Puss ‘n Boots: Pero’s Great Adventure (1990)
Developed by: Shouei System
Published by: Electro Brain
Released in: NA
Puss ‘n Boots is a game starring a cute, chubby rendition of the classic character named Pero. What’s interesting about this particular incarnation of the kitty is that Pero is the mascot of Toei Animation; a world renowned Japanese animation studio that’s worked on hundreds of anime series including Dragon Ball, One Piece, and just about any popular 80’s Western cartoon you can think of. But don’t get too excited, they’ve worked on plenty of stinkers, too; find me someone who unironically enjoys Turbo Teen and win a prize!
So, with a library of varying quality under their belts, how does a game based around their iconic mascot fare?
Interestingly, this game starring a character that’s synonymous with Japanese anime was never released in Japan. It re-uses a lot of assets from the Famicom only title “Puss ‘n Boots: Around The World In 80 Days (1986)” but is decidedly not the same game.
Puss in Boots left his iconic sword at home or something, because in this game, Pero’s packing heat. Indeed, your main method of attack is a goddamn gun for some reason. He also has an absolutely massive, absolutely useless boomerang and an unlimited supply of bombs, which work great against the few boss characters there are. Each level is very loosely based around a real-life location, and consists of walking to the right and not dying, as is platforming tradition.
Puss ‘n Boots feels like a game that was made with very young children in mind (likely the 4 to 7 crowd) because it has absolutely no difficulty curve whatsoever. Just about anybody of any skill level could beat this game in an hour at the absolute most, thanks in part to the generous amount of continues you’re given. I think even I could have beat this game as a kid, and that’s saying something.
Mashing the attack button and walking to the right is a sure-fire way to beat most of the stages, save for the last one, which is one of those “teleporting door” mazes that are so endemic in video games. You know, the kind where you go through one door, only to end up in a new hazard-filled room with six doors in it, and only one of them leads to the next area? I hate those types of puzzles in games so goddamn much, I feel like I’m falling down a well when I so much as think about them. Luckily the one in Puss ‘n Boots isn’t too difficult to figure out, so I walked away from this game with minimal injury to myself and my surroundings. Thank god!
Overall, Puss ‘n Boots is one of the easiest NES games I’ve beat to date. Even though it’s stupid easy and simple, I still enjoyed it. It’s nice to shut your brain off and work your way through something that requires next to no thought sometimes. If you’re interested in cute mascot platformers, or having a quick game clear under your belt, Puss ‘n Boots is the cat’s meow. If I tried to put my cat in boots, I’d lose a hand. Hm.
Initial Interest Rating: 9/10
Final Rating:
NESJunk 