Game of the day: Wonder Dog (Sega CD)

[ManekiNeko]

All right, so this isn't an official game of the day post. I haven't seen Joe put one of these up for a while, so I figured I'd fill in for him, just so I could have the chance to start a conversation about this fun platformer by Core Design. These are the same folks who brought you Chuck Rock, so it's no surprise that the gameplay and graphics are very reminsecent of that game. However, Wonder Dog plays a little better thanks to its less rigid control... WD jumps higher and runs faster than Chuck Rock ever could. The level design is more flexible, too... it never quite reaches the level of Super Mario World but there are cleverly hidden secrets scattered throughout each of the rounds.
The best part of Wonder Dog is that it's got a lot of personality. The music is fun and friendly, and the characters are appropriately cartoony. It's even got a great opening sequence... it looks a bit dated by today's standards (check out all that dithering!), but it nevertheless gives you an appreciation for the goofy but adorable main character.
To put it succintly, I like Wonder Dog... it's one of the few Sega CD games that really justifies the system's existance. If only there were a few of those released for the 32X...

JR

[Bratwurst]

One of those curiousities of Sega because it was a platformer that could have been done for the Genesis, yet never got a 'port.' I mean in the sense that Puggsy, Mortal Kombat, etc. etc. were found on both platforms.

Chuck Rock was gorgeous for its time but man I can't believe I played that one all the way to the end. What other games did Core work on?

[omnedon]

I can agree that as a platformer goes, it's decent.

But the beginning cutscene is criminally bad. Unless you are 5 years old, the humour is NOT FUNNY.

Dogtor Kibble?

Not a SEGACD intro you use to show off the system.

IMO.

[ManekiNeko]

One of those curiousities of Sega because it was a platformer that could have been done for the Genesis, yet never got a 'port.' I mean in the sense that Puggsy, Mortal Kombat, etc. etc. were found on both platforms.

Chuck Rock was gorgeous for its time but man I can't believe I played that one all the way to the end. What other games did Core work on?

A little action title you might have heard of called "Tomb Raider".
I believe they also made Skeleton Krew and a couple of Sega CD games whose names I can't recall... they were space shooters, loaded with enough Mode 7 to make a Super NES nauseous.

JR

[ManekiNeko]

I can agree that as a platformer goes, it's decent.

But the beginning cutscene is criminally bad. Unless you are 5 years old, the humour is NOT FUNNY.

Dogtor Kibble?

Not a SEGACD intro you use to show off the system.

IMO.

OK, the puns were bad, but the interaction between the boy and the dog was really cute. It also did a pretty good job of demonstrating Wonderdog's abilities, particularly his speed and strength. The whole "sending my only son off to a distant planet" idea was clearly inspired by Superman, but I still found it entertaining.

JR