Review: Talespin
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:There is no way to save your game. Like most games from this era, you're expected to play through it in one sitting. Modern re-releases may offer save states however. To pause the game, press START during a level. Time needed per session:Since you can't stop and continue later, expect to play for an hour or so. Personally, I wouldn't expect someone to play for that long however, as this just isn't a fun game.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians While there is a haunted house level, it's generally focused on stage magic rather than actual magic, and other than that, the in-game violence is extremely tame. |
Screenshots
Screenshots are from the Disney Afternoon Collection
Game Overview
Most of the shows in the Disney Afternoon lineup were pretty straightforward. Ducktales established Scrooge McDuck as a rich treasure hunter, Rescue Rangers gave Chip and Dale some character development, and... then there's Talespin.
Disney's Talespin series took several of the more memorable characters from Disney's adaptation of the Jungle Book, and recast them in an anthropomorphic world where they'd run businesses. In particular, Baloo's "bear necessities" have been replaced by his love of his plane (the Sea Duck) and a 9 to 5 job as an air cargo delivery pilot for Higher for Hire. Of course, just delivering packages isn't very interesting, so to spice things up, Baloo has to deal with Don Karnage and his sky pirates.
This manages to translate to a game rather well - the NES Talespin game is a shoot 'em up where you try to collect money and cargo while dodging enemies. At the end of each level is a boss with a unique style and attack pattern, and once you've beaten them, you can spend your earnings on different upgrades to the Sea Duck or bonuses that will make things a little easier in the future.
Unfortunately, this simple idea is plagued by one major problem: the controls.
Shoot 'em ups practically require fast reflexes and tight controls, and the way things work here are almost the exact opposite of that. To begin with, you can't just turn around to face enemies coming at you from the other direction - you need to press B while not moving to flip the plane over. Moving straight up and down isn't possible either. Instead, you'll move forward at an angle, which really isn't what you want most of the time.
On top of this, there seems to be an issue with the way the game reads input: pressing more than one direction at a time (which shoot 'em up players generally do) often results in other button presses going unnoticed. Considering Capcom had a sizable NES library by this point, they really should've known how to handle this better.
Sorry to say, but I wouldn't recommend spending too much time with this one.
Disney's Talespin series took several of the more memorable characters from Disney's adaptation of the Jungle Book, and recast them in an anthropomorphic world where they'd run businesses. In particular, Baloo's "bear necessities" have been replaced by his love of his plane (the Sea Duck) and a 9 to 5 job as an air cargo delivery pilot for Higher for Hire. Of course, just delivering packages isn't very interesting, so to spice things up, Baloo has to deal with Don Karnage and his sky pirates.
This manages to translate to a game rather well - the NES Talespin game is a shoot 'em up where you try to collect money and cargo while dodging enemies. At the end of each level is a boss with a unique style and attack pattern, and once you've beaten them, you can spend your earnings on different upgrades to the Sea Duck or bonuses that will make things a little easier in the future.
Unfortunately, this simple idea is plagued by one major problem: the controls.
Shoot 'em ups practically require fast reflexes and tight controls, and the way things work here are almost the exact opposite of that. To begin with, you can't just turn around to face enemies coming at you from the other direction - you need to press B while not moving to flip the plane over. Moving straight up and down isn't possible either. Instead, you'll move forward at an angle, which really isn't what you want most of the time.
On top of this, there seems to be an issue with the way the game reads input: pressing more than one direction at a time (which shoot 'em up players generally do) often results in other button presses going unnoticed. Considering Capcom had a sizable NES library by this point, they really should've known how to handle this better.
Sorry to say, but I wouldn't recommend spending too much time with this one.
Points of Interest
Eight levels to explore
One thing this game does have going for it is a diverse selection of environments. You'll start by flying over the sea, then visit a baseball stadium and the tunnels beneath it. From there, you'll fly through the skies, a haunted house, the city, a mine, and a jungle before finally confronting Don Karnage himself in the final level.
Hidden surprises
One unusual quirk of this game is how objects are hidden throughout the stages: by moving over or shooting the right location, point bonuses will suddenly spawn into the level. You can also find hidden doors that take you to a bonus level using this method.
Horrible controls
This isn't Surgeon Simulator, but it certainly feels like it should have been. The inability to steer the Sea Duck normally ruins the gameplay very quickly, and the way inputs get dropped doesn't help.
Concerns and Issues
Minor Violence
The show was considerable more violent than this adaptation, so take that as you will. Here, the most that can happen is an enemy bounces off the screen or disappears in a puff of smoke. As for the player, Baloo bails out of the Sea Duck and floats down with a parachute when you've taken too many hits.
Minor magic
One of the levels features a haunted house. Flying hats and chandeliers are your main enemies in this stage, though there are also some ghosts. The haunted house's boss is a possessed stage magician's get up, which is more silly than spooky.