Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. I’ve talked about quite a few well known games as of late. Everything from Kirby’s Adventure to Little Nemo. So, this week I decided to pull a more obscure game out from my collection. And it just so happens that this game is actually the first title of a company that would later give us one of the most beloved franchises of all time. So, without much more pomp and circumstance, let’s take a look at Mendel Palace.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1989
PUBLISHER: Hudson Soft
GENRE: Action/Puzzle
The biggest piece of worthwhile information about Mendel Palace, or Quinty as it is known in Japan, is that this was the debut game for a little development company known as Game Freak, as well as the very first video game designed by Satoshi Tajiri.
Now, if you’re out of the blue on the importance of those two names, Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak are best known for one of the biggest franchises in video game history in Pokemon.
It was also developed by Kindle Imagine Develop, or KID, a company not known for too many major games that made it state side. Probably the only really well known ones were the first G.I Joe NES game, as well as Low G Man: The Low Gravity Man.
But back to Mendel Palace. The game was published in Japan by Namco, but for the US release, the publishing rights were given to Hudson Soft, who were carving their niche on the NES with the Adventure Island series, as well as games like Milon’s Secret Castle, and Bomberman. The game was released in the US in 1989 (Another game that never saw a UK release), and despite a commercial for the game, it never really found too much success. But did people really miss out on much? Let’s dig deeper.
COVER STORY
There are quite a few issues that I have with this cover. The first being that there are perhaps too many characters on it, which makes it hard for me to immediately determine who I’m playing as in the game. Am I the bald, muscled up guy? Or the sorta angry girl? Surely I can’t be the little guy in the overalls and painter hat? The art on the box is a bit mixed too, not horrible, just mediocre. And I’d just say that the box just doesn’t pop out and catch your eye like so many others do. It’s not the worst game box, but nothing worth writing home about either.
STORY
A young girl named Candy is trapped in a nightmare. Her dolls have all come to life and have kidnapped her. She ends up being held captive in Mendel Palace. The only one who can come to her aid is her best friend Bon-Bon. Only he can defeat the evil dolls, and find his way to Mendel Palace to save Candy before it’s too late.
GAMEPLAY
Mendel Palace is a 1-2 player action puzzle game. You control Bon-Bon who must defeat Candy’s evil dolls and save her from the evil being controlling Mendel Palace. To do that, you must enter each of the buildings of the dolls, and defeat them by flipping tiles. You move your player with the D-Pad, and can flip tiles with either the A or B button.
You can choose which area you want to start in, not unlike the boss selection screen in Mega Man. Once you select a world, you will enter a 5×7 board covered in tiles, as well as the enemy doll of the level. The only way to beat the dolls is to send them crashing into a wall by flipping tiles underneath them. stand next to them, and just press A or B, it will trip them up, and if you keep it up, you’ll eventually send them into the wall.
Each doll area has 10 rounds to it, 9 being basic tile flip spots, and the last being a boss battle. The enemies will remain the same throughout most of the rounds, but do change their attack methods as you progress through the world. For example, in the Sumo world, your main enemies are these large bald guys. They can take a while to get to the wall because of their weight, and can stomp on tiles, causing you to fly back. Though when you get to about the 6th round, they now change to purple pants sumos, that when flipped, will try to sumo squat the ground, sending the tiles your way, and smacking you backward.
The doll enemies continue to be weirder as the game goes along. White soldiers that split in two, artists that can draw clones on tiles (as well as make certain tiles unflippable), spinning ballet bosses, and even swimmers. Yeah, of all the strange enemies, the fact that there are enemies that swim through tiles are the ones I find the strangest.
Most levels will have to face off with an evil witch boss who will try to turn you into the enemy of the level. Sometimes that can work in your favor, like the sumo for example, but some with no moves like the white soldier can be your quick downfall. You have to send her flying into the wall to beat her, before she does the same to you.
Now, the key element to the puzzle and strategy of the game are the many tiles you will flip over as you defeat dolls. First are the star tiles. Collect 100 stars and you will receive an extra life, a la Mario. If you find all the star tiles in a round, you will get a 10 star bonus. You will also find randomized tiles, which can give you either more points, more stars, or a 1-up.
Other tiles include ones that can flip multiple tiles at once, as well as springboards that can send you flying at an enemy, which kills them instantly, and time extenders that keep the enemies from moving faster as the level progresses (Similar to games like Bubble Bobble and Kiwi Kraze). However, there are tiles that can really screw you over as well, such as respawn tiles, which will bring enemies back, and metal tiles, which can’t be flipped again (and in later levels of the game, this becomes a massive pain). How you use these tiles will be the key to success in this game.
There’s also two other major tiles. First is a moon, which will turn the basic board into a room filled with star tiles to walk on. However, enemies are still present, and you can still get hurt. Then there’s the flashing springboard, which will take you to a new room, where you once again collect stars. But you get a bonus for completion if you get them all.
The game is co-op with two players. With a 2nd player, you can work together to try to defeat the dolls. But of course, that won’t stop the other player from being a dick and try to hoard all the stars for themselves, and keep you cornered. Sometimes it’s best to go solo.
You start with three lives, but can earn plenty more as you go through each level via stars or extra life tiles. You have unlimited continues, but sadly no password system or level select. The controls all work great, and there’s no hit detection. As for difficulty, this game ramps up fast, and some of the boss fights can come off as downright unfair at parts. Despite that, there is some fun strategy and replay elements that will keep you wanting to come back for more.
GRAPHICS
The game has decent graphics. Nothing too revolutionary for the console, but nothing eye offending either. Levels are colorful, and try to use the limited color palette of the NES to its full advantage. Enemies are all very unique and creative, and the tile designs are all really nice looking as well. In the end, it’s a fair looking game, but not amazing.
MUSIC
The soundtrack is okay. Again, nothing that offends the ear, but nothing that you’ll be humming after you finish playing. Just a very basic soundtrack. So, par for the course on this aspect.
TUNE OF THE GAME
The best tune for the game has to come from the credits. It starts very simple, and slow, and builds up to a very peppy theme song. Definitely fitting for the silly, yet unique adventure you’ve had in this game, and my clear cut choice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhQKTYDBZII
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Mendel Palace is a fun and very unique action puzzle game for the NES. It has solid controls, fun gameplay, and a challenge that doesn’t feel too annoying or cheap (except for maybe a few places). It’s nothing that stands to the levels of a game like Mario, or Mega Man in terms of gems on the NES, but it does deserve more of a look from people. Especially if you want to see the roots of Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri before the days of Pokemon. If you can find this one, take look through this wacky palace.
RATING: Thumbs Up