James Pond 3
| James Pond 3: Operation Starfish | |
|---|---|
 Sega Mega Drive cover art of James Pond 3: Operation Starfish | |
| Developer(s) | Vectordean Ltd Millennium Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga (AGA), Amiga CD32, SNES, Sega Game Gear |
| Release date(s) | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (also spelled Operation Starfi5h, after the fictional secret service F.I.5.H) is a 1993 video game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The game was also released for the Amiga and Amiga CD32 platforms, the Super Nintendo and the Sega Game Gear. Operation Starfish is the third and last game in the James Pond series. It is also the only one that was only released for AGA Amigas: the Amiga 1200, the Amiga 4000 and CD32.
The game's working title was James Pond 3: Splash Gordon, a pun on Flash Gordon. Although it enjoyed good sales, it was not as well received as other games in the series.
Plot
Following his defeat in Robocod, the evil Dr. Maybe learns of the high quality cheese that lies on the moon. Hiring a workforce of rats, Dr. Maybe begins mining the moon for cheese so he can conquer the global markets and fund his operations. In order to stop Dr. Maybe, James Pond, along with his new sidekick, Finnius Frog, journey to the moon in order to put a stop to Dr. Maybe's mining operations.
Gameplay
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The gameplay in Operation Starfish is similar to the SNES game Super Mario World. The map of the Moon consists of many levels connected with pathways. Based on the humorous legend that the Moon is made of cheese, all levels are named after different dairy products, such as "The Garden of Edam", after the Garden of Eden. A unique twist to the standard "Super Mario"-style gameplay is that Pond's magno-boots allow him to walk on the Moon's cheesy surface in any orientation, even upside down. Operation Starfish was one of the largest games to be made for the Sega Mega Drive. The goal of each level is to find one of its communication beacons and break it. Some beacons require activating first by finding special cups.
Pond can run, jump and punch as standard. He can also use various items lying around, such as spring shoes, fruit guns and dynamite. By finding a special icon, players can play as his froggy partner, Finnius, who has superior jumping abilities.
Gadgets
- Fruit Gun: Whilst fruit can be picked up and thrown at enemies, using the Fruit Gun, it can be used as ammunition. Different foods produce different results. For example, a cupcake acts as a homing missile.
- X-ray specs: See things that can't normally be sensed.
- Spring Shoes: When wearing these, Pond can bounce really high over long pits, although it can be tricky to predict where is a safe place to land.
- Jetpack: Can be used to take Pond anywhere, provided he has the fuel.
- Finnius: Once rescued from a certain level, Finnius can be played by finding an icon with his face on. Finnius has the ability to jump higher than Pond, reaching areas he cannot. Hitting the icon again will revert control back to Pond.
See also
External links
- James Pond 3: Operation Starfish at MobyGames
- James Pond series at MobyGames
- James Pond 3 at lemonamiga.com
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