encourages playing around with your abilities. Sure you could slowly jump from one platform to the next. But once you see the speed at which you can ascend by stretching you will never go back. Every new world presents new obstacles and the variety is excellent. The problem is the game pushes too far and stops being enjoyable after a certain point.
European games are notoriously difficult. Super Putty epitomizes this and I do not like it. The game throws enemies and damaging obstacles in your path at such a ridiculous clip it borders ridiculous. It is all but impossible to avoid damage and there is no invincibility frames, meaning your health can drain in seconds. One day someone will analyze why European developers were allergic to invincibility frames. Because there are so many invincible enemies it creates a sense of urgency leading to sloppy mistakes. You want to take your time to avoid damage but the clock necessitates moving fast. When the game dials it back it is fun. But these times are rare. That leaves a frustrating mess of a game determined to force you to quit. With half the enemies and i-frames this would have been incredible. As it is this is a missed opportunity for greatness.
In Closing
Super Putty is on the cusp of being great. But the overbearing difficulty ruins the experience. If the levels had half the enemies and more time it would be bearable. As it is the game is endlessly frustrating which makes the cool mechanics go to waste. Super Putty is another in a long line of European games that do not know when to quit and it suffers for it. Pass on this one.
