For all the rotten reputation licensed video games have, Konami sure did know how to make the shit out of them, and they definitely made a good run with the Tiny Toons property. The first SNES game in the franchise, Buster Busts Loose is a side-scrolling platformer that not only makes good use of the license by using as many characters as possible, capturing the music of the show, and creating a story that plays out as sketches in an episode, but also by employing creative set piece after set piece to make the experience varied and entertaining as a game.
Buster hops and kicks his way through several stages including the school, a western, a ghost house, a football game (where you actually play the last drive of a football game), a sky level, and a Star Wars-themed finale. Each is loaded with unique situations like riding a train, hiding from laser blasts coming from a Star Destroyer in the background, riding giant hammers, flipping gravity... Buster never gets stuck into a routine or gets complacent. It's constant change that is fun and intuitive, and if that wasn't enough, you play randomized bonus games between levels for extra lives, some of which are simple games of chance, whereas others offer new challenges like racquetball or a maze chase. Having this sort of dynamic presentation really lends itself to the chaotic nature of the cartoon while never losing its own cohesiveness. Well done!
The graphics are outstanding, with bright, colorful backgrounds and detailed sprites that truly resemble their animated counterparts. The music is also very much in step with the property, whether the actual tunes or new compositions in the same style. Really, it's difficult to find many problems save that it's easy and brief. There are increased difficulty settings, but the game is honestly very easy no matter how you slice it, and the password system bolsters it even more. Still, when everything is so well-executed and accessible, it is still fun to play through now and again just for the sights, sounds, and stage design.
Played this one? Sorry I had to pick one I could do quickly tonight, so it's nor a real oddity or anything, but it is a real bang for the buck kind of game. Anybody craving a Weenie Burger?