Hurricanes (SNES)
| Hurricanes | ||||||
 |
||||||
| ||||||
- For other games in the series, see Hurricanes.
Hurricanes is an action-platformer game based on the short-lived animated series of the same name. Unlike the Game Gear and Mega Drive versions, this game was not developed by Arc Developments, but rather Probe Entertainment, and was the only port of the game that made it to North America. The game was published by English publisher U.S. Gold, making it one of the few games they published in North America. Despite the European packaging and manual also being in French, Dutch, German, Spanish, and Italian, the game itself is completely in English.
The Garkos Gorgons challenge the Hurricanes to make it to their stadium for a charity game. The player takes the role of Cal Casey, like the Game Gear version (the Mega Drive version had four selectable characters). The game plays similar to Krisalis Software's Soccer Kid in that despite it being a game where the player controls a soccer player, the game is not really a soccer game, and is instead an action-platformer.
There are fifteen stages in the game. Some of these locations include the Hispanola Jungle and airports, the Mayan Temple ruins, the Abandoned Mine Shaft, and a train. The player must make it to the end of the level within the allotted time limit. Cal is only armed with his trusty soccer ball to take down enemies. The player can use the A or X buttons to shoot forward and diagonally upwards, respectively. Cal can also collect trophies, medals, and ribbons scattered throughout the level. Various items such as fruits and iced tea can restore his health, and there are many crates scattered around the levels which contain powerups which Cal can use to his advantage. For example, a golden soccer ball which grants Cal limited invincibility, as well as a green soccer ball that lets him jump higher. However, extra lives are scarse, and since there are no continues in the game, getting a game over will erase any progress you have made. At the end of each boss is a boss that must be defeated in order to progress. Usually, the bosses all have a repetitive pattern that can be easily figured out.
Hurricanes received mixed reviews from critics. ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) rated it 75. German magazine Video Games said that nothing exciting really happens in the game, and it doesn't really do anything different. Mega Fun, another German magazine, only recommended the game to hardcore fans of the show and rated it 37.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
Hurricanes was composed by the lead composer at Probe at the time, Andy Brock. None of the music is either from the show or written in the same hard-rock style. Instead, most of the music seems to be influenced by funk elements. However, the Hispanola Jungle has a calm feel to it with a pan flute soloing throughout, and the mine levels have an eerie tone to them. There is also a wah guitar in some of the songs; something not heard in many SNES games. Almost every level gets its own theme, and all songs are pretty lengthy. However, the boss themes are quick loops that gradually build in tempo, and eventually loop back to their original tempo. Fortunately, most of the bosses can be dispatched fairly quickly, so this isn't a big issue. Most of the songs consist of brass, electric piano, and organ. The brass instrument sounds identical to the one used in The Irem Skins Game (SNES). There are twenty songs in total; quite a lot for an action game on the SNES in 1994.
To compose the music, Andy wrote MIDI files in an unknown sequencer and converted it to Probe Software's SNES sound driver.
The song titles are taken from the SPC rip. The last three tracks in the SPC rip were omitted from the recording here, as they are only vocal effects.
Recording
Credits
- Ripper: KungFuFurby
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Music and Sound Effects: Andy Brock
- Not Credited Sound Driver: Carl Muller
(Source)
The credits are seen after beating the game. Both the North American and European version have the same credits. Both versions of the manual lack credits.
Game Rip
|
Format |
Download |
|
|
Audio Devices
The game uses the S-SMP of the SNES. It uses the Probe sound driver. According to the credits of Chuck Rock, it was programmed by Carl Muller, Stefan Walker, Sean Dunlevy, and Jason Gee.
Releases
Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/snes/588379-hurricanes - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/snes/hurricanes__ - MobyGames.
