The Collection Chamber: ANIMANIACS COLLECTION

The Collection Chamber Games: ANIMANIACS COLLECTION

Gruntz Collection Chamber Games Ultimate Strategy Puzzle Action Games

One of the few good things about this past year is that Animaniacs got a reboot. And because this past year was 2020 us Brits didn't get it. Nevertheless I got my totally insaney fix by revisiting the surprising decent collection of console games based on the original 90s show.

The one I played as a child was Konami's Super Nintendo classic. It was my eagerly anticipated Christmas present in 1994 and it was a damned good puzzle platformer. Unlike what you might expect at the time, the action takes place on multiple planes offering a pseudo 3D style of play. It even has some collectables to hunt for akin to Mario 64.

You see, the plot has pages of Warner Bros.' newest screenplay disappearing thanks to the machinations of a certain pair of megalomaniac mice. Thy've been scattered around the various soundstages themed around a particular genre and our animated siblings have to visit them all and find them. Naturally, each are filled with in-jokes and parodies. The Sci-Fi film stage has alien face huggers jumping out of gloopy eggs. The Fantasy film stage has a flying creature that suspiciously looks like Falkor the luck dragon of The NeverEnding Story. The Adventure film stage mimics Indiana Jones at every turn. And these are just three moments in the four varied levels. You'll find yourself battling the mechanical hands of King Kong, dodging the jaws of Jaws or chasing a white rabbit on a broomstick.

Climb the famous water tower to free your captured siblings. (SNES)

Hidden on each stage are the script pages. There are 24 in total and the number you've collected will determine one of three endings. I could never find them all. Their locations are incredibly obtuse and the ones I did find were out of pure luck. In the sci-fi stage for example, you can dash past a legally distinct C3PO causing his head to spin off in surprise. Do this a few times and a page will pop out. All I just wanted to torture a droid, who knew I'd get more out of it. Be warned - don't look to the manual for clues. On page 12 of the US manual (13 of the UK one), one screenshot of the opening level taking place at the Studio HQ shows a page on top of a bookcase. I spent hours as a kid trying to figure out how to get it, only for the advent of the internet to tell me it doesn't exist. I swear, the designers were trolling us.

You can play as Yakko, Wakko and Dot though they all play the same. All three appear on screen at once and are helpful when forming a human ladder (or should that be dog-like thing ladder) to reach higher areas. They can also collect coins if they just so happen to be in the right place, but there's no real AI guiding them beyond a follow-the-leader mentality. If the one you control gets hit or falls, they'll be captured by Ralph the security guard and taken back to their prison at the water tower. It may reduce your party by one but fear not, you can go and save them. Exit the stage (press Pause, then Select) and scale the structure to the very top, avoiding vultures along the way. If you baulk at the thought of potentially losing progress, the game hands out a generous amount of continues thanks to the slot machine triggered by collecting coins. It could also offer aid as you play, such as invincibility or even bring back your siblings.

## The Collection Chamber Games Gruntz

Climb the famous water tower to free your captured siblings. (SNES)