Developer: Motivetime Publisher: DTMC Release: 12/93 Genre: Platformer
I was not a handheld gamer growing up. For the most part I played many of the portable greats on borrowed systems but as far as owning one myself I passed. That means I missed out on many underrated classics. It also means I was able to avoid the many, many mediocre games that clogged the Gameboy and Game Gear libraries. Dr. Franken is a Gameboy title I am sure the vast majority never heard of. Yet for some reason it got a 16-bit makeover on the SNES with further plans to expand to the NES and Game Gear before someone had an epiphany and realized what they were doing. Leave the Adventures of Dr. Franken as a distant memory of the 16-bit console war.
The premise differs slightly from the Gameboy original. Dr. Franken and his girlfriend Bitsy are planning a vacation to New York but unfortunately Bitsy does not have a passport. Good Ol’ Franken decides to take her apart and ship her parts in packages to New York where he will reassemble her. But Bitsy’s…..bits get lost in transition prompting Dr. Franken to begin the search to find her parts and put her back together again.
The biggest change between the Gameboy and SNES game is the setting. In his initial outing Dr. Franken only explored a single large castle for Bitsy’s parts. For his SNES debut Dr. Franken travels all over the world from Italy to New York City. The international setting is the game’s biggest draw as it gives it a lot of visual variety. As you clear the levels the world map opens up as more levels become available. There are close to twenty stages and the game is completely nonlinear. Unfortunately Dr. Franken could have benefited from more focused design as it has flaws on nearly every level that ruin the experience.
Franken protects himself by kicking enemies. Aside from the regular kick he also has a flip kick that seems to work better but not by much. You also have a limited number of lightning bolts. For some baffling reason there are separate buttons to kick left or right. This is idiotic and is complicated for no reason. I cannot count how many times I went to kick but attacked in the wrong direction. What ruins the game however is the atrocious hit detection. The majority of your attacks will not register. It is frustrating to see your kicks flagrantly miss and you take damage. Enemies respawn as soon as you scroll a few inches and the levels are densely populated. Running is the best option but even that means you will deal with the game’s other critical flaw.
The level design is bad. The stages are frequently unclear, with no distinction between platforms and the background. I will give them points for trying at least. Most levels have some gimmick to add variety even though they fall flat. In the Bermuda Triangle you simply find the exit. Mexico is the most frustrating. All of the parts are on the ground; all you have to do is stand on them. But lightning strikes if you stand still longer than two seconds. It is stupid and infuriating. New York City requires you to manipulate a crane using buttons scattered around the level to collect the parts. Normally this would be fun but the density of enemies and no clear rhyme or reason to which button directs the crane makes it a bust. I could go on but you get the point. I almost wish the game were a straightforward platformer.
Dr. Franken is not difficult so much as it is frustrating. The shitty hit detection means you are better off avoiding enemies than trying to fight. Depending on the level this is impossible meaning you will more than likely suffer heavy damage from the simplest plebeian. You can find a ton of extra lives in the bonus stages but you will blow through them quickly. If the enemies do not get you the clock probably will. Wandering around the confusing mess they call stages looking for Bitsy’s parts grows old fast and the clock is aggressive. At least you keep the pieces you find if you die. The kiss of death however is the lack of passwords or continues. This is a long game and finishing it in one sitting is asking a lot. But considering how terrible it is no one will.
In Closing
The Adventures of Dr. Franken is a completely forgettable game that has nothing to offer platforming fans. The awful hit detection, confusing level design, and lack of polish make it a chore to play. You are better off spending that time with the numerous better games from that generation. It is a damn shame too as it sure is pretty. But that is not enough to willingly put up with this bad game.
