Yo Bro

~ YO BRO ~

ICOM Simulations / NEC

HuCard

1991

Games that the masses stomp on are games that I usually receive with open arms, as I'm always interested in finding the next misunderstood gem or kitsch classic. But Yo Bro was one of the downtrodden that even I had refused to grant refuge to for a very long time. I just didn't think the theme would do anything for me. Reports made it out to be a Zombies Ate My Neighbors clone that featured Beach Boys music and starred a skateboarding bear. Well, I hate Zombies Ate My Neighbors, I don't care for the Beach Boys, and I've never been one to associate with skateboarding bears. So despite my fondness for "bad" games, I wasn't looking forward to this one.

And for good reason, as it ended up being pretty crappy in just about every way. The Beach Boys tunes, as expected, get on my nerves, especially since there are so few of them stretched out over so many damn levels. The graphics are no picnic either, and as for the gameplay, good lord, the skating feels horrible, and the bear's basic slingshot weaponry is anything but ideal. And not only does the experience feel repetitive just a few rounds in, but the game recycles its enemy groups for the latter half of the overlong expedition, and many of those enemies are either mundane (fires, barrels of toxic waste, beehives) or irritating as hell (the infamous amoebas).

But hey, almost every kitschy "great" is garbage if you break it down into its elements. Failure to perform well in such an analysis doesn't mean that a game doesn't have a lot to offer, and there are a few good things to be said about YB. There's definitely a feeling of satisfaction that accompanies triumph in a particularly difficult stage (such as the infamous amoeba levels). Some of the enemies are pretty neat, like the cute little bunnies and the baby dinos who gobble kids up.

Also, there are secret areas to discover and interesting (if sloppy) shooter/run-'n-gun-style bonus rounds to break up the monotony a bit.

There's no doubt that the negatives in this case far outweigh the positives. Still, I don't care for what the results "on paper" are when evaluating a game, or else I'd never appreciate as many lovable flubs as I do. And if the feelings of accomplishment I had when conquering the game had overridden all the annoyance I experienced over the controls and repetitiveness, I'd have given YB a hearty thumbs up. Unfortunately, when I finally did reach the end of the journey, I just felt relieved that it was all over, and wanted to follow the goofy bear's lead and take a much-deserved nap.