A western Nintendo NES exclusive. Mike Jones explores tropical islands with a yo-yo as weapon. Original hybrid action-RPG adventure. Excellent and little known outside the USA.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player7+
Description
Action-adventure featuring Mike Jones exploring the C-Islands to solve mysteries and save his uncle. Published by Nintendo, released in the USA in 1990. Mike in top-down view with a yo-yo as weapon, tropical island exploration and puzzles to solve. A Nintendo exclusive on NES.
StarTropics review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The tropical islands are drawn in bright colours and seen from above, villages, beaches, jungles, with cave interiors cut into square rooms. The hero with the baseball bat stands out through his simple silhouette, and the dialogue scenes lean on portraits drawn in a western comic style.
The accompaniment mixes island colours and adventure themes: light percussion, singing melodies, a few darker motifs for the caves. Each island gets its theme, and the battle passages keep a moderate tempo that preserves the overall gentleness, in keeping with a story turned toward exploration.
An action adventure from Nintendo, StarTropics follows young Mike Jones exploring a tropical archipelago to find his vanished uncle, in a top down dungeon structure inspired by Zelda, punctuated by puzzles, yo-yo combat and careful storytelling. The blend of adventure, exploration and good natured humour, tailored for the Western audience, makes it a singular, endearing title. The pace and difficulty stay well balanced. For a retro action adventure fan, someone curious about an overlooked Nintendo production or a collector, the title keeps a remarkable charm and quality.
