Taboo: The Sixth Sense

The Good
Well, it's different. You didn't see a game like this every day on the NES (though there are reasons why). I can't fault it for wanting to try something new, but it can only go so far.

Control's very minimal, but effective enough.

Honestly, the most interest I did find in the game is that I liked some of the graphic illustrations for the "character" cards, and the music.

There were certain companies that really had a distinctive flair with Nintendo's sound chip, especially in the music. Capcom had it, and Rare could pull off some interesting melodies. Taboo has a sort of "haunting" sound to its music, which is appropriate for the subject.

The game also came with a poster that had better descriptions of the cards, and again, I liked some of the illustrations, and the amusement factor of the cartridge actually being wrapped in cloth (seriously) adds a sense of attempted "seriousness" to this mystical occult item that shares the same shelf space as Sky Kid or Clu Clu Land.

The Bad
It's baffling to know that Rare and Tradewest (I do miss them) actually somehow decided this was a good title to release for the NES. I can't even imagine how the logic process went down to justify this game.

While the control is adequate, trying to enter a question to life's great mysteries gets tedious after a while, and isn't even formatted to keep the word together after a line break.

Outside of the "character" cards, the graphics are very plain with no animation. Sure there's a trippy card shuffling sequence, the Hanged Man card actually animates by dropping down, and at random times, one of the cards will have a skull that appears on it. Whether this is the foretelling of a "bad omen" or whatever is never known or explained. It almost feels like there is a desperation to make SOMETHING visually interesting. Also of note, you can't skip the card shuffling experience. And after a minute or two, you are going to want it to end.

Even more comical is the "Engrish" that comes from a UK-based company, no less. It's pretty bad in some places, and some card readings are almost unintelligible. Half the time, the card readings are nonsensical psychobabble that don't even seem to relate to the question asked.

Even the lottery at the end of the reading is botched. Players are asked to select their state, and not all 50 states are available to choose from. How is that even possible? You live in Texas, you're out of luck, by the way.

The biggest fault is that when this game came out, there really were no "value" games. This was a full price title, same as a Super Mario Bros. 2 or Ninja Gaiden. This isn't a kid's game. Not because the content is so (to use a pun) "taboo", or evil, or uses the NES to summon the dead or whatever, it just has so little content to it that it's hard to justify keeping a kid's interest for longer than a few minutes, if that long.

The Bottom Line
Nintendo's "Seal of Quality" must have been on holiday the day this game concept got approved and the final game passed. It isn't a game, or a "Time Machine" like the instruction manual proudly proclaims that it is. Not once did my NES make like Doctor Who's TARDIS and send me to the age of dinosaurs, or spend a day to hang out and fly a kite with Ben Franklin, or to a future full of flying cars. Seriously, how could they justify this game as being a "Time Machine" and manage to keep a straight face?

Sarcasm aside, it's interesting to play just once. Not because it's a "must play" experience, but it simply has to be seen to be believed It's not accurate enough to be taken even remotely seriously, nor is it compelling enough to retain a lasting appeal for repeated play. At best, it's a novelty piece. A novelty piece that at one time cost $50 retail. And the cloth isn't fine enough material to justify it.

The game's not "evil". But it still manages to cause some pain. Mostly in the wallet, and in your sense of time usage.

The Good
The Engrish in the card interpretations is so bad that it's almost amusing--until you realize that this was an expensive cartridge that some poor kid got for Christmas.

Probably the least annoying part of the game is the music. It's not good, by any means, but it wasn't too bad to listen to just once.

The Bad
Where to begin? Once you've input your name, birthday, sex, and question, it proceeds to spit out a tarot reading. Of course, in order to do this it first must shuffle the deck--slowly. Having shuffled the deck, it slowly deals out cards, and then, one at a time, it slowly shows them to you. After the interminable wait for the reading to finish, the game asks what state you live in and presents you with lottery numbers. And then the game is over.

The Bottom Line
Mediocre music, pathetic graphics, and a complete lack of interactivity make this game so bad it's not even worth playing just to make fun of it. Its only saving grace is that it is very, very short, so you aren't forced to play it for long.

The Good
There are some interesting psychedelic sound and graphic effects during the card shuffling routines. However these effects may be dangerous to those prone to seizures while watching Pokemon cartoons.

The Bad
I think I should point out a certain irony of this so-called "game" There actually is an underlying game with Tarot cards! The Tarot was originally created for playing a card game similar to Spades. Fortune telling with Tarot cards only began to be practiced centuries after the creation of the deck. Tarot card games are still played today in France, Italy and central Europe. However Tarot card games are not well known in the US or in most countries outside Europe so the only concept we have of Tarot is of the fortune telling practices. The whole concept of this Taboo "game" being marketed to a gaming demographic is based on cultural ignorance, on the false idea that fortune telling is the only possible "game" with Tarot cards. I am not anti-occult, but as a gamer I feel cheated by this concept.

If you think the concept is misguided, the execution of it is worse. There are grammatical bugs all over the place. The results of the Tarot readings are often incomprehensible. I should also mention that the Tarot deck used for the readings has no aesthetic appeal at all. These cards are so bland they are easily upstaged by the card shuffling routines. I realize that the NES was an old 8 bit system but when one examines the beauty of the graphics in a vintage title such as The Legend of Zelda, it becomes apparent they were capable of producing a better looking set of cards. This electronic implementation of the occult Tarot offers no advantages at all over its cardboard counterpart.

The Bottom Line
Taboo is a bug riddled simulation of Tarot card reading. It is not really a game in the more conventional sense of the word. The concept is poorly executed. Those interested in Tarot reading are best advised to use their money to purchase their own Tarot decks to achieve a more satisfying divination experience.