I want all who read this and haven't yet played this game to go immediately and use every single resource they can think of to get a hold of this game in any way and play it from start to finish. Why this game was not considered on par with Super Mario Brothers if not better used to always baffle me, hell I bet you've probably never even heard of this game have you? I decided to poke around a few years back and rediscover this old favorite of mine and found much to my surprise that no only was it as good as I remembered it be if not better but the reason this game is not so popular lies in the fact that it was never released anywhere outside of the PAL region. Even I know of very few people who've played it regardless of region and they know I'm not just being nostalgic. Anyone who has however could flawlessly hum the theme tune though. What is this game of olden days type game brilliance you ask? This diamond of rare gems? A little action platform side-scroller called Ufouria.
The game was made by Japanese Developers Sunsoft for the NES as Hebereke and released to Europe and Australia on November 19, 1992 under the name Ufouria:The Saga. The story is a fairly simple but very, odd. You are Bop-Louie, the snowman! He lives in the world of Ufouria with his three friends, Leon-Freon the dinosaur, Shades the truckers hat and sunglasses wearing ghost and Gil the hideous amorphous frog thing. Apparently they are the only four creatures in their world and one day they happen upon a gigantic crater(where talking the whole game sized) which Bob-Louie's friends promptly fall into, bang their heads and develop amnesia. Our intrepid snowman, fearing for his friends life, takes it upon himself to scale down the craters edge and find his missing companions and return them all safely home.
Frosty's got nothing on this Snowman.
But the bizzareness doesn't end there. Throughout your travels, you must scale ropes made out of the drool of disembodied heads. Stomp on the heads of enemies turning them into disembodied head that can be used as projectile weapons. Take a ride on what I can only assume is a "birds" penis. Upon encountering one of your missing companions you need to defeat them in combat in order for them to get their memories back, which in turns nets you a new companion that you can switch to when desired.
Yeah, I don't know either...
Each companion comes with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Bop-Louie for instance is the fastest runner of the group and in time, can gain the ability to hump(read climb) walls as well. However he cannot swim to save his life and cannot reach high platforms. Freon-Leon on the other hand can swim along the surface of water but cannot dive. He is also the only companion who can walk on ice without slipping. Shades, can jump really high as well as glide long distances but suffers from being rather slow. Gil can dive underwater and access new areas but is the hardest companion to obtain.
Only gentlemen duel with a severed heads!
Each character to also learn a special attack, Bop-Louie can eventually use his head as a spring loaded canon. Freon-Leon can turn enemies to solid ice with his breath that then allows you to use them as temporary platforms. Shades smashes the back of his head with a hammer releasing his eyeballs from his head to go about their deadly work. Gil can spit what looks like eggs that can be used to break through explosive barriers.
When in trouble, use your head.
The game isn't divided into levels like most side scrolling platformers, but is merely one giant flowing world. It has numerous area that are inaccessible without the right character and ability. It's all layered rather strangely with Nintendo logic. Grassy cliffy plains. Platform clouds. Underground mines filled with lava and spikes. Water tunnels connecting everywhere. Really dark areas. Even a giant forest in the middle of the sea. The enemies of all really silly from weird mickymouse things, frogs that nod their heads at you and loads of others. Flying things. Stoned fish frog babies with down syndrome it's all so very very surreal but in a unique and cool way.
The game isn't without it's flaws however. The biggest one I found is that the second half of the game tend to be a tad confused and it's difficult to know where to go and why your going there. It uses the old megaman save system thing which is a bit stupid in my opinion. If you take two steps to the left and then two steps back you'll notice everything will be as it was before you arrived but that's more a limitation of the system itself. It's also one of those games where you have to hold down to attack otherwise your just going to hurt yourself on your foe and that can be rather irritating. It also gets quite tricky later on, but really, isn't it supposed to do that? It doesn't really need to be said but fans of a good story should look elsewhere as well.
The music and sound affects are very well done and it's got the most catchy and memorable theme song since Super Mario Brothers but take that as you will. Some will absolutely love it and some will find it irritating. It isn't the only song in the game either and the boss music is to die for as well. I'd say it's more the music and sound effects that'll get you stuck on the nostalgia side of things.
There's not much left for me to say about this game other than once again, if you love old NES games and you want to play a game I SWEAR would've been just as huge as any other Nintendo game to date then grab yourself some Ufouria. It's purely and simply a good game and a gem that should still shine even today.
Dance Leon-Freon! Dance your way into my heart!