Dream TV (video game)

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Dream TV
Dream TV
Cover art
Developer(s)BITS
Publisher(s)Triffix
Designer(s)Paul Hellier[2]
Alex Martin[2]
Composer(s)David Whittaker[3]
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player
Co-op

Dream TV is an action video game for the Super NES where the player has to guide two youngsters through a nightmarish land of evil television shows (using a similar plot to the campy movie Stay Tuned and Crystal Dynamics' video game Gex). The player has to escape by defeating stereotypical television villains and finding pieces of a puzzle. The game features complex labyrinths.

Gameplay[edit]

National video gamers Charlie and Jimmy are given a strange-looking game cartridge game in the mail. When loading it in, the boys find themselves transported into the game.[4] They are sucked in by an evil being known as the Critic.[4] Now Jimmy and Charlie must fight for their lives through four Dream Worlds (Medieval, Egyptian, Prehistoric, and Future) if they hope to return home safely.[4] Dream TV is an action-adventure puzzle video game with elements of ToeJam & Earl (1991), World of Illusion (1992), and The Lost Vikings (1993).[5][6] It incorporates a split screen for both its single-player and two-player modes. Similar to The Lost Vikings, the game involves the player controlling two characters, one of which moves via the L and R buttons.[6][7] Collecting nine hidden puzzle pieces from each level will take the guys to the final showdown with the Critic and hopefully back to reality.[4]

Development[edit]

GamePro first announced Dream TV in its October 1992, revealing its premise of kids getting sucked into a television and reporting a planned release of fall 1992.[8]

Reception[edit]

Reviews from Nintendo Power and VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine praised its distinct utilization of the split-screen method, but felt it could've been better.[5][11] Nintendo Power reported situations where two different areas of a level that looked the same time could confuse players, and that a player character could still get hit even if offscreen.[5] The review also criticized the items' lack of clear purpose.[5]

Other critics, although acknowledging the unique split-screen, were not as favorable and felt the experience was worsened by other factors.[7][9] Critics found the character-switch mechanic aggravating to deal with, arguing it was easier to play the game in two-player mode.[9][7][10] Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame noted other several issues, such as the awkward controls, bland items, "poorly drawn and unimaginative" graphics that look like they're from a Master System title, uninteresting-to-fight enemies, and "mind-numbingly repetitive" music.[7] Critics from GameFan criticized its "ugly" and "tiny 8-bit" graphics, and "move to the left, move to the right action that goes nowhere",[9] and the German magazine Video Games called out its "pathetic" sprite animations, music and scarce sound effects.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Release date". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  2. ^ a b "Designer information". MobyGames. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  3. ^ "Composer information". SNESMusic.org. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  4. ^ a b c d "Basic game summary". IGN. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. Vol. 53. October 1993. pp. 100–105. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Dream TV". Video Games & Computer Entertainment. No. 58. November 1993. p. 51. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Weiss, Brett Alan. "Dream T.V. – Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Dream TV (SNES)". GamePro. No. 39. October 1992. p. 26. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d Skid; Sgt. Gamer; K. Lee; The Enquirer (November 1993). "Viewpoint". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 11. pp. 10–11. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "Dream TV". Video Games (in German). August 1994. p. 101. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Dream TV". VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 61. February 1994. p. 87. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
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