test: Coryoon

~ CORYOON ~

Naxat Soft

HuCard

1991

I have a feeling that most people will know whether they're going to dig or dislike Coryoon just a few moments after they begin playing the game. For me, it was a case of love at first sight. The tiny hero is one of the most immediately appealing underdog-type characters around; that "little guy against the odds" element combined with cute voices and beautiful parallax endeared the title to me right off the bat. Things only got better when I became acquainted with the infant dragon's enemies, which include gorgeous, fantastical creatures like unicorns and hippogriffs along with blue-collar types like giant snakes and cartoony-but-furious lobsters. There's a cutesy mini-stegosaur and a disgruntled turtle with a detachable shell of crystals.

But there's also stuff that people might take issue with. Like most "chunky sprite" shooters, Coryoon can feel sloppy, a feeling that's exacerbated by the fact that the screen is often overloaded with icons, enemies, and projectiles of various shapes and sizes. Despite the sprite spattering, your foes have almost no chance against you, as the game is beyond generous with the amount of extra lives it hands out. The graphics, while heavy on scrolling effects, are fairly simplistic in spots and fail to match the level of detail or depth found in the visuals of Coryoon's close cousin, Air Zonk. The music also falls into the "nice, but not in AZ's league" category.

But while I'm certainly not one to excuse sloppy gameplay or lack of difficulty, I honestly feel that to bemoan those issues in this case would be to miss the point. I've played through the adventure many, many times, as its wonderful charm that so engaged me initially has actually held up through subsequent visits. Its bosses have proven to be enjoyable sparring partners, and the constant flood of fruits and flashy adversaries always keep me on the move and eager to accumulate as many points as possible while preserving my capped-out stock of lives. It all feels like a chaotic blast of fun rather than a clunky slopfest or an overly easy jaunt. And while Coryoon may be inferior aesthetically to HuCard-marvel Air Zonk, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy revisiting its orange skies and lavender caverns or listening to its pleasant tunes (a few of which have a surprising edge to them, reminding me of Thunder Force III's soundtrack at times). In fact, I've found that the game serves up even more fun than AZ, which I also consider to be great.

Whether or not that's enough fun for folks to shell out ninety bucks for the title is another issue. But this does seem to be a game that you can find nice deals on if you're a little patient; mine cost a tidy thirty dollars, and honestly, if I'd had to pay more, I believe I still would feel that it was money well spent. And if people are willing to cough up hundreds for crap like Magical Chase, surely they should reserve a slot in their budget for this little gem. Highly recommended!