Yo! Noid

Yo! Noid
Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Nintendo Entertainment System Release: JP: March 16, 1990 NA: November 22, 1990 Developer(s): Now Production Publisher(s): Capcom Successor: Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void (unofficial sequel)

Yo! Noid is a platform game developed by Now Production and was published by Capcom and was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and PlayChoice-10 in 1990 to advertise the mascot of Domino's Pizza in the 1980s. It is actually a reskin of the Japan-exclusive Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru, also developed by Now Production.

Plot

In Yo! Noid, wild creatures led by Mr. Green are running amok around New York City. As they cause havoc, the Mayor of New York decides to call upon the Noid to stop his evil duplicate, save everyone, and give him a massive pizza reward.

Development

Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru was based on the Wagan Land engine. During American localization, Capcom teamed up with Domino's Pizza to promote the Noid by changing a lot of graphics, sound, and presentation. However, none of the game mechanics were changed. The localized game was released in the rest of the world as Yo! Noid in November 1990. Most of the music was reused for Yo! Noid, changing a few tunes and creating a few new tracks for a more American atmosphere. Namco Bandai Games published the Wagan Land series, and Capcom published both Hanamaru and Yo! Noid.

Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru was first released in Japan on March 16, 1990.

Bad Qualities

1. Some of the enemies make no sense, such as a balloon that can kill you in level 4, instead of being a bonus item.
2. The Noid on the title screen looks ugly and disgusting to look at and even looks like a rejected Superman character.
3. Spelling errors: For example, Mayor is misspelled as "Mayer". Did the developers of this game really mess up on the spelling when they made this?
4. The controls can take a bit of time to get used to, due to being a little bit clunky, but despite that, they are decent (see GQ#2).
5. The game is quite short, lasting only 40 minutes and if you're skilled enough, you might beat this game in only 30 minutes.
6. The main draw of the game is the one hit kill, if you get hit one time, you're dead, making this game harder than it's supposed to, it's also not helped by BQ#5.
7. There are no checkpoints, making this game very unfair and hard for no reason along with the one hit kill.
8. Sometime, the level design can be bad, especially in level 4, level 7, level 8 that are the best examples.
9. Major plot holes: Examples being at the final level, where you have to whack a generic villain that looks like a King Kong reject.

Good Qualities

1. The graphics are great, even for a 1990 NES game, since it's very detailled and colorful, and it's quite cartoony, making the graphics and even the game faithful to the Noid.
   • The sprites work is also very great and look almost like it's was release in 1992, instead of 1990, especially the Noid sprite, the ennemies also have a nice sprite work.
2. Despite the controls being a bit clunky, they are tight and responsive.
3. The game is not bad and is actually fun for the most parts, it's just that it's flaws and it's reception prevent it to be on the good media.
4. It's received a fan made sequel in 2017 titled Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void which is much better and is even an amazing game by the way.
5. Decent soundtrack.
6. The level design is decent for most of the level, despite some of them having bad level design.
7. At least it's better than Avoid the Noid on PC which was just an awful game compared to this one.

Reception

The game received mixed to negative reviews.

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