Casper (SNES)
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 If you want to play a good Casper game on the SNES, then you should definitely play the Japan-exclusive game rather than this game.
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Casper is a 1996 action-adventure video game based on the 1995 film of the same name, which in turn is based on the ghost character of the same name, developed by Absolute Entertainment and published by Natsume Inc. for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Gameplay
The player controls Casper who is followed by Kat Harvey, and he has to protect her from any danger. Being a ghost, Casper can pass through walls and other obstacles, unlike in most Casper games, but he can't go away from Kat too much or else Carrigan's ghost will abduct her. The game follows loosely the plot of the film. This game uses a revised Absolute A Boy and His Blob engine. Picking up special objects allows Casper to morph into these objects to clear rooms of enemies, and to protect Kat from certain hazards. Mirrors placed throughout the game allows Casper and Kat travel to other parts of mansion, and outside electrical lines allow Casper to pick up the last of the toys when he picks up the electric bolt morph.
Why It's Not Lucky Enough To Be A Ghost
- Very stiff and sluggish controls, as it takes half a second to get Casper moving anywhere across the screen, regardless of what form he's in.
- Most parts of the game don't even make sense, an example being that Casper can get hit by objects such as books despite being a ghost of all things.
- Repetitive and boring gameplay. While Casper can turn into various objects, you can only do one thing with them. Cycling through them is also a chore as you have to spam through them just to get to the one you want.
- Kat Harvey's AI can be quite frustrating at times, an example being her not jumping down holes so that Casper can catch her once turning into the pillow, forcing the player to have to go back up just so she could do so.
- The Ghostly Trio in this game are very annoying, as you almost always randomly encounter them in certain rooms, in which they don't take all that much skill to beat and can be defeated really quickly, as all you have to do turn into a certain object and attack them while in it or deflect any projectile they try throwing at you back at them. Rinse and repeat.
- The final boss in this game is against Carrigan herself, while a bit challenging, is still not enough to be good, and is mostly the same as the other bosses, as all you have to do is avoid her goo and reflect her laser beams that she tries shooting at you back at her, and that's it.
- Awful soundtrack that is horribly repetitive and doesn't even match the premise of the game, not to mention that there's only one music in the entire game!
- No reward for completing the game whatsoever. No modes unlocked, no levels unlocked, just nothing, as all there is is just text that says "The End" and afterward the credits.
- It doesn't even bother trying to explain the plot of the movie to you properly, as if you didn't read what the text on the back of the box says then you would have no idea on what's going on in the game.
- All of the rooms in the mansion look the exact same, making it very easy for the player to get lost unless if they know the way through the mirrors.
- The game can get boring really quickly due to how repetitive it is.
- The graphics are absolutely horrendous and look like a bad looking early SNES game, since the graphics lack so much details and the sprites are awful, even Super Mario World looks better than this, and that game came out in 1990.
- It ended Absolute Entertainment's career on a poor note, as it was the last game they developed before going defunct.
The Only Redeeming Quality
- At least Casper can actually go through walls like he is supposed to, despite the poor execution.
Reception
The game received negative reviews. On GameFAQs, it has a 2.15/5 rating.[1]
References
Videos