| The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates Yōkai Buster: Ruka no Daibōken |
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North American (top) and Japanese cover art (bottom) |
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| Developer(s) | Sting[1][2] |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Programmer(s) | Kenjiro Hira[1] Toshiaki Kimura[1] Satoru Kojima[1] Takeshi Santo[1] |
| Composer(s) | Hideki Takahagi[3] Mitsuhito Tanaka[3][4] |
| Platform(s) | Super NES[1] |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | 2D action platformer[1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media/distribution | Cartridge |
The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates is a 1994 2D action platformer video game for the Super NES, based on the animated sitcom The Jetsons.
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The game was originally released in North America by Taito. Sting developed it, with Hideki Takahagi as the main music composer for the Jetsons game, using Mitsuhito Tanaka's primary sound driver for Sting. In 1995, Kadokawa Shoten created a new manga called Yōkai Buster Ruka and they wanted Sting to reprogram and edit the Super NES Jetsons game and turn it into a new game called Yōkai Buster: Ruka no Daibōken (妖怪バスター ルカの大冒険, lit. "Phantom Buster: Ruka's Big Adventure")[5][6] with new music (composed by Mitsuhito Tanaka), new enemies and new areas. Both versions have essentially the same engine with a different story and theme. They also have a strict time limit that punishes tardiness with lost lives.
Captain Zoom informs George while was traveling to work that Zora, the leader of the space pirates, is planning on looting the solar system of all of its resources. George has to go through nine stages of intergalactic action in order to stop the pirates using a special device known as a Pneumo Osmatic Precipitator (P.O.P.). This device allows George to hold on to things and breathe underwater as well. There are various boss fights with machinery. With a high enough score, the player goes into a bonus stage where items must be collected before time runs out. Players must also travel through tubes to get from one part of the level to another. Speed chases are even included in certain levels of the game.
The death animation involves George Jetson flailing his arms around and jumping into infinity. A few of the enemies in this game were not brought over into the Japanese version; like the bomb-dropping/vacuum robot.
The player takes take control of Ruka-chan, an aggressive demon girl who lives in a world filled with harmful monsters.[7] Much of her past is shrouded in mystery and her age is deliberately hidden in context. She lives a long life but has the mentality of a 13-year-old girl.[7] This game had more fluidity and had better gameplay than the North American version.[7] Compared to the futuristic setting of The Jetsons, the Japanese version uses a contemporary setting with Japanese architecture.[7] Extra features were added into the Japanese version including an extra underwater level, a mini-game, and a training mode. People who don't care for the Japanese style of gaming would be better off with the North American (Jetsons) version of the game; even though it's harder and longer.[7]
The character sprites used in the Jetsons version of the game are considered to be a similar style of animation to the Ruka-chan version.
| Reception | |
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| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Allgame | |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6.4/10 |
| GamePro | |
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