Cheesy Gauntlet
What do you get if you mix Gauntlet with Pac-Man? If you guessed Puffy’s Saga, well done - you’ve clearly read the title! Released in 1989 by UBI Soft and developed by Claude Sablatou, this adventure sees Puffy and Puffyn trapped in a 20-level dungeon on an alien world. Naturally, it’s packed with monsters lurking around every corner, ready to attack or (hopefully) be avoided. The goal is simple - collect all the power dots and escape.
Each level is designed much like Gauntlet, with a similar look and feel. There are plenty of traps to avoid (if you can), and the monsters are a bizarre bunch - jellyfish, living puddles of water, and relentless eyeballs that will chase when you get too close - and they can’t be killed! The joystick controls are responsive, especially for Puffyn, who moves with a bit more agility (Puffy is stronger with better weapon fire).
You can play as either character but this isn’t a multiplayer fest like you might first assume, but rather solo. However, there’s a small co-op element in the form of character switching, though this relies on a collectable item called a Magic Gom. Picking one up lets you swap characters, gain better firepower, move faster, and so on. If you’re lucky enough to find more, you can even skip a level or slow down the monsters.
Playing Puffy’s Saga is a fun, familiar experience because it feels like Gauntlet. However, it is more like a chaotic game of chase in a maze (I like how that sounds). There are tons of monsters eager to hunt you down, and every touch drains your energy. That is displayed on the status panel and gradually depletes over time. So you will need to constantly hunt for food to keep going, which detracts from the fun of exploration.
Ultimately, Puffy and Puffyn are essentially playing Pac-Man - grabbing dots, dodging enemies, and rushing to the next level in a bewildering panic. The challenge is with the monsters' sheer number (and strength) because there are way too many to cope with. As a result, your energy drains far too quickly, which was my biggest gripe - it's not balanced and feels restrictive. Because of this, I never made it past a handful of levels.
Okay, let's take a small break and check out a couple of screenshots...
Being chased, losing valuable energy... at least I have a near-pointless map!
Looking remarkably like Gauntlet for the second level I thought.
Monsters, Power-Ups, and Other Stuff!
The main menu is essentially a help sheet, so take a good look before blindly starting. It showcases the monsters - some, like the eyeballs, are invincible and best avoided (if you can), while others can be defeated or lured away. You’ll also spot a list of power-ups, though I only managed to find extra speed and firepower!
Interestingly, the function keys unlock a variety of “hidden” features:
- F1 will pause the game.
- F2 flips between 50/60Hz.
- F3/F4 will slow/increase the speed of the game.
- F5 utilises that empty part of the screen with a map (requires two Magic Goms).
- F6 provides a training mode that whisks you off to level 7.
These power-ups require one magic gom to work:
- The HELP key will switch between the two characters.
- F key will give you bad breath as a temporary firepower.
- S key provides a speed bonus.
- Pressing H adds 100 points to your health.
These two functions require two magic goms:
- The UNDO key zips you off to the next level.
- And the M key slows the monsters down.
Hang on, what's a Magic Gom? It’s a blue ball - grab them whenever you can. That said, keep an eye out for food as well, as it restores health. It only adds 100 points, which isn’t much, but hey, it’s better than nothing!
Right, I'm hitting the F1 key to pause the chat for a couple of screenshots...
Pods, keys, beef, and magic are what you need. Stay clear of the "monsters"!
On this level, I was struggling (as always) with my health and needed food. Use the map!
Aesthetics
The visuals are a bit odd and left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the design might be a bit familiar (cough - cough - totally ripped idea), but everything still looks great. I really liked the use of colour and the cartoon-like designs of the sprites and items are superb. The scrolling is fairly smooth, though it can slow down a little when a bunch of enemies are chasing after you. The real bummer is that older STs (without a Blitter Chip) suffer from awful push-scrolling, which is horrendous for a "must-scroll" game like this.
Surprisingly, this game supports the Blitter! Yep, the Mega ST and all Atari STe computers will produce real scrolling instead of that push muck!! In all honesty, I was shocked by this discovery as it fees like a hidden backdoor attempt of supporting the Atari STe? Almost a secret!
Perhaps this is the first game to support the Atari STe? Although it appears to have been released before the computer itself. Or rather the first game to support the Mega ST as that had a Blitter from 1987. But it would require TOS 1.04 because the game isn't compatible with TOS 1.02.
My head is about to explode!! Anyhow, kudos to Claude for going that extra mile!!
The audio is delightful, with samples for every action - eat something, and you hear “YUM!”. When low on energy, you’re warned about death. It’s all cute and in a French style we love. However, and I hate to say this but, after a while, it can get a bit grating. I would’ve loved the option for YM effects instead. That said, I’ve got to tip my virtual hat to Claude for going the extra mile with so many silly sound samples.
Could this be one of the first Blitter games? Let's see some screenshots while we ponder over that...
As with Gauntlet, keys unlock the barriers blocking our path.
I just started the level and immediately I'm surrounded by those damn jellyfish!
The CryptO'pinion
Puffy’s Saga was always going to be seen as a cheap Gauntlet knockoff, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a decent game. Unfortunately, it falls short due to its cumbersome design. You're always in a panic worrying about dying due to the lack of health and food pick-ups. Plus, the hoards of monsters become nearly impossible to defeat when all swarm together. Factor in the complexity of the power-ups, Magic Goms, and the absence of a default map, and it all becomes far too much to handle, making it more frustrating than enjoyable.
Wow, this isn't looking good, is it? Despite my whinging, the core gameplay isn’t bad - running through Gauntlet levels and killing monsters is fun. I liked the speed of Puffyn and the power of Puffy, this spices things up nicely. Plus, like many French games, the aesthetics are lovely - stunning visuals and silly samples.
Puffy's Saga needed more energy and greater rewards from food pickups. Not to mention better use of items/power-ups and dumping that bad idea of Magic Goms!! All this would’ve eased the difficulty, making it balanced and more enjoyable. As it is, I struggled to get too far without running out of energy!
I reckon I need to rate this based on the hardware. On older STs without a Blitter, the push-scrolling is painful, so I’d have to give it a rather brutal 35%. But on something like the Mega ST or Atari STe, it runs much smoother and plays way better. The proper scrolling makes it a lot more enjoyable - so I'd say it deserves a surprisingly decent 60%. At the end of the day, though, Blitter or not - just play Gauntlet II instead.
- Atari Legend has the best floppy disk by The Midland Boyz.
- 8BitChip has an installable hard drive game that now supports the Blitter.
- It's not often I record videos these days but, check out the ST scrolling...
