Hany on the Road

~ HANY ON THE ROAD ~
Face
HuCard
1990

Face was an assemblage of "mad scientists"; the craziness and creativity they poured into their work served to ensure that their customers would be in for interesting experiences, if not always positive ones. Unlike the cut-from-the-same-kooky-cloth oddballs at Wolfteam, they never did manage to crank out a masterpiece; their catalog boasts no El Vientos, though a few of their releases went beyond "experimental" and actually wound up being enjoyable. Hany on the Road is one of the fairly fun ones, a redemptive effort for its cucumber-like protagonist, who'd previously starred in a rather horrible overhead shooter. Hany seems more at home in a side-scrolling context, running and jumping and utilizing a backflip kick-attack to clear his path of foes. Actually--and here's the "big twist"--he typically has four paths to travel down and switch between as he makes his way through a level.

With four planes scrolling along at different speeds, Hany on the Road has a distinct, not at all unappealing look about it. Excellent color choices solidify it as a graphically strong title.

You'll have some decisions to make as you journey through the nice-looking lands, with the between-stage map screen occasionally allowing you to "choose your path" a la Darius. The stages here don't often feel redundant and are almost all worth checking out, making multiple trips through the game worthwhile.

The enemies inhabiting all those realms are interesting not just appearance-wise, but in how they attempt to take you down, especially in stages where environmental hazards exist. For example, one challenging late-stage dash pits Hany against a band of small yellow fools who try to latch on to him and hold him back as the road crumbles beneath his feet. To combat such wily foes, you can occasionally grab hold of weapons or, in very rare instances, undergo unexpected transformations.

No such drastic measures will need to be taken against the bosses, who are a little less crafty than their minions. Though they're interestingly bizarre design-wise, most of them can be destroyed simply by booting their own junk-shots right back at them. There's a really neat twist to the last fight, though.

Simpleton bosses are not the only problem here. Hany is a speedy, slip-sliding sort who's sure to crash into enemies or stumble off platforms despite your best efforts to avoid collisions and remain on solid ground. His backflip technique has very limited range, and some of the stage designs seem, at least initially, to demand tighter, Super-Mario-style controls and a more reliable main attack. Practice and memorization will help decent, dedicated players overcome most of the gameplay issues. A tough desert stretch with quick-tugging quicksand and lots of dangerous cacti seemed rather irritating to me until I developed a feel for the board--and it ultimately became my favorite level in the game.

Similar salvation cannot be found in every unpleasant incident, though. Some strips just feel sloppy, and some deaths just seem unavoidable, making the game unfair and annoying at times. But if you find a path through the levels that you feel comfortable with, that contains the fewest potentially irritating moments, you'll have a unique adventure that boasts some very nice graphics on your hands. And if all else disappoints, the cool cover art pretty much makes the whole package worthwhile anyway.