To my knowledge, Looney Tunes is of a few licensed properties to get not one, but multiple games that are deemed to be Actually Good. Makes sense, when something’s been around as long as those dastardly scoundrels, ruffians, and downright bonkers bamboozlers, you’re bound to find nuggets of gold among the pile. I actually tried Sheep Raider - known as Sheep Dog N Wolf in PAL regions - out for a fair bit back in 2019 with its PC port, which is quite easy to set up surprisingly enough, but only now finished it w/ the PS1 version cause of convenience, CRT shader option, and finally cause I was too lazy to adjust the brightness option of the PC port to be on the same level as the PS1’s. As for why I chose this as my first LT venture over the likes of the two racing games, the more known cult classic Lost In Time, or dive into the wacky world that is the Crazy Castle series, there’s two reasons: the soundtrack composed by Eric Caspar, and the use of Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.
It’s become rather childish and demeaning to go “why’d they go THIS HARD for a LICENSED GAME SOUNDTRACK” in regards to compositions, but I am nonetheless stunned over the effort Eric has exerted when it came to crafting the Jazzstep sound. In more (woefully) simplified terms, it’s the merry and melodic relationship of Jazzy acoustics and instrumentals, mixed in with Jungle’s breakneck layers via the synaptic tones of steady bass and chaotic drums, resulting in a wonderfully atmospheric, head-boppin, laid-back and just plain bangin ass music. It might not fit the Tunes’ brand in your ears at first, but over time you’ll quickly get used to it when doing the puzzles, thanks to when they’re used in each level. Similar thought process went to the two characters here; I don’t think Sam and Ralph are particularly popular within the massive gallery, so seeing something revolve around their formula as a whole puzzle package makes it, to me, much more distinct and appealing to pick up and try out in comparison. Not to say it’s just them and the sheep though, Daffy Duck’s the host and is readily providing quips and/or contributions to the goings on of a level dressed in appropriate costumes, Roadrunner shows up at the beginning in a familiar sequence, folks like Porky Pig, Toro The Bull, Yosemite Sam and Marvin The Martian are used for a level or two for something, even the audience in this faux game show setting are just the various casts found within the shorts… repeated multiple times even! It might be Ralph’s time on the spotlight, but it’ll never let up on the classic antics, devious contraptions sometimes provided by ACME, and aesthetical charm both in loading screens and gameplay. This level of detail is supposedly a common element during Infogrames’ run of the IP, and if that’s the case with the other titles, at least I know I’m in good hands.
Dedicating a paragraph covering the oozing charm understandably gives off a worrying omen, but it should be stressed that the core puzzle elements of this are pretty damn good as well. One level will have you tiptoeing into and around rocks to avoid Sam’s gaze, guiding a sheep back away with lettuce. Another will have you using a metal detector to unveil where mines could be hidden under the snow, then when picking a sheep up using the newly made footprints as a sign to go back the way you came. Two more will center around traveling to and back in periods of time, changing one part of the past to influence the structure of the present. It’s not often levels of differing environments will share the same sort of objects, and with the intro sequence of each being a flyby of what’s to come as a signifier of the game show frame - or, perhaps, a cartoon - as well as a way to gauge certain ideas to carry out, it helps keep each locale fresh. The various tools you pick up from mailboxes or interact within the stage keeps it up too, such as having to use a hairdryer to melt sheep after pushing/putting one down the icy water in order to bring them to the other side, or using the bungee rope in a variety of ways to move onward. Do wish there was more centering around the brand itself, though. I mean, it’s Looney Tunes! These rascals always carry out some sort of mischief and mayhem to themselves and/or others! While it was nice to see Sam carry out a cheeky counter after a failed flute hypnosis following a level focused squarely on that, or Gossamer being chased by Toro, or how the time clocks of Ralph and Sam’s cartoons are now objectified as hidden collectibles to obtain bonus points, it still feels somewhat lacking in this regard to a degree. Other than that personal nitpick, along with there being a low curve when it comes to upping the ante (despite appearing in the select menu, you don’t do much item combining until the 11th level of a 17-run deal), I’m surprised at how consistent the game is in terms of quality. There’s only a handful of low points during the runtime, and it’s when they’re the amalgamation of the two major issues in the package: the camera and wait tax.
As much of an easy target as it is to point out a bad camera during this era, it really has to be said due to its dessssssssspicable nature. You can only move the camera left or right with the shoulder buttons or the right stick of a dualshock, with up and down movements being done either a first person view or whenever the game provides fixed angles sufficient and needed when reaching specific spots of the area. While this sounds fine on paper and even sometimes in execution, there are cases where the camera swings and snags onto the boundary so wildly, it can cause an eyesore, ‘death’ (there’s no lives or a game over, getting hit just sends you back from before what happened), or both. While granted it didn’t lead to too many unfair circumstances, the occurrence of them was just enough that I felt it was a harm to the experience. There’s also the abundant of little moment-to-moment plays that add up to the tedium of waiting on things to happen. The swim speed is pathetically slow, meaning that it was slightly faster to just rise up to the surface and continuously jump to get somewhere; the device that allows you to time travel has animations that play out each and every time you get into the vortex, and considering your time in the past isn’t spent so much, the amount you see from this back-and-forth add up to a rather dull experience; even certain levels unnecessarily pad themselves out, like in Level 10 where after doing a dull and rather strict cannon launches compounded by ones that’ll automatically fire at you the moment you enter their field, you also have a three-pattern bout against Gossamer right before the finish line, having to dizzy it up and rotate a cog for a beam of light to shine onto it. Puzzle games by design are made to be played for a few hours or so before putting it down, and Sheep Raider certainly feels as such with how often I took breaks between each section. I’m also questioning if some sequences even properly indicate what you’re supposed to do before moving on, but considering the last few levels were when I was feeling quite bitter and impatient (unrelated to the game itself, to be clear), as well as it generously giving you back the items needed to progress after a capture and how this only happened like, two or three times overall, I’m willing to chalk this up to being a rare yet preventable problem that, at worst, means having to face an intentional loss.
Yea... not much else to say, really! Fun game, glad I finally got around to finishing this after almost half a decade of time has passed. Dunno when I’ll do another licensed marathon, but hopefully some will be able to entertain me as much as this one has, whenever that may be.
It’s become rather childish and demeaning to go “why’d they go THIS HARD for a LICENSED GAME SOUNDTRACK” in regards to compositions, but I am nonetheless stunned over the effort Eric has exerted when it came to crafting the Jazzstep sound. In more (woefully) simplified terms, it’s the merry and melodic relationship of Jazzy acoustics and instrumentals, mixed in with Jungle’s breakneck layers via the synaptic tones of steady bass and chaotic drums, resulting in a wonderfully atmospheric, head-boppin, laid-back and just plain bangin ass music. It might not fit the Tunes’ brand in your ears at first, but over time you’ll quickly get used to it when doing the puzzles, thanks to when they’re used in each level. Similar thought process went to the two characters here; I don’t think Sam and Ralph are particularly popular within the massive gallery, so seeing something revolve around their formula as a whole puzzle package makes it, to me, much more distinct and appealing to pick up and try out in comparison. Not to say it’s just them and the sheep though, Daffy Duck’s the host and is readily providing quips and/or contributions to the goings on of a level dressed in appropriate costumes, Roadrunner shows up at the beginning in a familiar sequence, folks like Porky Pig, Toro The Bull, Yosemite Sam and Marvin The Martian are used for a level or two for something, even the audience in this faux game show setting are just the various casts found within the shorts… repeated multiple times even! It might be Ralph’s time on the spotlight, but it’ll never let up on the classic antics, devious contraptions sometimes provided by ACME, and aesthetical charm both in loading screens and gameplay. This level of detail is supposedly a common element during Infogrames’ run of the IP, and if that’s the case with the other titles, at least I know I’m in good hands.
Dedicating a paragraph covering the oozing charm understandably gives off a worrying omen, but it should be stressed that the core puzzle elements of this are pretty damn good as well. One level will have you tiptoeing into and around rocks to avoid Sam’s gaze, guiding a sheep back away with lettuce. Another will have you using a metal detector to unveil where mines could be hidden under the snow, then when picking a sheep up using the newly made footprints as a sign to go back the way you came. Two more will center around traveling to and back in periods of time, changing one part of the past to influence the structure of the present. It’s not often levels of differing environments will share the same sort of objects, and with the intro sequence of each being a flyby of what’s to come as a signifier of the game show frame - or, perhaps, a cartoon - as well as a way to gauge certain ideas to carry out, it helps keep each locale fresh. The various tools you pick up from mailboxes or interact within the stage keeps it up too, such as having to use a hairdryer to melt sheep after pushing/putting one down the icy water in order to bring them to the other side, or using the bungee rope in a variety of ways to move onward. Do wish there was more centering around the brand itself, though. I mean, it’s Looney Tunes! These rascals always carry out some sort of mischief and mayhem to themselves and/or others! While it was nice to see Sam carry out a cheeky counter after a failed flute hypnosis following a level focused squarely on that, or Gossamer being chased by Toro, or how the time clocks of Ralph and Sam’s cartoons are now objectified as hidden collectibles to obtain bonus points, it still feels somewhat lacking in this regard to a degree. Other than that personal nitpick, along with there being a low curve when it comes to upping the ante (despite appearing in the select menu, you don’t do much item combining until the 11th level of a 17-run deal), I’m surprised at how consistent the game is in terms of quality. There’s only a handful of low points during the runtime, and it’s when they’re the amalgamation of the two major issues in the package: the camera and wait tax.
As much of an easy target as it is to point out a bad camera during this era, it really has to be said due to its dessssssssspicable nature. You can only move the camera left or right with the shoulder buttons or the right stick of a dualshock, with up and down movements being done either a first person view or whenever the game provides fixed angles sufficient and needed when reaching specific spots of the area. While this sounds fine on paper and even sometimes in execution, there are cases where the camera swings and snags onto the boundary so wildly, it can cause an eyesore, ‘death’ (there’s no lives or a game over, getting hit just sends you back from before what happened), or both. While granted it didn’t lead to too many unfair circumstances, the occurrence of them was just enough that I felt it was a harm to the experience. There’s also the abundant of little moment-to-moment plays that add up to the tedium of waiting on things to happen. The swim speed is pathetically slow, meaning that it was slightly faster to just rise up to the surface and continuously jump to get somewhere; the device that allows you to time travel has animations that play out each and every time you get into the vortex, and considering your time in the past isn’t spent so much, the amount you see from this back-and-forth add up to a rather dull experience; even certain levels unnecessarily pad themselves out, like in Level 10 where after doing a dull and rather strict cannon launches compounded by ones that’ll automatically fire at you the moment you enter their field, you also have a three-pattern bout against Gossamer right before the finish line, having to dizzy it up and rotate a cog for a beam of light to shine onto it. Puzzle games by design are made to be played for a few hours or so before putting it down, and Sheep Raider certainly feels as such with how often I took breaks between each section. I’m also questioning if some sequences even properly indicate what you’re supposed to do before moving on, but considering the last few levels were when I was feeling quite bitter and impatient (unrelated to the game itself, to be clear), as well as it generously giving you back the items needed to progress after a capture and how this only happened like, two or three times overall, I’m willing to chalk this up to being a rare yet preventable problem that, at worst, means having to face an intentional loss.
Yea... not much else to say, really! Fun game, glad I finally got around to finishing this after almost half a decade of time has passed. Dunno when I’ll do another licensed marathon, but hopefully some will be able to entertain me as much as this one has, whenever that may be.