Whomp 'Em (NES) Playthrough
272A playthrough of Jaleco's 1991 platformer for the NES, Whomp 'Em.
Whomp 'Em was one of those random NES games that, though pretty good, came and went with little fanfare and was quickly forgotten. The Jaleco curse seems to have struck yet again.
According to the manual, "Whomp 'Em is the story of Soaring Eagle, a young Indian brave that ventures into the world seeking totems for his mystic pouch." That random, awkwardly suggestive sentence is all you get in terms of story. Not that it matters much in this type of game, but it would be nice to know who or what we are supposed to be "whomping."
That title, though. Yikes. I wouldn't call it racist, but thirty years later, it definitely seems a bit tasteless and low-brow. In other words, it's exactly the sort of cringe-inducing name that Jaleco's marketing department loved to come up with.
Anyways, it's a platformer that feels like a cross between Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, and The Krion Conquest. There are eight stages, and once you've completed the intro stage you can play the next six in any order you choose.
Soaring Eagle can jump stomp his enemies, but he spends most of the game turning his enemies into swiss cheese with his upgradable spear that serves double-duty as a shield. Enemies drop weapon and armor upgrades when they die, as well as gourds - you'll want to collect those in order to level up your life gauge.
You also gain a special ability every time you take down a boss. Some are offensive in nature, but most of them aren't weapons. Instead, they'll let you do things like repel enemy attacks, stop time, or create temporary platforms. Just like in Mega Man, you'll want to consider the specific demands of each stage as you plan your route.
It's not complicated, but it's entertaining and it plays well. The controls are comfortable and reliable, the graphics are happy and bright, and the difficulty level is kept reasonable.
But if this all feels a bit contrived - the setup, the sprites, the general presentation - then know that it's not just you. Whomp 'Em is a (strangely) localized version of the Famicom game Saiyuuki World 2 which was based on Journey to the West. I can see why Jaleco might've felt that Americans wouldn't know the source material, but the facelift they gave the game is really bizarre.
And here's a fun fact that you might not be aware of: Whomp 'Em is actually related to the Adventure Island series. The original Saiyuuki World was a Famicom conversion of Wonder Boy in Monster Land (but with an ancient China theme), and Wonder Boy in Monster Land was the sequel to the original Wonder Boy. The first Adventure Island game was Hudson's conversion of Wonder Boy for the NES, so I guess that makes Whomp 'Em an estranged step-brother to Adventure Island III. How's that for convoluted logic? Wonder Boy is like the Kevin Bacon of the video game world - nearly everything in the known universe lies within just seven degrees of separation.
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