NES Game Reviews #27 – Marble Madness
Marble Madness is a quirky game that’s a lot of fun! Who didn’t love Marbles as a kid? Those glass balls with strangely coloured interiors, I had a box of them, always found them very mysterious. I also had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. They were just Marbles! This thing that existed and looked pretty. Did anyone actually play Marbles properly, ie win other kids Marbles off them for keepsies? I don’t recall anyone in my playground doing that, guess I was the wrong generation.
Anyway Atari decided to turn the popular game into a video-game. Ironically the game turned out about as mysterious to me as the real thing! Marble Madness, has this strange allure to it that is hard to describe. When put into words, the concept of controlling a Marble across 7 different levels, avoid hazards and falling off edges doesn’t seem anything special, but when you play the game, its like there some deeper meaning lurking in there? Maybe its the somewhat m psychedelic level design? perhaps it’s the wonderfully bizarre music? Or perhaps it’s just the fact that I used to be very stoned when I played this one in my teens?
Your aim is to get your Marble to the end of the course within the time-limit. A time bonus is awarded upon completion which adds to your total. This gives you more time for the next level. Since there’s a global time limit it is tougher than it first seems. However you can pick up the odd time bonus for crushing certain enemies, and occasionally a random time bonus for… doing well?
You’re reliant on completing stages quickly in order to have enough time remaining for the final stage. To be honest, it really shouldn’t take an average player too long to complete this game. Whilst not the hardest, and perhaps not the most engaging for those not half baked… To me this game will always be special. Long live Atari!
