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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1989 video game)

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Cover art
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)LJN
Designer(s)Tim Stamper
Artist(s)Kev Bayliss
Composer(s)David Wise
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • NA: September 1989
[1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an action-adventure video game created for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Rare and published by LJN in 1989.[2] The single-player game is loosely based on the film of the same name and had combined elements of graphic adventure computer games with some more traditional action adventure gameplay. A different version of the game was also released for various computer systems in 1988.

Gameplay

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Eddie Valiant faces Judge Doom, the final boss of the game

The player controls private detective Eddie Valiant, who is always closely followed by Roger Rabbit. The object of the game is to find all four pieces of Marvin Acme's lost will and defeat Judge Doom. Along the way there are several clues and items which must be found in order to progress. The game begins in Downtown Los Angeles, but as the game progresses, the player can travel to more areas including the outskirts of Los Angeles and eventually Toontown itself in order to widen the search. Once all four pieces of the will are found, Eddie must find Doom to confront and finally defeat him.[3]

The gameplay switches between side-scrolling areas (used when searching areas such as buildings and caves) and an overhead view (used for exploring the streets and general overworld). In the overworld, the player must go building to building in order to search them for items and clues. Benny the Cab can be found or summoned for faster travel on the roads, but the player must exit the vehicle in order to enter buildings or to explore the forested areas off the paved roads containing caves which must also be searched for items. Hazards on the overworld include enemies such as birds which attempt to carry off Roger (which will cause the player to lose a life). Judge Doom also has patrols driving around the streets in search of Eddie and Roger, and if captured the player must solve a riddle in order to escape.

In the side scrolling sections, the player must search buildings, rooms, shops and the various caves to find the items and clues. During these segments the player can talk to the various people met along the way, who can give clues and inform the player if a building contains any useful items. The NPC's include random citizens along characters from the film including Jessica Rabbit. The player must also search desks, tables and even trash cans which contain items. Various enemies also roam these areas. To fight them, Eddie's main attack is punching (which can be charged up) along with various weapons found and purchased.

Items the player finds along the way include weapons such as bricks, exploding cigars and "six shooters." Meat, fishbones, baseballs and rattles distract certain enemies which cannot be killed. Other items include wallets (used for purchasing items at the shops), crowbars (as both a weapon and to open locked doors), and explosives (used for destroying blockades on the road). Shops can be entered like any other building, and contain one item for sale at a time (but these can be cycled through by entering and exiting the shop repeatedly). The location of most items are random meaning that no play through will be exactly the same, and thus forcing the player to throughly search all areas.

Jessica Rabbit's phone number

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One of the Los Angeles locations that the player can visit is the Ink and Paint Club, where Roger's wife Jessica is performing. She offers hints as to where to find pieces of the will, and a real telephone number can be found by searching the tables. When the game was originally released, players could call the toll free number and hear a recorded message from Jessica giving additional tips on gameplay (particularly on how to distract enemies with specific items). The phone number was disconnected less then a year following the games release, and has since been reassigned (including at one point being a sex hotline). The original recording is no longer available, and is now considered a piece of lost media.[4]

Plot

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The game takes place in Los Angeles in 1947, and loosely follows the same plot of the movie it is based on.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nintendo staff. "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  2. ^ "Who Framed Roger Rabbit – Hardcore Gaming 101".
  3. ^ Who Framed Roger Rabbit Game Manual. 1989. p. 4.
  4. ^ Hot Tips for the Coolest Nintendo Games. Consumer Guide. 1990. p. 56.
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