While Willy’s Wonderland is hardly what we’d call a tour-de-force in filmmaking, it was damn good fun. After all, you’ve got Nicolas Cage beating the living crud out of evil animatronic robots, while getting psyched up on pinball and energy drinks. That sounds like a Saturday night to us.
So when we heard that QUByte Interactive was working on a video game based on Willy’s Wonderland, we were excited. Imagine putting Willy and his bothersome friends in their place with sweet weapons and fast-paced combos.
But this one definitely isn’t operating properly. Willy’s Wonderland: The Game is just as junky as the robots it’s based on. The gameplay doesn’t offer any sort of stability or long-lasting value; and the visuals and sound come up short, even with the game’s $4.99 price tag. The end result is a brawler that fails to rise to the occasion in any way.
Not to mention a complete lack of Cage. We needed him! Sigh.
Taking On Willy Isn’t What It’s Cracked Up To Be
The game lets you choose between two characters – male and female – and then has you taking on Willy and his six lieutenants, all based on characters in the film. It’s pretty cut and dry, letting you jump right into the action as you beat up humans (wait, are they siding with Willy?!) and robots alike with one or two players.
Unfortunately, the execution is sorely lacking. The controls work on a delay system, which means hits don’t even register properly until about a quarter-second later. This is pivotal, since an enemy can strike you within that window with cheapened damage. What’s worse, you’re often ganged up upon, with foes on the left and right pounding into you. Even special attacks like a “fire dash” (because these characters can do that?) and a spinning whirlwind technique seem pointless, since one hit stops you in your tracks.
Along with unfair difficulty, the game also lacks dedicated combos. Even though you have punch, kick, dash and special techniques, they never really combine together into something memorable. As a result, the game becomes repetitive all too quickly. It would’ve been nice to have unlockable techniques as the game progressed, or even the option to play as the animatronic animals in some twisted form of a redemption arc. Without those, however, there’s only so far you can get on the same old moves.
Even with a two player option and a cheap price tag of $5, Willy’s Wonderland: The Game never feels like it lives up to its potential. It just gets tiring real fast, without any innovative weapons or “Cage moments” to spark things up. You’ll likely leave before you even get to Willy himself.
Is This a PS1 Game?
As if the gameplay wasn’t problematic by itself, Willy’s Wonderland also suffers from a lacking presentation.
Let’s talk about the graphics. They are very dated, resembling something you’d find along the lines of Fighting Force on the PS1. The animations are jagged and quick-moving, and combined with the poor collision detection, result in a glitchy mess. The backgrounds are inspired by the movie and look pretty good, but are too small for their own good. And the menus, while stylish, don’t offer much outside of character selection.
The music doesn’t fare much better, I’m afraid. The original Willy’s Wonderland theme song is present, but only plays in the menu screens. Outside of that, you’ve got a number of rock tunes that sound like generic rejects from a surfing game. They fail to motivate the player and keep you in a fighting mood.
What’s worse, the sound effects are mundane and there are zero voice effects to speak of. Not even character voices for the bosses. As a result, it’s surprisingly mute, like Nicolas Cage in the movie. But at least his actions made up for his lack of words. There’s nothing to fill the void here.
Again, Willy deserved better.
The Fun Ends All Too Soon
The best thing Willy’s Wonderland: The Game has going for it is the price, as it’s about the price of a kids’ meal. But even that is asking much considering the lack of quality here.
Its gameplay just doesn’t live up to even the most average of beat-em-ups; and the presentation and collision detection fail to deliver anything special. There is a two player option, but why would you drag a friend into misery with you?
If you want to enjoy everything Willy’s Wonderland has to offer, just stick to the movie. You get far more value for your dollar, not to mention all the angry Nicolas Cage you could muster.
GAMERHUB RATING: 1.5 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS
Thanks to QUByte Interactive for the review code! If interested, you can find the game for Nintendo Switch here. It’s also available for Xbox, PlayStation and PC.
