Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (25th Apr. – 1st May, 2023).
In 1991, Bethesda released a very literal adaptation of Where's Waldo (1991) for the NES, which is remembered for its structural mediocrity. Finding Waldo on the horribly pixelated screens was obnoxious, and the game never really captured the spirit of the books. The Great Waldo Search (1992) on the SNES attempted to rectify the problem with much more detailed backgrounds and a slightly impressionistic art style, but proved to be particularly trivial and failed to justify a video game adaptation. In the same year, SEGA released its own version for arcade machines, with a more frantic formula and an emphasis on player competition. While the goal is still to find Waldo, the stages are now more dynamic and players have to deal with a very tight timer.
Interestingly, the title focuses on the player's reflexes and the element of luck. In the stationary scenes, finding Waldo is mostly a matter of speed, while the fast-moving scenes force players to spot a few pixels that give away the iconic character. Whether he is hiding in a coffin, a bathroom stall or a train carriage, it is up to the fastest and luckiest player to find his hiding place. It is difficult not to see in Wally wo Sagase! an indirect precursor to the WarioWare microgames, a decade before the Nintendo title was released. Most likely, Wally wo Sagase! was inspired by Japanese game shows filled with breathless absurdity. The game's sound effects, for example, are very similar to those of the TV show Magical Zunō Power (1990-1999), as is its division into several separate events. The sequences in which Waldo must be found are similar to the buzzer questions, while the mini-game at the end of the level mimics the more playful trials of the show.
Fully embracing the chaotic philosophy of the game show, Wally wo Sagase! proves to be a rather nebulous experience for a single player; it is in competition that its potential is revealed and the buzzer-shaped trackpad comes fully into its own. It is a shame that the timer for each screen is so tight and that some of the concepts work a little less effectively, such as the levels where players have to find the differences. It is when the title gets frenetic that it manages to be an intelligent adaptation of the source material, bringing something that the books cannot replicate. The arcade structure of the game, with the necessity to use credits, somewhat detracts from the overall concept, but Wally wo Sagase! is a rather addictive, if unexpected, experience. It comes as no surprise that the title was never localised in the West, probably out of fear that the concept would alienate Western audiences.
In 1991, Bethesda released a very literal adaptation of Where's Waldo (1991) for the NES, which is remembered for its structural mediocrity. Finding Waldo on the horribly pixelated screens was obnoxious, and the game never really captured the spirit of the books. The Great Waldo Search (1992) on the SNES attempted to rectify the problem with much more detailed backgrounds and a slightly impressionistic art style, but proved to be particularly trivial and failed to justify a video game adaptation. In the same year, SEGA released its own version for arcade machines, with a more frantic formula and an emphasis on player competition. While the goal is still to find Waldo, the stages are now more dynamic and players have to deal with a very tight timer.
Interestingly, the title focuses on the player's reflexes and the element of luck. In the stationary scenes, finding Waldo is mostly a matter of speed, while the fast-moving scenes force players to spot a few pixels that give away the iconic character. Whether he is hiding in a coffin, a bathroom stall or a train carriage, it is up to the fastest and luckiest player to find his hiding place. It is difficult not to see in Wally wo Sagase! an indirect precursor to the WarioWare microgames, a decade before the Nintendo title was released. Most likely, Wally wo Sagase! was inspired by Japanese game shows filled with breathless absurdity. The game's sound effects, for example, are very similar to those of the TV show Magical Zunō Power (1990-1999), as is its division into several separate events. The sequences in which Waldo must be found are similar to the buzzer questions, while the mini-game at the end of the level mimics the more playful trials of the show.
Fully embracing the chaotic philosophy of the game show, Wally wo Sagase! proves to be a rather nebulous experience for a single player; it is in competition that its potential is revealed and the buzzer-shaped trackpad comes fully into its own. It is a shame that the timer for each screen is so tight and that some of the concepts work a little less effectively, such as the levels where players have to find the differences. It is when the title gets frenetic that it manages to be an intelligent adaptation of the source material, bringing something that the books cannot replicate. The arcade structure of the game, with the necessity to use credits, somewhat detracts from the overall concept, but Wally wo Sagase! is a rather addictive, if unexpected, experience. It comes as no surprise that the title was never localised in the West, probably out of fear that the concept would alienate Western audiences.