Hook

The Good
Hook is a 1991 swashbuckling movie starring Robin Williams. I didn’t think that it was a big deal enough to warrant four games. Two of them are platformers while another is an adventure, but the one I will be reviewing is the beat ‘em up from Irem. The story of the game is similar, with Peter Pan taken to Never Land to rescue his two children from the clutches of Captain Hook.

The game plays similar to other brawlers like Final Fight, in that the player has the option of selecting which character you play as. In this case, it is Peter or one of the Lost Boys. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, plus their own special attacks that are helpful in certain situations. You can use weapons you find lying around, such as spears and boulders, and even set off traps. Special attacks can also be used, especially when dealing with bosses, but this will be in expense of some of your life.

There is a story shown during the game’s attract mode, and this is repeated occasionally, not just every time. The first thing you see when you start a game is the stunning map of Never Land, showing Peter’s progress through the game. Hook consists of six stages, with three areas to explore. The areas have their own beautiful backdrops that reflect the major scenes in the movie. There are at least two elements that I haven’t seen in an brawler to date. The time you need to complete each area is represented as a bar at the bottom of the screen, not as a counter. Also, the ability to lay into an enemy when he is down is also a nice touch.

There are bosses you need to defeat at the end of each stage. Except for a couple, most of them don’t even feature in the game. The bosses have their own attack patterns; Hook and Smee themselves fire their pistols at Peter from time to time. They are well designed, especially Mika and her two sisters, Anna and Gita. (They are replaced by two Hook clones in the non-Japanese versions of the game.)

The soundtrack in the game is much similar to that of the movie, so John Williams is credited on the title screen. My favorite is the final boss theme, during your showdown with Hook. It has that nice rhythm to it. I really enjoyed listening to the sound effects in the game; the enemy death sounds give the impression that they are spewing their guts out.

After the ending, the game keeps looping back to stage one until you run out of lives, then you go enter your name on the high score table. Other nice touches include the striking of a cuckoo clock that serves as the continue text.

The Bad
There is nothing bad about this game.

The Bottom Line
Hook is just like other brawlers like Final Fight that were released around the same time, but they weren't based on a movie that was just released. In my opinion, Irem's game is slightly better than these brawlers. The backdrops of each of the game's stages as well as the rendition of John Williams's soundtrack are proof that Irem stuck closely to the source material, and people who enjoy brawlers in general should play this game.