 It can be tough reviewing a game that's meant for kids, because, well, I'm 38. That is the opposite of a kid. That is old. So when it comes to games like Mickey's Ultimate Challenge or Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends or whatever, I don't even know if those games really are any good for kids, just that they're incredibly dull for adults. There is a kids game, however, that stayed in Japan called Wagon Paradise for Super Famicom, developed by Namco, and it was made in 1994. It's actually pretty dang good, albeit with some language obstacles you'll have to deal with, but still it's a really well made platformer with some clever level design, a great look, and an incredible soundtrack. I should mention first off that this is actually the sixth game in a series which started on Famicom with Wagon Land. That game got two sequels on that platform, while the series migrated over to the Super Famicom with Super Wagon Land, which got its own sequel, making Wagon Paradise the third game of its kind on Super Famicom. You play as a pair of siblings, Takuto and Karin. You can choose who you'd like to play as at the menu at the beginning, and you must fight the numbers clan, people from an underground civilization, because they must guarantee that Skynet becomes self-aware and turns against the human race creating a nuclear holocaust, and I totally just made that up because I really have no idea what the heck is going on here. I do know that a Wagon is some kind of mecha dinosaur creature thing that has the ability to stun enemies with shouting, which creates a projectile that floats across the screen in a straight line, and they can also float a bit, using their tail if you hold the jump button down. Takuto is a bit faster, but Karin can float a bit longer. Now, one thing I should point out that may turn some people away is that this is one of those games where it's one hit deaths, and any enemy or obstacle can kill you instantly. Your projectile doesn't kill enemies, it only stuns them, and they stay stunned for like 10 full seconds, so you can use them as platforms to reach areas you otherwise couldn't. And hey, in some cases, if there are no enemies to stun, you can use your own projectile, like how it freezes in this level. You get three lives to get through 29 levels, and the level design here is where this game really shines. First of all, the colors used here are reminiscent of games like Plock and Kirby Superstar. This game is right there at the same level as those two games visually. You've got this weird mirrored effect going on in this level here, or this cool lighting effect as you dive underwater. Even your character sprite has different shading effects based on where you are in this weird world. The design and structure itself is also really clever, like how you're sliding downhill, racing in oncoming avalanche, then later racing lava down a volcano. Although to me, this looks closer to spaghetti, sauce, and meatballs. You also ride this lava up and out of a volcano, ride a roller coaster while jumping between cars, all while freezing enemies with your projectile to make sure that you can make your way across what can be some surprisingly tricky jumps. The best endorsement I can give the level design here is that it takes tired, annoying design concepts like underwater stuff and auto-scrolling levels, and God, do I hate auto-scrolling. And it makes them seem fun. Swimming is easy and not frustratingly slow like it is in some games. And this auto-scrolling level where you float around with a jet pack is pretty creative and actually fun. There is one big problem here, though. This game has yet to receive any kind of English patch, so you got to play it as is, which is tough because, well, this is a kid's game. So instead of boss fights, you've got mini-games, and many of these are based on the Japanese wordplay game Shiritori, where for example here you have to match the image to the word that comes up. And each word starts with the final kana of the previous word. If you don't understand Japanese, this is just a total guessing game. Sure, you can use save states to get by, but that'd be kind of a chore. Heck, even the final boss fight is just a mini-game gauntlet. The thing is, though, Wagon Paradise has so many strengths that I'm willing to overlook that and be perfectly okay with an occasional guessing game. I mean, for one thing, just listen to this music. That is insanely high quality for a Super Nintendo game. It's incredibly energetic, and it's on par with some of the best Kirby music out there. Heck, certain tracks even remind me of something out of the Katamari series with your main character's blood-curdling scream when he stuns an enemy, and it gives the game a strange vibe, which I really like. I should mention quickly that this game does have a two-player mode, but it's not the regular game with two-player co-op. It's just a two-player versus game, where you play all the mini-games against each other. I should also mention that you can control the difficulty level here before you get started by switching this number up top. It's asking for your age here, so the lower the number, the easier the game. But yeah, Wagon Paradise has so much going for it. It's a really sharp-looking game with some great level design and some amazing music, but unfortunately, the lack of an English patch is gonna keep some people away from this one. At worst, I would say just file this game away until someone does create an English patch. But if you want to give this a go, as is, I say go for it. Yeah, the one-hit deaths are a bummer, but the mechanic of using an enemy as a platform, as well as the inventive level design, makes this one a really fun and interesting platformer. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.