One of the best action-platformers on NES, from an obscure license. Varied levels, differentiated playable characters, lush visuals. Konami at the peak of its craft. Essential.
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Platformer1 player7+
Description
Action platformer featuring Bucky O'Hare and allies liberating planets from the Toads' grip. Published by Konami, released in Europe in 1992. Four playable characters with distinct abilities in varied planet levels, impressive bosses and high-quality NES visuals. A Konami masterpiece on NES, adapted from the comics.
A Konami adaptation of the eponymous cartoon, released in PAL late in the NES cycle with a particularly short European run. The PAL cart hits the very top of NES PAL collector pricing, and CIB in an intact cardboard box is one of the acknowledged grails for EU Konami purists. The scarcity is real, not perceived, and shows no sign of fading without any physical reissue.
An underrated gem
Adapted from a quickly forgotten cartoon, this Konami platformer more than makes up for it with clever level design, four heroes with complementary powers, and a difficulty that pulls no punches. Its obscure license worked against it with the public. Fans of tough, colorful platformers have a neglected little gem on their hands.
Is Bucky O'Hare still worth playing in 2026?
Bucky O'Hare is one of the NES's best action platformers, drawn from an obscure licence Konami turns into pure masterpiece. Varied levels, four playable characters with genuinely distinct abilities, sumptuous visuals and a memorable soundtrack build a title that deserved far greater fame. The difficulty is demanding but fair, and the staging keeps surprising. For Konami at the height of its 8-bit art and lovers of overlooked NES carts, still an absolute must to track down today and revisit with care.
