Mostly unfair review;
Fire 'n Ice is a solid puzzler but Catrap (1990 Game Boy) has irreparably harmed how I view puzzlers of this type from the era. It's not Fire 'n Ice's fault Catrap exists, or that I played it a couple years back. But the quality of life that Catrap's rewind added to the genre era is just something I can't come back from.
Fire 'n Ice has a good gimmick/hook and most of the puzzles are well designed. I just don't want to have to start a puzzle over because I made a mistake on step 22 of 30. I could save scum after every move sure, but man. Catrap really ruined a whole generation and style of puzzlers for me.
I would also argue that the difficulty arc in Fire 'n Ice has some real random peaks that stand out far too much for their order in the game. But maybe I was just looking for a way out. Ultimately I shelved at the final of World 4.
The art and animation got me as far as I did get. It's most definitely a late in the NES lifespan game in that respect. Really smooth sprite animations.
[Emulated/played on Anbernic RG35XX]
Fire 'n Ice is a solid puzzler but Catrap (1990 Game Boy) has irreparably harmed how I view puzzlers of this type from the era. It's not Fire 'n Ice's fault Catrap exists, or that I played it a couple years back. But the quality of life that Catrap's rewind added to the genre era is just something I can't come back from.
Fire 'n Ice has a good gimmick/hook and most of the puzzles are well designed. I just don't want to have to start a puzzle over because I made a mistake on step 22 of 30. I could save scum after every move sure, but man. Catrap really ruined a whole generation and style of puzzlers for me.
I would also argue that the difficulty arc in Fire 'n Ice has some real random peaks that stand out far too much for their order in the game. But maybe I was just looking for a way out. Ultimately I shelved at the final of World 4.
The art and animation got me as far as I did get. It's most definitely a late in the NES lifespan game in that respect. Really smooth sprite animations.
[Emulated/played on Anbernic RG35XX]