Magic Pockets

The Good
This is a nice game that starts off with a short clip from Betty Boo's Doin' the Do. (In my opinion, I really didn't like Betty's songs. I'm glad that she got fazed out.) You play the cool Bitmap Kid (BK), who must explore four worlds consisting of four areas each, and these four worlds include Cave World, Jungle World, Lake World, and Mountain World. In these worlds, you are trying to get your toys back from enemies that have stolen them. This can be done by using your weapons against them, which vary in each world, including tornatoes (Cave World), clouds (Jungle World), ice-cubes (Lake World), and snowballs (Mountain World). Enemies will vary with each world. You see, in Lake World, for example, you'll fight crabs, clamshells, buzzards, piranhas, and jellyfish; whereas in Mountain World, you are faced with evil rabbits, eggheads, yetis, and snowmen. These weapons can help you as well. Tornatoes can lift you up onto platforms further up, clouds turn into rain drops and help plants grow, and snowballs can be used for blocks so that you can get across water.

As you progress through the levels, enemies will become smarter, making it difficult for you to kill them. If you hold down the fire button for several seconds, you'll hurl a much bigger version of your weapon which has the capability of trapping enemies in them. When you come in contact with the trapped enemy, you can gather sweets that include ice-creams, life savers, candy canes, pieces of cake, blocks of chocolate, chocolate bars, and more. If you fail to get to the trapped enemy in a reasonable amount of time, it will disappear and you will miss out on the sweet. If you're lucky, you may get a big sundae for 5,000 points, or a big bowl of fruit that awards you with 10,000 points, or a big birthday cake that will award you a whopping 20,000 points.

As well as your ordinary weapons, you can find a strange box somewhere in each world that enables you to shoot out fireballs or make some spikes fall out of it. Just can't reach a platform that is above you if you have no tornadoes? Then your best bet is to find a gum machine that will enable you to blow out a big wad of chewing gum, which will enable you to fly in any direction that you please. On some occasions, you will find a television, and if you press down on the fire button, the game will take a snapshot of the entire level and allows you to view where enemies are located. (And I'm not just talking about a BMP file.)

Near the end of each area, the gameplay gets a bit interesting. You see, in Cave World, you can ride a bike and use it to mow down any enemies that get in your way, and if you look hard enough, a helmet can be picked up, and picking this up enables you to fire laser bolts at enemies. In Jungle World, you can pick up a boxing glove that you can use to punch enemies off the screen and grab sweets. In Lake World, you can swim underwater to get rid of more enemies and get treasures, as long as you are wearing a snokel. In Mountain World, you use a pogo-ball to run into enemies, and if you land on top of enemies, you will be able to get a sweet. The gameplay gets even better in the very last area of each world. Depending on the world that you are exploring, you can race against some gorillas, defeat the big ape, or hunt for some treasure.

When you complete each level, a bonus will be given, the number of enemies that are killed in each level, and the number of toys collected, and the number of stars that are collected. During this time, shit will come out of his pockets and off the screen. and BK will give you the thumbs up, wipe his forehead, or bow, depending on the world.

The Bad
Some enemies in the game take more hits like you wouldn't believe. Then again, that's probably because I was playing an illegal version of the game, and anyone who copied the game then played it were punished by the Bitmap Brothers for doing so in the first place.

The Bottom Line
So much to explore, interesting things to do, sensational sound and graphics, make Magic Pockets a classic.

Rating: ****½