In 1993, a new star appeared on the NES horizon. A big man with big dreams, big muscles, a big mustache and no shirt, Abobo was one of the first to attempt to delay the Double Dragon-brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee in their quest. While Abobo ultimately failed in his objective, he gained notoriety for his signature "chuck a guy over his head" move. It was certain that fate had much in store for the bald wonder: Over the next few years, he would beat up a couple of Battletoads, grow and lose a Mohawk, 
be portrayed in a major motion-picture by both Nils Allen Stewart and Henry Kingi, and dye himself blue to appear in a truly terrible cartoon. At the height of his fame, Abobo took his fortune and happily retired to a palatial Hollywood estate to raise his family. Recently however, he was lured back to spotlight by a team of developers, including ThePoxBox, Pesto Force, JackSmack, and the guys at I-Mockery, who wished him to star in an ultimate tribute to the Nintendo Entertainment System. The result is Abobo's Big Adventure, a retro arcade action-adventure game, just released after a literal decade in the making. It's a bold, brassy, over-the-top labor of love that pushes 8-bit nostalgia to its very limit.
The plot has the appropriate minimalism the third generation of video games had: Young Aboboy, has been kidnapped, and if Abobo hopes to get him back, he must rage his way through some of the most famous and infamous of NES games, featuring hundreds of cameos from all sorts of sprites. While the gameplay changes to suit the setting of the level, generally you will move Abobo with the [arrow keys] (double-tapping to run), and attack with [A] and [S]. Defeating enemies will build your "Rage-O-Meter", and when it is full, hit [A + S] together to execute a special Rage move. In a cool feature, the game includes a full tutorial for how you can set up an original NES controller to play.
Never let it be said that I-Mockery doesn't know what its audience likes. Clearly, Abobo's Big Adventure is a nostalgia-fest, and playing "spot the reference" is undoubtedly what will draw most to playing game. However, nostalgia can be done right, and, for a parody, this game definitely has its heart in the right place... even as Abobo desecrates every sacred cow of the NES. With its bursts of pixilated blood and not-safe-for-work sense of humor, Abobo's Big Adventure isn't exactly a mature game, but then again, it's not trying to be. It has all the details video-gaming children of the 80s will appreciate, from the proper invocation of the Konami Code, to the Easter Egg placed in Double Dragon's familiar glitch locale, to the warped Tarantino-esque finale. No reference is too obscure.
Of course, the forty-thousand bonus point question is "How does it play?" Well, fear not, because Abobo's Big Adventure accomplishes what it sets out to do, with a note-perfect recreation of every NES game it sets its mind to... for better or worse. Yes, Abobo's Big Adventure is exactly as good as its inspirations. The MegaMan and Contra levels are brutally challenging masterpieces, The Legend Of Zelda section might be the greatest pastiche ever done of the game, and the climactic final battle in the Punch-Out ring gleefully lets you wipe the smirk off of Little Mac's face. Less inspiring is the Pro-Wrestling level, which harkens to a mediocre game only notable for the kitsch value of the characters, and the Urban Champion level, which faithfully recreates a work that was weak for 1985, let alone 2012. But then, once the music from River City Ransom shows up, all is forgiven.
With its mass of secrets, cutscenes, unlockables and achievements, there is a whole heck of a lot of stuff to explore here. Overall, Abobo's Big Adventure is the kind of game that knows it has a target audience and does everything in its power to pander to it. If you're not on board with why someone might enjoy punching their way through the entire NES catalog, you'll wonder what all the hoopla is about. If you are, though, then man, A WINNER IS YOU!
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Abobo's Big Adventure Walkthrough and Tips Guide
Double Drabobo Tips
This is a pretty easy section, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
Remember that double tapping a direction arrow will make you start to run. If you're willing to sacrifice some of your rage meter, a well-aimed running attack can plow through enemies.
Barrels are your friends! Pick them up and chuck them with [s]. A flashing barrel will explode the next time it's thrown, but it always safe to pick up.
Eating the head of a smiling Ransomling or Ransom Girl restores health. Their bodies can also be thrown for a powerful exploding attack.
Don't let the Kung Fu Huggies grab you! They're happy to line themselves up, so knock them down fast!
The T&C Skater can be defeated with punches, but a kick will knock him out instantly.
Once you climb the ladder to kill Donkey Kong, climb down as quickly as possible once his death animation starts. If you can get a solid kick to Donkey Kong Jr. before he disappears, you'll get a nice boost of health.
Beardy Barrel will explode once you've killed him! Get some distance!
BOSS: Sadly, there isn't really much of a strategy for Shooter Gavin. Avoid his bullets, punch and kick when you can, and you'll get him. It's also possible to knock him off the conveyor belt into the pit, but it's very, very tricky to pull off.
Super Mabobo Tips
Ah, water levels, who really likes them? This level is a matter of eating enemies, then spitting them out to defeat your enemies, while not getting too close to the bottom of the screen. It's as simple and difficult as that.
To defeat Mecha-Fish, spit the Robo-Shrimp at the dangly glowy thing that extends from his head.
When you rescue the Mermaid, choose the "Mate" option. This will give you a rotating shield of 3 Merbobos to protect you.
Those electrified leaves are a pain and really hard to avoid. Notice, however, that they aren't on the tops and right of the stalks.
Bubbleman is easily defeated by shooting his bubbles back at him. Time it so you don't hit another bubble though.
Karnov has a pattern of two (inedible and painful) water bullets, then two edible and spittable Squiggly Fish, repeat. Use the latter to take Karnov out!
Jaws can be a real pain, but he can be defeated with a single rage attack.
BOSS: Big Daddy is another war of attrition. Eat the skeleton fish, then shoot them at him, while avoiding his lasers. Whenever he fires the lasers out of the ocean, Tetris pieces and Roof Chunks will soon fall from the sky, so back off when that happens!
Urban Chabobo Tips
This section is literally impossible to lose. At the end, give a punch for the standard Finishing Move, or "Left, Right, Left, Right, A" for the Friendship move.
Zeldabobo Walkthrough
Go North. Defeat all the enemies in the room to open the door to the North. Generally, if you clear a room of all enemies they will stay cleared. This can make life a lot easier.
Go North. Defeat all skeletons to open the door to the North.
Go North. Defeat all the Octoroks to open the door to the West. You have a shield that can deflect the Octorok's snout rocks, if you're facing in the proper direction
Go West. Defeat the enemies to open the door to the south. Pick up the map. For the record, the shape of the map is a reference to an actual NES dungeon map that was supposed to look like an arrow, but, uh, didn't.
Go South. Defeat the Mermen to open the door.
Go South. Defeat the Skeletons. There is a secret staircase in the south-eastern corner. Trigger the spikes and get down there.
Defeat the enemies and pick up the bridge, which will let you cross one square of water. Go back up the ladder.
Backtracking time! Go North, Go North. Go East. Go South, and Go South again to get back where you started.
Go South. Cross the water, avoiding enemies.
Go West. Go South. Go South. Dig Dug is here and can make your life a pain if he hits you with his pump, so kill him quickly. Push the block at the left of the room from the top to open the door.
Go East. Attack the Southern Wall to open the Secret Door.
Go South. Enter the secret staircase. Go down and up the ladders, and hit the Bullet Bill shooter to kill Toad. This has no gameplay advantage, but is immensely satisfying. Go back up the ladder.
Go North. Go North. Go West and pick up the key.
Backtracking time! Go East. Go South. Go West. Go North, Go North, Go East, and Go North to get back where you started. Use the key to unlock the door to the East.
Go East. Kill the Octoroks to open the doors.
Go East. "The Old Man Hates Beef" huh? Then lets find some!
Go East. Remember… killing Bob-Bombs can be very painful.
Go East. Go South. Push the shiny block to the left to get by.
Go West. Run through the room to avoid the spikes.
Go West. Go West. Go North and pick up the key.
Backtracking time! Go South. Go East. Go East. Go East. Go North. Go West. Go West.
Go North. Push the shiny block from the bottom to get the compass.
Go East. Run through the room and unlock the door.
Go East. Defeat the four snappers of the Mandhandla to open the secret staircase. Go down the staircase and pick up the beef. This will restore your health. Go back to the room.
Go East. Go East. Defeat all the enemies to open the room to the north.
Go North. Avoid the ghosts and get the key.
Go South. Go East. Go South. Go South. Race past the spikes.
Go West. Unlock the door to the south.
Go South. Grab the final key!
One last backtracking time. Go North. Go East. Go North. Sneak by or defeat Aquamentus, unlock the Eastern Door and prepare for the boss!
BOSS: Old Man. Start by using your beef to smash the orbs in the corners of the room. This will dissipate his shield, letting you wail on him. Avoid his glowing attack, or else you'll be turned into a snail for 10 seconds. Once he splits into 3, you'll have to defeat each of them individually, or a Rage Attack will kill them in a single blow. Then he will transform into Giant Old Man, and the fun REALLY starts. The thing to remember is that he cannot hurt you directly, only with his magic attacks. Whenever he's not doing a magic attack, feel free to get close and wail on him. Rage Attacks won't be particularly effective against him, but they'll help you chip away at him. Just keep at him and he'll fall to your beef attacks!
Babobolloon Fight Tips
This is where things start getting killer! Generally, you'll be flying around with the [a] key, trying to land on enemies, while preventing them from landing on you. Lose both of your balloons, or fly too low, and you lose a life. During the level, The Amazon will appear on the left side of the screen. Bopping him on the head will keep him away for a bit, but no matter how many times your hit him, you won't be able to face him until you play through the entire level.
The lightning clouds only damage you when the lightning is actually flashing. Otherwise they are safe to fly through.
The spinners can knock you off course, but they'll also affect enemies.
Even if you already have two balloons, getting the spare ones that fly by will add to your rage meter. Also, if you defeat an enemy and he drops with a parachute, bouncing off of it will also add a bit.
Landing on the grassy platforms can let you rest for a bit. It gets repetitive flying around, so this can help you keep your mind clear.
Bounce on Lakitu as soon as he gets on the screen. If you don't, he'll start chucking Spinys.
The Blob will turn into a homing missile. It will disappear after about five seconds, so just lead it around in circles.
The ExciteBike guys will generally fly forward in a straight line.
When Frankenstein shows up, bop him on the head quickly. Otherwise he'll call on his reaplings, which can be a pain to avoid.
Death is huge, and his scythes can mess you up. Probably a good place for a rage attack. On the plus column, that means the level is almost over!
All right. If you are still having trouble, if you press the [1] key at the start of the level, it'll skip straight to the Pro-Wrestling part. But you'll be a cheater! :-P.
Pro Wrabobo Tips
I won't mince words: button mashing is a pretty good strategy for this level. However, there are a few mechanics that can tip things in your favor.
Generally the best advice is to move out of the way of Amazon's attack, then get close with a counterattack. Punching is usually more effective than kicking. He has a lot of flashy moves, but they don't take much health. You'll wear him down if you keep at it.
While in the ring, you can run by double tapping a direction key. Hit the [a] to perform a flying knee or the [s] for a clothesline.
You can climb on the top two turnbuckles. If the Amazon is lying on the ring, you can jump off of them for a slam. Be careful though: if he's not lying down, you'll leave yourself open for attack.
You can roll in and out of the bottom side of the ring. While out of the ring, your moves are limited, but it can make for a good escape.
Punching the referee will add a little to your rage meter. The same doesn't seem to be the same for the cameraman, but it's very satisfying.
If you're out of the ring, you'll have a chance to pick up the chairs around the ring with and whack the Amazon with them using the [a]. Watch out though: Amazon can also pick them up.
You can end the fight relatively quickly if you fill the rage meter. That's pretty hard to do, though. In any case, once you deplete all the Amazon's health, you must activate the meter to finish the match.
MegaMabobo
This level is pretty blatantly unfair at times, which is just how the NES games were. I'll try to give the heads up.
When you drop down from the first screen, wait for the spirahna to fall in the pit it is next to before continuing.
As you head down from the Gizmoduck screen, keep to the left; this will help you avoid the lasers and enemies.
At the second laser screen, you can drop either to the left, or the right. Dropping the left way is a lot easier, but the right gives you the chance for an extra life, if your footwork is fancy enough... it probably isn't. Whatever you do though, be quick.
The next couple of areas are pretty standard, except for the blinking lights. Just make sure that you dodge the viruses Cranky The Penguin fires every time his crank turns. Your rage meter will fill pretty quickly at this point, and it's good to use them. Also, if you don't seem to be getting anywhere in the dark, try jumping... you might be running up against a platform.
Following the darkness section, there will be another quick-reaction laser grid. Just remember that you are always trying to scroll down, not to the sides. You want to be falling, not running. You'll likely have to see this a couple times to get by it, and you're not safe until you make it to the Blaster Master tank. From there, it's a quick run to the Boss.
BOSS: Megabobo. Megabobo will start by chucking Dr. Wily at you, so jump over him to dodge. From that point on, he'll either fire laser charges at you, or chuck Metal Gears. These gears will run along the ground, so they're easy enough to jump over. Once you defeat the first form, he'll transform into Mechabobo. His weak point is the head, so concentrate all your fire on there. His liquid form is harmless, but once it starts flashing, it'll reform into the harmful solid form. When he rains down spikes, they'll stop once they reach the other side, so outrun them, and you'll be fine. When he converts into laser form, wait for him to glow, then jump over his laser bolts. If he uses the flying head attack, he'll generally fire twice before charging at you. Keep at it, and use your rage attack whenever the meter is full. You'll get through it.
Contrabobo Tips
Time for Contra! [a] jumps, [s] shoots, and the directional arrows will run and aim, with [down] to crouch. Be careful though: [down] + [a] will drop you through a platform, which can deadly over a bottomless pit. You can shoot diagonally in this section, and you'll darn have to.
Since every hit is a killer, you'll likely lose your lives pretty quickly. At the "Input the Code" section, you must enter the Konami Code: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, [B], [A]. Now you have thirty lives.
Entering the afformentioned Konami code when not having lost all your lives unlocks two-player mode. Having a friend along can make it a little awkward to play, but two guns are better than one.
Power-ups are as follows: M = Machine Gun. Like the standard gun, but slightly more effective and with a faster firing rate. F = Fireball Guns. Sends swirling balls of fire across the screen. Powerful, but slow moving. L = Lemming Gun. Shoots Lemmings, which is a step up from your regular gun, but not by much. S = Spread Shot. Fires a powerful spread of five bullets. Then, and now, pretty much the best weapon ever. You'll lose it when you lose a life. Which will happen. A lot.
Another Cheat: Hitting the [g] key will spawn a Machine Gun power-up.
Krangby looks impressive, but is easy once you figure out his patterns. I'd start by standing on a middle platform and focusing on his arm, then focusing your fire on Kirby's face. Then you can stand on the highest platform and blast away at the robot's head.
This second Contrabobo section is a vertical scroller. It's a bit easier than the other, though the platform detection is a little off. Basically, take your time, plan your jumps carefully, and make your way to the top.
BOSS: Kirby's weak spot is his mouth and eyes. Sadly, his mouth will be happy to try and to suck you in, and you'll have to jump out of his wind's path if you don't want to lose a life. When he inhales a rock, he'll fly up in the air (invulnerable while doing so), and drop down as a stone. Move out of the way of his shadow to survive. When he inhales a fireball, he'll rain down meteors from above. These are fairly easy to dodge, and allow you to get a couple good hits in. When he inhales an ice block, Kirby will fire an ice missile. This will freeze you to the spot if it connects. If you can wiggle out with the arrow keys before Kirby starts inhaling, you have a good chance of survival. Kirby will then shoot out some power-ups and graciously allow you to get some hits in. It will continue like this: Rock, Fire, Ice, Power-Ups, Repeat, until you defeat him. Good luck! The final boss awaits.
Punch Abobo Tips
Spin Jab with [a] or [s], to stun Mac. [Down + A] and [Down + S] gives a body jab. [Up + A] and [Up + S] gives upper cuts. Generally, your strategy should be to dodge his attack by going to the right or left, hit him with a spin jab, then wail on him. Use Rage attacks when you can. If you're knocked down, mash [A] and [S] to get up. Get knocked down three times in the same round and you are knocked out.
Beating Little Mac is all a matter of timing. Time his attacks, and your counter attacks. The goal is to knock Mac down three times in a single round for a TKO. However, after the second time you knock him down, he'll transform into Big Mac, and his attacks will take a step up in power. After three rounds, you'll go to the decision which, in true Punch-Out fashion, you will always lose.
Try to finish him in the first round if you can. It's easier to knock down Little Mac twice and Big Mac once than Big Mac three times.
When Big Mac's glove gets hit by lightning, he's about to throw two punches. Time them correctly and dodge them both in either direction.
When Big Mac's right glove charges and glows, dodge to the left. When his left glove charges and glows, dodge to the right.
In between rounds, quickly tap the [s] key. This will give you a small boost of health.
Good luck!
Secret Achievements
Duck Hunted - 10 Points - During the opening movie, click on one of the ducks that flies by to shoot it.
Head Banger - 10 Points - On the Level select screen, quickly and repeatedly move back and forth from the level above and below the portrait of Abobo in the middle.
Bobo Battle - 25 Points - Play a round of Battle Mode, unlocked once you complete the main game.
Best Ending Ever - 50 Points - Watch the entire ending, and the credits.
Luck Dragon - 10 Points - Play the Falkor Minigame, unlocked once you complete the main game.
Private Party - 50 Points - Near the end of the first Double Dragon level, there will be two lines on a wall at the right of the screen. Go between the lines and climb up beyond the top of the screen.
Thriller - 10 Points - Go forward into the Water Mario level for a while, and defeat Mecha-Fish. Return to the start of the level to see the dancing zombies.
Friendly Foes - 10 Points - Execute the Friendship move during the Urban Champion level. Wait around after Shao Khan says FINISH HIM, and you'll get the directions.
Another Castle - 25 Points - Find Toad in the Zelda level, and kill him with a Bullet Bill.
Kill The Messenger - 25 Points - Kill the guy who tells you the old man doesn't like beef.
Sneaky - 10 Points - Sneak past Aquamentus (the green dragon in the Zelda level) without defeating him.
No Filming - 5 Points - Kill the Cameraman in the Pro Wrestling Level.
Bloodsport - 5 Points - Kill the Ref in the Pro Wrestling Level.
Surf's Up - 5 Points - Bop the head of Surfing Thrilla Gorilla in the Balloon Fight Level.
Jason Lives - 5 Points - Once you defeat the Blaster Master Tank in the Megabobo level, a harmless little guy will come out. Let him live to get this medal.
Fire Bad! - 25 Points - On the vertical scrolling part of the Contrabobo level, extinguish the fire on the bridge by shooting it. This takes, like a million bullets to do.
Double Trouble - 25 Points - Unlock Two Player Mode in Contrabobo by entering the Konami Code.
Thanks Doc - 10 Points - In between Punch-Out rounds, tap [S] to get a boost of health.
Thanks to Tricky for the walkthrough!
Posted by: Mike
|
January 18, 2012 9:56 PM