Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (SNES) Playthrough
467A playthrough of THQ's 1992 license-based platformer for the Super Nintendo, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was released across all three of the Nintendo platforms back in 1992. The SNES version was the flashy, screenshot-worthy game of the trio, but it's virtually identical to the 8-bit versions in terms of gameplay. (See the NES version here: https://youtu.be/cLP1rIrO9r8 ).
This time the work was done by Imagineering, the group behind the SNES and Game Boy versions of the first Home Alone, also known for their work on A Boy and His Blob and Simpsons games. While Lost in New York is in no way a "classic" title in any regard, it's substantially better than Bethesda's treatment of America's favorite holiday tale of child abuse and neglect. It barely resembles the movie upon which it is based, but still, the fact that it is playable meant some kids probably actually got some enjoyment out of this one. I did for a brief period of time way back, and it was still reasonably fun to go back and play again for this recording.
The game play is made up of simple, mundane platforming action. The graphics in the SNES game are a strange mixture of digitized photos and traditional pixel art that don't quite mesh together. (Notice how out of place the characters look against the couches, plants, and paintings in the hotel lobby? And what is going on with the tiling of the Christmas tree trunk in the background of the last boss fight?) The sprites are nice and much better detailed than they were in the NES game, but why do the photos in the cutscenes look so bad? They're grainy and they use so little color that nobody would blame you for thinking that you were looking at a Genesis game. The music is also a bit hit-and-miss. The first stage's tune makes me feel like I'm about to have a heart attack, but the park sounds appropriately Christmasy.
Too bad they left out Donald Trump's movie cameo - I'm sure that would be quite a sight on the NES. Any of the system palette's shades of orange would've done the trick, I expect!
It does control well, though - Kevin is far easier to handle than Bart ever was, and the jumping sections are thankfully pretty okay as a result. I'm not sure why picking up a bell gives him access to Samus Aran's screw attack, though.
Home Alone 2 is a game that manages to be fun despite its flaws, just like the SNES version of the first game. And just like the first game, it would've stung to have paid $59.99 for it, but it did make for a satisfying rental.
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!