Woodys World

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The magic crystal which protects the land has been lost. For that reason, the king summons young Woody to his palace where he explains the terrible state of affairs to our little friend in hope that he might utilize his abilities to retrieve the crystal and restore peace to the kingdom. His adventure is not easy though, as it will take him through 60 levels of mazes and platforms, not to mention reams of nasty creatures out to halt his progress. At first the only way Woody can dispose of baddies is to jump on their heads, but various add-ons can be found to enhance his defenses. These are revealed by jumping up and hitting certain blocks, usually gaining a point bonus but sometimes there's a star which can be thrown at baddies, and a sceptre which transforms our hero into prince, making him faster and able to execute a useful kick. The most powerful collectable is the crown which turns him into a king, running even faster this time, jumping higher and utilise a limitless supply of throwing stars. You only get three lives and these will rapidly run out if you don't keep on collecting energy and extra lives. There are plenty of secret rooms to be found as well.
Woody's World is really another of the many platformers though, that does not offered anything more to the genre, with a rather repetitive playability. Actualy, there was a little left in this genre to improve at generating sparks and originality back in 1993 I guess. But if you're a limitless fan of platformers, it will certainly makes you happy to play it to the end.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics in Woody's World are brilliant, offering 32 colors on screen, and easily rival the standard set in e.g. Super Frog (released on the same year). The backdrops are just as good as the sprites with some really nice effects, and scrolling is fast and smooth.
On the sound front, there is a whole abundance of fantastic tunes. The music seems to fit the action perfectly and for a change it doesn't get annoying. The sound effects are kept to a minimum, but are more than adequate for this type of game.