The Flintstones Longplay (Sega Genesis)mega drive

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Year of Release: 1993

Game Review & Impressions
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The Flintstones remains one of Hanna-Barbera's most enduring cartoon series of all time, with the adventures of Fred Flintstone and his family and friends having never really left our screens ever since they first debuted over 60 years ago. The adventures of the first family of Bedrock transcended the world of broadcast television to the silver screen and, unsurprisingly, the world of video games.

Developed by Taito and released in 1993, The Flintstones on Sega Genesis is a mid-to-late entry in the console's lifecycle, and with graphics that perfectly capture the aesthetics of the cartoon, my initial hopes for this game were hight.

Each level starts with Fred being issued a fetch quest by one of his friends or family to retrieve something (or someone) from the boss guarding the end of the level. Club in hand, Fred must traverse stages full of hazards, bottomless pits, not to mention various prehistoric meanies, on his mission to liberate each MacGuffin he's been dispatched to retrieve. Enemies can be stunned temporarily with a whack to the noggin, and there are various items to collect along the way to earn points and restore health; it's all pretty formulaic, but with graphics and animation which really do the cartoon show justice.

With presentation this solid, it's a bit of a shame to discover the gameplay is so shallow. There's not a whole lot of variety in the levels, and the auto-scrolling train level and underwater section aren't quite enough to maintain interest over the course of the whole game. With a bit more time in the oven, this could have been one of the better platformers on the Genesis, but the truth of the matter is it's a bit of a stale rock cake, rather than a delicious cream bun.