Jaws (NES)
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Jaws is an action-adventure game developed by Westone and published by LJN. It is loosely based on the famous movie of the same name, though also takes some plot elements from from the fourth movie in the series, Jaws: The Revenge, which was released the same year.
In the game, you run your ship from one side of the map to the other. During your trip, you will most likely play the underwater segments. Here, you must defeat enemies such as jellyfish and stingrays, as well as baby sharks. Most of these enemies drop conch shells, which act as the game's currency. When you collect enough conch shells and reach the other side of the map's port, your ship will receive an upgrade. However, during the underwater segments, you die in one hit, so any deaths results in the loss of conch shells, as well as the latest upgrade your ship received.
Sometimes, the player will run into Jaws. You can shoot him in an attempt to deplete his health meter, but at the start of the game, your power level is so low that it barely does any damage. Obtaining power level upgrades in the game can cause the player to do more damage to Jaws. Once Jaws' health meter is depleted, the final boss battle will start. Here, the player has three strobes, and must align the ship with Jaws and stab him at the exact right time. If the player runs out of strobes, Jaws regains some of his health and you must repeat the whole process of depleting his health meter. If the player successfully hits Jaws with the boat, the game is won and the ending cutscene plays.
The game also has occasional bonus stages, in which you fly over the water with a plane and must bomb as many jellyfish as possible. At random intervals, the player can also obtain a submarine, which can be used in the underwater segments. The submarine is much faster, controls better, and has a better arsenal of weapons. However, one hit by an enemy is all it takes to lose it. The game also offers no continues, so after losing all lives, the player must start from the beginning.
The game was made entirely by three people: Ryuichi Nishizawa did the graphics, Michishito Ishizuka did all the programming, and Shinichi Sakamoto did the music and sound. According to Ryuichi, the game was made in under a month. This was presumably due to LJN's tight deadlines.
Unsurprisingly for an LJN game, Jaws received many negative reviews from players and critics alike, stating the dull gameplay, and how most of the game is spent underwater.
Screenshots
Music
The game's soundtrack was composed by Westone's primary in-house composer Shinichi Sakamoto, known for his work on the Wonder Boy series. The game contains a nice 8-bit rendition of the Jaws theme by John Williams. The rest of the game's soundtrack was written by Sakamoto himself. It seems Sakamoto experimented with a few different styles for the game's soundtrack. The main overworld theme is a repeating loop that gradually fades in and out. The underwater music is dark and suspenseful with a sudden series of loud notes playing near the end. The bonus stage theme is a more upbeat ballad.
To create the game's music and sound effects, Sakamoto wrote the music in 6502 assembly macros, making use of a sound driver by the game's programmer, Michishito Ishizuka.
Sakamoto says he was disappointed in his music for this game and the other Famicom game he composed, Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden.
Recording
Credits
- Ripper:
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Not Credited Composer: John Williams
- Not Credited Composer: Shinichi Sakamoto
- Not Credited Sound Driver: Michishito Ishizuka
(Source: Verification from Shinichi Sakamoto; game lacks credits)
After you beat the game, you are treated to a plane flying off into the sunset with the words "THE END" appearing after. Shinichi Sakamoto says because of a subcontract, the developers could not put staff credits in their game. Ryuichi Nishizawa says otherwise. According to Ryuichi, they were ashamed of their work and that's the reason why there's no credits. Though he also admits that the game was rushed and was done in under a month.
Game Rip
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Ripping NES music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.
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