Presenting, SMS game of the week #8
6/9/04
Name: "Les Schtroumpfs Autour Du Monde"
"The Smurfs Travel the World" aka "Smurfs 2"
Released: 1996
Publisher: Infogrames
Genre: Platformer
Considered by many to be the rarest game "released" for the Master System, this game was only discovered in Spring 2000. It was thought to be previously unreleased, the three Finnish collectors Mikko, Manu and Ville of
www.pelikonepeijoonit.net discovered it when on holiday in the Czech Republic.
There are only limited copies in existence, the number being the amount the Finns could carry home in their suitcases! Since then, no other sources for the game have been discovered.
Released by the French company Infogrames in 1996, a poster is bundled inside the box as an extra, this was a time when the Master System was mostly dead, and even the Megadrive was beginning to hobble it's last steps...
Box scan (courtesy of
www.smspower.org) (See end of article for more various pictures)
But, I hear you say? is the game any good, well I'm here to tell you!
First Impressions[/u]
Box art, very colourful, quite nice, much improved on the "gridline" "5 year old kid" art on early SMS games. Features Smurf and Smurfette twirling around on the world, in gigantic form!
Storyline[/u]
"Inquisitive Smurf and Smurfette have broken the magic crystal and now they are being taken off to various parts of the world. Collect all the crystals to be found along your route. To reveal them, brave the sea-lions of the North Pole, the Indians of America, and the octopuses of the deep... Only after you have smurfted all these challenges and many others will you be able to return to the village..."
So basically.. the world's full of rubbish.. yes, rubbish, which you have to collect on the way
Primary Goal : Collect the Crystals
Secondary Goal : Collect the Rubbish
You must collect all of the Crystals on a level to progress to the next level. If you collect 65 pieces of rubbish (apple cores, etc) then you get an extra life (aren't apple cores bio-degradable? )
The game display features an image of Smurf, indicating how many lives you have, a gold heart, which indicates the number of hits you can get from enemies before you die, and a crystal, indicating how many crystals you have, with another crystal at the bottom of the screen telling you how many are left to collect.
But how does it play?[/b]
Quite well actually! allthough it is frustrating when you miss a crystal, they can be lying around on the level, or you may have to kill enemies, and when they disappear a crystal is revealed, you need to get all of them to complete the level, so if you miss any be prepared to backtrack.
The rubbish seems to have no purpose other than giving an extra life when you collect 65 pieces. When you pick up a blue heart, it gives you an extra hit point.
You can tell some effort has been put into this game, the levels are varied, and the enemies are suprisingly varied. The graphics are nice, and animation moves smoothly. The music is OK, but very repetitive, so be prepared to be fustrated if your playing this game for a long sitting.
There are nice touches such as Crocodiles in the Africa level, which you jump on and propel you into the air, sea lions on the North Pole level that bounce snowballs at you! You can actually kick, so this means you can kick snowballs back at them with some skill, or kick enemies directly (you've got stubby short feet though so dont expect a miracle attack!)
The environments are realistic, for example, the North Pole level is full of ice, so you move faster along the floor, and it takes you longer to stop. Falling into water causes immediate death, which can be quite annoying!
I found the game difficult at first, but with a small amount of practice it becomes fairly easy to get further in the levels.
It uses a password system so if you complete a level you can go back without having to do it all over again. If you loose all your levels however be prepared for a quite startling return to the start of the level and have to collect all the crystals again!
It does become trickier later on, crystals are in awkward places.
Overall a nice little game, that was perhaps a bit late to sell and be a success, good graphics and playability will give you some enjoyment, but replayability will be low, if at all.
Playability: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 5/10
Re-playability: 1/10
Rarity: R9+ ?
Overall 7/10
Your special assignment is to acquire a copy of this game, good luck!
ROM link (for use with MEKA) :
homepage.ntlworld.com/barber.james/Smurfs2.zipMy setup used for testing the game, which is basically an SMS 1, modified with a 50/60hz switch,
I played the game mostly in 60hz, its fantastic compared to that 50hz rubbish! Of course, I've got a SCART lead in there too! (Crystal clear picture and sound)
Well there it is folks.. let me know if you can find the actual cart!
Brand new.. !
