Played through Bucky O'Hare again
yesterday. God damn, I love that game.
I think one of the things that strikes me is that despite the levels being composed of tiled blocks (like most NES platformers), they really do feel like unique set pieces as opposed to levels that just vary platform placement. One moment you're plummeting down a waterfall, another you're outrunning flowing lava, another you're leaping from one cart zipping along a rail to another, or timing your jumps so as to not get hit by giant beetles who dart out of the ground, or using fireflies to move through a pitch black room, or riding deadly mechanical snakes, or navigating rotating chambers to line up with the exit, or leaping over invincible robots that crash out of tubes in the background, or jumping from asteroid to asteroid, or getting rid of movement-hindering head slugs by jumping into spikes... Really, the game is just packed with unique scenarios (even if many of them are similar to things we've seen in Mega Man).
Although there are cut scenes that tell the plot, I was far more impressed with how the level design and gameplay elements add much to the story. For instance, when you have to escape from prison, it truly feels like you're in a huge prison complex, complete with guards and security drones, prisoners in cells (who become violent if attacked), and multiple paths that lead to elevators that might take you back to previous floors for previously-inaccessible bonuses. It's not just a run & shoot level whose tileset looks like a prison. Similarly, the last level becomes a 2D space shooter, but because you blew up the enemy tanker and their whole base is collapsing, there are enemy grunts trying desperately to jump up and cling to your ship. If they manage to grab you, they pull you downwards until you drag them into some floor spikes... It's actually kind of brutal, but brilliant level design where you're playing through the consequences of your actions on your enemy.
Much has been said about the difficulty of this game. There are definitely some parts that are really difficult. Even after playing it through many times, I lost an embarrassing number of lives at a few parts yesterday. Having said that, there are tons of 1ups in the game, and you regularly get more for accumulating points. You also get infinite continues and a password system, although the problem with both is that your life bar and power meter (which allows each character to use a special move) get reset, making it more difficult to progress. If I hadn't played it so much as a kid, I don't know if I would have the patience to go into it blind as an adult (my patience isn't what it used to be), but It's very much worth playing through.
The graphics and sound are simply Konami at their best. The visuals are super-polished with outstanding color use and more than a few graphical gimmicks (arcing tongues of flame, giant rolling spheres, huge columns that move up and down, etc). The levels look varied and fantastic, and the sprites are great too. The soundtrack is easily one of the best on the NES, containing a generous amount of truly amazing tracks. If you've ever liked the music of any NES game, you've got to give this one a listen. I really can't recommend this game enough, even if you've never seen the Bucky O'Hare show or comic book.