The Adventures of Willy Beamish
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| The Adventures of Willy Beamish | |
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| Developer(s) | Dynamix |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra On-line |
| Release date(s) | 1991 (Amiga), (DOS) 1992 (MAC) 1993 (Sega CD) |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: NR (Not Rated) |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, DOS, Macintosh, Sega CD |
The Adventures of Willy Beamish is a graphic adventure game developed by Dynamix using newly-developed Dynamix Game Development System (DGDS) and first published in 1991 by Sierra Entertainment. The player takes on the role of nine-year-old Willy Beamish in gameplay that is somewhat of a parody of the adventure genre, with considerable humor. The game pioneered the use of graphics drawn to resemble classic hand-drawn cartoon animation. Initially released for DOS and Amiga, the game was ported to Sega CD in 1993. The Sega CD edition, as well as a CD-ROM versions for DOS and Amiga, replaced the text with actors, and made a few other cosmetic changes.
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[edit] Plot
Willy Beamish is introduced as a typical Generation Y brat archetype of early 90s, being the middle child in a typical American family (and visited by his grandfather's ghost); as a typical kid, he is obsessed with science fiction, console games and hanging out with his gang, while he is tormented by older school bullies and of course his younger and older late-teenager sisters.
As the game begins, Willy Beamish is sent to detention on the last day of school; his pet frog "Horny" disrupted the final school assembly by dislodging the principal's toupee. This initial scene is a good example of the game's array of choices presented to the player: Willy can stay in detention until it is over, but then he won't get home in time to pick up the mail and intercept the report card that shows a "C+" in Music Appreciation. To sneak out early, Willy must forge a hall pass and avoid the school bully.
Willy's ambition is to qualify for the national "Nintari" (a portmanteau of Nintendo and Atari) competition. This goal is quickly placed in dire jeopardy: his video game privileges are revoked. To further complicate the situation, Willy's father loses his job, the babysitter is a vampire, a street gang terrorizes the town, and a plumbers' revolt is on the horizon.
Besides failing to solve puzzles, a way to lose is with a score system called Trouble-O-meter. Doing things that will annoy his elders will raise the meter up. When it's filled, Willy is shipped off to military school and the game is over.
[edit] Reception
Despite the fact that it features a nine-year-old as the protagonist, much of the game's humour is arguably more adult-oriented, including racial stereotyping (Japanese tourists turning into Ninjas), sexual puns (such as a frog called "Horny") and some satire (including a parody of Rush Limbaugh, an American conservative talk-show host).
This game has been out of print for quite a while now, and is no longer available in stores. Copies of certain versions are quite common on eBay, especially of the Sega CD version. The PC floppy disk version is fairly common, with the 3.5" version more common than the 5.25" version. The Macintosh version is less common than the above three, with the Amiga version coming next. By far the rarest versions are the CD-ROM talkie versions, made for PC, Macintosh, and Amiga. These can go for about $50 for the jewel case alone, and upwards of $100 if the box is included. The crown jewel of the entire version list is the Amiga CD-ROM version- this version is by far the hardest to find, if it even exists.
A sequel was reportedly planned starring Willy Beamish as a late teenager, but the project was cancelled.
[edit] Trivia
- The Sega CD edition of the game was noted for having a painfully slow loading time and slightly washed out colors, due to the hardware limitations of the system. In an effort to make up for the slow loading time, the game has a feature where the player can select the "Start" button and manipulate a set of twirling, black and white balls, known in the manual as "Laser Balls". A glitch in some editions of the game caused the game to freeze up during certain scenes.
- The Sega CD edition of the game features a minigame on Willy's Nintari system in his bedroom (in the PC version, playing the Nintari just plays a cutscene of a videogame). The minigame, known as Super Space K'Noidtrix, combines elements of Space Invaders, Tetris and Arkanoid.
- The "talkie" CD versions of the game, besides adding voice actors, extend the game's introduction and replace the still character portraits with animated versions. However, much of the dialogue is poorly acted, and the animated portraits appear at the expense of emotion - all characters use the same set of "talk" frames regardless of their dialogue, although the portraits themselves change depending on individual circumstances of the character (wardrobe differences, mainly). Additionally, while the floppy PC version offered the option of MT-32 sound and music, the CD version eliminates that device, leaving only Soundblaster and Pro Audio Spectrum as sound options. These versions could be argued to provide an inferior experience to the floppy versions, but fans and collectors will probably wish to make the comparison themselves.
- Certain retail boxes of the game included a free Willy Beamish themed wristwatch. Although analog, the watch's hands were not physical, but digital appearances.
- The game is now available via the subscription gaming service, GameTap
- The primary villain in the game is a parody of Leona Helmsley
