Game Review: Captain Planet

Review: Captain Planet (Amiga)

When my brother and I first received an Amiga as a Christmas present it came with a boxed set of dozens of games. Amongst the selection was Captain Planet. Anyone from my generation will surely remember the TV series where a group of eco warriors with elemental rings went into battle against evil polluters and their combined forces could summon Captain Planet to help them out. It was a classic series which was educational as well as entertaining. The game sought to capture some of that magic.

Divided into six levels, Captain Planet has each of the five Planeteers having to negotiate a level alone, clearing up nuclear waste, avoiding or killing enemies they come across and having to accomplish a series of tasks. A major clean-up of the environment is your first objective but you will also need to rescue animals that are scattered throughout the level and either guide or carry them to safety. To begin with you can play through two levels, choosing either Wheeler’s simple opening challenge or Gi’s more tricky second level. When you complete one level, an additional one becomes available with Ma-Ti’s level being the third, followed by Linka and finally Kwame. Once all five levels are complete, there is a final level involving Captain Planet himself.

Visually, Captain Planet was distinctly average even back in the early nineties but it was a pretty fun game all the same. The problem came with the game’s difficulty. Wheeler’s level is really easy but I always struggled with Gi’s level and hated myself whenever I accidentally killed the innocent dolphins. Ma-Ti and Linka’s levels were always more straightforward in my opinion whereas Kwame’s was more difficult. We then come to Captain Planet’s level which isn’t worth the wait to be honest. Our superhero has access to all the elemental abilities of the Planeteers but he can only carry two at a time. In order to progress through his level you are compelled to backtrack to collect a certain element that will help unlock new and unexplored areas. This proves frustrating as you close on the concluding battle.

Captain Planet instilled the same nostalgia I’ve felt with every Amiga game I’ve revisited but this is certainly one of the weaker efforts unfortunately. While playable and fun in places, it also has some pretty difficult levels and playing as Captain Planet is nowhere near as much fun as the Planeteers. You will feel good cleaning up the environment but you’ll hate yourself if you kill any animals and it’s sadly too easy to do. Better graphics and a different approach to the final level would have improved this game greatly. Good memories but not the Amiga’s finest hour.

Verdict: 3/5

About the Author:

I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.

David M. Brown – who has written 839 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.