Tass Times in Tonetown

The Good
My first memory of this game was Ennio the dog, news hat on head, jumping through a portal into the "real" world, followed by some funky, but catchy music. It sets the tone for the game in so many ways.

The game starts out normal, until you pass through the portal that Gramps created to get into Tonetown. From there, the game embodies so much of that spacey, retro style that embodied the 1980's so well. It's like entering a new wave video, where hearing Flock of Seagulls on a regular basis would not be out of the question.

It's a weird and quirky game, much like a tricked out version of "Alice in Wonderland". Everything from the cute and cuddly blob pets, to the snake-like Franklin Snarl, or visit Chaz the stylist for the latest hoops and hair colors, make up this surreal little world.

The graphics were great and had some animation in each screen. The music stuck to the funky tune from the game's intro, and the story was compelling enough to keep pushing forward. There game did well in keeping a sense of urgency as Snarl could appear out of anywhere to capture you if you didn't fit in, or were snooping around in places he didn't want you to be. The game even came with some great freebies, such as a copy of Ennio's newspaper, and a Snarl button.

The Bad
There was nothing more annoying in trying to figure out a puzzle, and Snarl would appear out of nowhere, ending the game. Like with most text adventures, not all options are readily apparent, and it took a lot of thinking (or even guesswork) to solve certain puzzles. It takes a lot of patience and deductive skills to play these types of games.

The Bottom Line
The game is one of my favorite text adventures. The overall tone of the game is very unique, and has still stuck with me to this day, unlike most games of this genre. I would like to see this game emulated, or released on an Activision compilation pack, since my Apple IIc has gone the way of the dodo.

As far as "Tass Times in Tonetown" goes, it remains one of my Top 5 Apple IIc games of all time. Well worth a look, if you can ever find it.