Baku Baku Animal

What's that? You're tired of playing Sonic the Hedgehog? And Sonic 2? And Sonic Chaos? And Sonic Drift? And Sonic Blast? And Sonic Labyrinth? And Sonic Triple Trouble? Well, have I got a game for you ... sort of.

Baku Baku is another puzzle game in the Tetris Attack bane. However, don't disregard it as simply a clone. The object of the game is to pair up animals with their corresponding food. The usual suspects are pandas, dogs, monkeys, and rabbits. Matching them up with their food counterparts??"bones, carrots, bamboo, and bananas??"clears them from the screen, and sends them to your opponent's screen. The bigger the combo, the more frustrating it is for the computer opponent to clear, and vice versa, as the computer gets increasingly good at stacking up these nightmare combos the farther you progress. For some unexplained reason, you can also get animals to eat their own when they sit amid a large group of the food being eaten. It would seem somewhat morbid if you had time to reflect whilst in the middle of a match, but you really don't, so you'll just have to believe me. I've been thinking about it for weeks and it sickens me.

There is a story of sorts between challenges, but it's not something I would tout as intriguing, or providing any sort of character development, or even mildly interesting. This is a puzzle game, mind you.

One of the few problems I had with this game is the main single player aspect. This is a rather obscure Game Gear game. If you and a friend can actually find two copies to challenge each other, you're in for much more replay value. You're probably better off looking for a console version; I've played the superior version for Saturn, which supports two-player mayhem. The other big problem with this game is its length. Had there been a larger variety of enemies to challenge (maybe facing a certain opponent based on how well you did in the previous level, for instance), the replay-ability may have been greater. The story mode itself may have stilted the amount of characters to challenge. When there is a choice between half-assing some back story for a new opponent and simply not doing it, people tend to lean toward the latter. I mean, a few plot holes, terrible character development, and lack of interest on the viewers behalf and it's my failed novel Billy the Kid In Space all over again.

In conclusion, when you're basically playing this one alone with only seven opponents between all the difficulty levels, the game is reduced to a once in a while, only when I have nothing else to do, hey! I haven't played Baku Baku for a while, wait, where the hell did I put it? Oh well, I guess I'll play Sonic triple trouble again kind of game. Other than those two factors, it is a solid puzzle game with nice graphics and a progressively more challenging difficulty level. If available, though, I would recommend the Saturn version.