Tanglewood

The Good
Tanglewood is a joy to behold. Instead of being a retro styled game, which actually does far more than any retro console could, Tanglewood is an actual Genesis (Megadrive in my land) release. Built from the ground up on original Sega development hardware, the game takes what was good about the classic platformers of the day, and works in many gameplay elements from modern times to keep things fresh and entertaining. Wonderful graphics (character animation is so smooth) for the hardware, and inspired sound design.

The Bad
Very occasionally the jumping wasn't as responsive as I'd like. That's about it. The rest is solid.

The Bottom Line
A puzzle platformer which borrows elements from Another World, Flashback, Limbo, and The Lion King, bringing them all together into a complete and original package. A true modern retro game for a classic system. A great evolution of the mascot platformer that takes itself just seriously enough.

The Good
The controls are pretty straightforward and should be familiar to anyone familiar with retro platformers. The game takes inspiration from puzzle games like Flashback, but thankfully did not inherit the movement style. The jumping and movement is nice and smooth, as it should be. Nymn's running motion reminds me of classic Sega game The Lion King, which is a very good thing.

The graphics are really good for a Sega game. The game has bright, vibrant details to bring the forest to life. The mood of the forest at night is well-conveyed. The artwork is beautiful and there is plenty of variety between the levels.

The sound in Tanglewood is interesting. This is an area where they definitely take a turn from retro and introduce some modern styling. The mood of the forest is quiet and peaceful during the day, and a little creepy at night. For that effect, there is minimal background music. Instead, the sounds of the forest are your main companion as you concentrate on making your way through each area. That being said, there is definitely some wonderful music in this game. It will show up to alter the mood at various interesting sections.

The story is minimal but there is plenty to love. There is emotion, there are surprises, there are ups and downs.

The Bad
Most of the enemies aren't very dynamic.

The Bottom Line
Tanglewood is the story of a nimble fox-like creature named Nymn who navigates a dangerous forest and battles a mysterious evil. Nymn is not particularly strong or well-equipped, but has the ability to absorb powers from little forest-dwellers called Fuzzls to help him survive out in the dark. These powers include the ability to glide, for example.

I would classify this game as a puzzler platformer. The gameplay mostly consists of exploring each level to find the exit, usually while solving Fuzzl-based puzzles to make progress. Later maps involve more large scale fights. Our hero has no offensive abilities, so he must defeat his enemies using the environment.

A brand new Sega cart is a welcome release in 2018. Not only is Tanglewood a wonderful nostalgic treat, but it is also a great game and lots of fun.

The Good
The controls are fluid and responsive, using the classic arcade layout of three action buttons with one of them being reserved for jump. Tanglewood's 68000 assembly-programmed physics are very consistent and realistic, blending perfectly with the controls and delivering a very pleasant experience. And as the game progresses and the story is unveiled you'll learn new abilities and face more challenging situations.

The music compositions are unique and make full use of both FM Synthesis and PSG sound chips. The tracks are played in key moments of the game, like in Flashback. The game also uses its own unique sound effects package, so every sound was created especially for this game; unlike many other modern platformers. Furthermore, most of them aren't just PCM samples, but carefully composed FM and PSG-based effects.

Tanglewood's graphics use the Mega Drive's 9-bit master palette which is tailored for high contrast and vibrant colors. The game sports true old school pixel art, limited to only four sub-palettes of 15 colors each and the native resolution of 320 x 224 pixels. Each one of background tiles and frames of animation were created pixel by pixel, with no digitized art or automated process whatsoever.

The Bad
I just wish the game was longer and there were more boss fights.

The Bottom Line
Another World, Flashback, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, The Lion King, Sonic The Hedgehog... If you loved those games back in the days, you'll certainly love Tanglewood. Because not only it delivers a true 16-bit experience as it also offers you a brand-new world of interesting characters, nicely detailed environments and polished puzzle-platformer gameplay mechanics.