|
|
|
BLACK FOREST TALE
review | MEGA DUCK
|
Publisher: Timlex.
Developer: Commin. Released: 1993. Genre: Adventure. Posted 14th September 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
|
The Mega Duck’s modest catalogue had a knack for taking simple ideas and conjuring some fairly well-realised Game Boy-like experiences. Black Forest Tale, a follow-up of sorts to the unofficial NES adventure Little Red Hood, sees the player transported to a fantasy land for a spot of top-down adventuring. It’s reasonably programmed, but uninspired design and slow, drab gameplay mean it fails to stand out.
The adventure sees Red Hood navigating ten maze-like levels, battling an eclectic range of foes that include giant frogs, shady demons, mythical creatures, er… walking coffee mugs, and potatoes on legs (at a guess). This is par-for-the-course, scattergun Mega Duck design philosophy, but for once, it fits together fairly cohesively. It’s vaguely reminiscent of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen fare, and as the title somewhat alludes to, has influences in European folklore.
|
|
Black Forest Tale is packed with fantasy folklore inspirations, but its gameplay is anaemic
Via a rather enchanting map, players can opt to tackle the first nine levels in any order they see fit. Whilst layouts vary, each one follows the same end goal: find and pass through the exit. To do so, you’ll first need to buy a key from a store with $20 accumulated through bopping enemies with Red Hood’s staff. To make things more interesting, players can additionally purchase go-faster boots, extra lives and time extensions. Handy, as you are against the clock. The pattern starts again from scratch with each new level, and usually follows the pattern of buying a movement speed upgrade and then bashing enough enemies to afford the key. The rest of the goods are largely superfluous and can’t be carried forward.
BFT’s troubles are rooted in crude gameplay that lacks inspiration and impetus. Weak, uneventful gameplay is cast in an especially unkind light by Red Hood’s ponderously slow movements and one-note combat. Commin have tried to chisel some variety through their flair for details and funky sprite design, but foes (and indeed levels) typically produce only superficial differences.
BFT’s troubles are rooted in crude gameplay that lacks inspiration and impetus. Weak, uneventful gameplay is cast in an especially unkind light by Red Hood’s ponderously slow movements and one-note combat. Commin have tried to chisel some variety through their flair for details and funky sprite design, but foes (and indeed levels) typically produce only superficial differences.
|
|
The sole noteworthy feature is Red Hood’s staff and its ability to turn foes to stone. The player can then give said stone a shove, resulting in three possible outcomes. Most commonly, it will obliterate on collision with the scenery, leaving a $1 coin in its wake. Alternatively, there’s some fun to be had lining up a few enemies and using it like a wrecking ball, clearing all that gets caught in its path. Third and most interestingly, a couple of levels require the damming of rivers, and the stones are used to open paths to previously inaccessible parts of the environment. These instances are admittedly a little cumbersome, but showcase how much a simple mechanic adds to the basic gameplay. It’s a shame there aren’t a few other tricks along similar lines, perhaps a lever to lower a bridge, or a stick of dynamite to clear a rock face. Unfortunately, the vast majority of levels feature no additional mechanics and leave the player feeling uninvolved. By the standards of 1993, it feels desperately outdated.
There are a few bright spots worthy of mention. BFT’s music is likeably jaunty, providing a much-needed spring in the step for a game weighed down by its leaden pacing. The odd graphical aberration notwithstanding, the game has its aesthetic charms. You’ll encounter a quaintly charming village with wells, churches and period houses. There’s a mushroom village, a prairie, a forest and a riverside. There are some pleasant visual flourishes: a pretty title screen, the aforementioned map, and a neatly arranged shop screen.
There are a few bright spots worthy of mention. BFT’s music is likeably jaunty, providing a much-needed spring in the step for a game weighed down by its leaden pacing. The odd graphical aberration notwithstanding, the game has its aesthetic charms. You’ll encounter a quaintly charming village with wells, churches and period houses. There’s a mushroom village, a prairie, a forest and a riverside. There are some pleasant visual flourishes: a pretty title screen, the aforementioned map, and a neatly arranged shop screen.
|
|
With no password system, those hoping to beat the game are in for a long afternoon. It isn’t especially tough; there are no bosses, and because the objective of the levels never evolves, you’ll have little trouble once you’ve sussed out a plan. However, due to its slow pacing and minimal variety, BFT feels like a slog by the latter stages. Its three difficulties aren’t all that different: the hardest grants a small number of enemies the ability to shoot projectiles, meaning positioning within the mazes requires a little more thought, to provide cover and stop them from gaining a clear shot, but this is nowhere near enough of a hook to coax players to return. The likes of Snake Roy and Railway rewarded completion with lovely, animated endings, but despite Black Forest Tale’s adventuring aspirations and roots in literature, it disappoints with a surprisingly muted conclusion. A brief thank you message feels like a poor return for your efforts.
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure to be underwhelmed. No matter how hard you squint, Black Forest Tale is never going to be mistaken for Link's Awakening. Whilst the Mega Duck can point to numerous sturdy games that made the most of simple concepts, Black Forest Tale is simply too dull and too crude to generate any interest. Whilst its fantasy fable themes are not without charm, uninspired gameplay mechanics result in an adventure that’s a low-key, forgettable affair.
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure to be underwhelmed. No matter how hard you squint, Black Forest Tale is never going to be mistaken for Link's Awakening. Whilst the Mega Duck can point to numerous sturdy games that made the most of simple concepts, Black Forest Tale is simply too dull and too crude to generate any interest. Whilst its fantasy fable themes are not without charm, uninspired gameplay mechanics result in an adventure that’s a low-key, forgettable affair.
|
VERDICT"Though aspects of its presentation are not without merit, Black Forest Tale is a poor adventure game, mired in unspectacular design and laboured pacing. No matter how hard you squint, it's never going to be mistaken for Link's Awakening" OVERALL: 4/10 |
OTHER MEGA DUCK | COUGAR BOY GAMES REVIEWED
Railway (1993, Mega Duck)
|
Snake Roy (1993, Mega Duck)
|