Received: November 25th, 2019 | Written: June 2nd-4th, 2020
Year: 1994 | Developed by: Funcom
Published by: Sunsoft | [ ◯ ]
I was originally going to wait to talk about this game until sometime next month (which would've been more appropriate for reasons), but fudge it, I felt a burning desire to cover it and I need something happy to review right now.
Original logo image from MobyGames
One of Europe's leading independent video game developing and publishing companies, Oslo-based Norwegian company Funcom was founded by Erik Gloersen, Tyr Neilsen, Andre Backen, Gaute Godager, and Olav Mørkrid in 1993. Nowadays they're regularly known more for their MMORPG properties The Longest Journey and Age of Conan, but during their tenure in the '90s they have worked on plenty of console games (as well as made arcade to Mega-CD/Sega CD conversions of SNK's tournament fighting games Samurai Spirits/Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury Special).
Images from GameFAQs
Among their earliest games was the holiday-themed platformer Daze Before Christmas; produced by Sam Patel and Henning Rokling, engine designed by Roar Flølo and Morten B Ofstad, environment programmed by Eivind Eklund, Ivar Olsen, and Johan Köhler, data crunching programmed by Eivind Hagen, game designed by Gaute Godager, Bjorn Rostoen, and Tommy Sydsaeter, and level edited by Jack Kristoffersen. Inspired from an idea by Rita Zimmerer (who also came up with the original concept for Sculptured Software's Looney Tunes B-Ball/Looney Tunes Basketball and even inspired Software Creations' two Sega 16-bit video game adaptations of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, all fellow Sunsoft releases), this SNES game came out exclusively in Europe and Australia in November 1994 (even though there were plans to release it in America but got cancelled for what I presume had to do with the publisher's financial troubles at the time)
Image from GameFAQs
The MegaDrive version for reasons unknown only came out in Australia and in very limited quantity, meaning that a copy of this version in particular would be very expensive to find.
I apologize in advance if you can't read it all before it shifts to the next page, I tried to make the speed go as slow as possible
Left: Beginning in Santa's hallway | Right: Meet Santa Claus' evil more demonic twin Anti-Claus
In the Christmassy platformer Daze Before Christmas you take control of Jolly Ol' Santa Claus whom you can run (or walk gingerly by lightly pressing either directional button) left or right, crouch by holding down (you can even sneak around while in this position), survey the proceedings above or below you by either holding the up or down buttons long enough respectively, climb a rope up or down, jump in the air with the B button with your altitude depending on how hard you pushed the button, pounce on an enemy below you by pressing the B button again in midair, and use your magic projectile against your enemies by pressing the Y button.
Left: Dashing through the snow | Right: Pouncing on a present to open it 🎁
The goal of each major stage is to deal with enemies one way or another which turns them into presents for you to collect and reach the exit at the end of the stage as represented by a shining star. Throughout are items (either concealed inside gifts or out in the open) that will come to Santa's aid such as a Santa cap to replenish one bit of health (with five being the health capacity), a bell to mark your checkpoint, a Santa icon to gain another life, a thunderous powerup in certain stages which upgrades your magic projectile into powerful flame magic, a helper elf for points,
Left: Oh, no, Stormella must be behind this | Right: Gorgeous aurora borealis-style backdrop
and a brewing cup of coffee which will momentarily turn Santa into his evil twin persona Anti-Claus for a set amount of time (in the options you can have the Anti-Claus time last anywhere from ten to thirty seconds) which will render you invulnerable to enemy collision but cannot open gifts in this state and can only attack an enemy at close range by using your sack of toys against them. Do be cautious when opening gifts because there's no guarantee that the contents will be beneficial to you as sometimes they may contain a bomb which will detonate shortly after being opened or an enemy inside so it's best that you open them from a distance.
Left: Santa got himself gift-wrapped | Right: Riding on a magic carpet
There are four different segments to go through and they all culminate in a boss fight at the end of said segment for which access towards the subsequent stage (or the end) is granted upon defeating him. Daze Before Christmas is divided into two different gameplay styles; roughly 83% of the game is made up of platforming while the other roughly 17% entails Santa riding on his sleigh dropping off presents inside the chimneys of Europe, Russia, Japan, and the United States of America in a similar vein to a horizontal-scrolling space shoot'em up in that you can maneuver yourself around in any corner of the screen (only without firing upon your foes, but you must still avoid being hit by oncoming obstacles) with the catch being that you're delivering gifts you've collected up to that point (so if you drop one off, your gift counter will go down by one, and so on). It does make for a nice change of pace. 😃
Left: Remaining idle in the snow | Right: Crossing a bridge
Daze Before Christmas looks very beautiful; Joachim Barrum, Tore Blystad, and Ole-Petter Rosenlund have done a great job at making Santa's adventures look very colorful, appealing, and detailed when called for it. 😃 I like the different heart-themed wall-décor for Santa's Hallway and House with the windows showing that it's snowing outside as well as the omega-themed wall-décor for when you face off against the Timekeeper, I like the smooth parallax scrolling of the snowy backdrop in some of the more snow-oriented stages, in the magic-themed stages there is a gorgeous aurora borealis-like backdrop that gradually brightens and darkens itself, as well as the creepy setting of the basement. In a handful of instances during the attic stage there is a nice vignette filter to give a sense of atmosphere as Santa is climbing a ladder.
Left: You can tell he's all fired up to see Frosty | Right: Here comes Anti-Claus
Santa has got a very endearing in-game design, Rosenlund did a good job at his main design plus he's got a very fluid sense of animation with his running (with the ball portion of Santa's cap bouncing up with each movement), jumping, climbing, swinging, and crouching animation as he can magically transform the size of his cap to hide his whole body with his visible eyes peering out plus Funcom really captured his jolly and affable personality; Anti-Claus is also fluid in his movements as he whacks his enemies with his sack full of toys and has got a most menacing demeanor about him with his red face and devil horns and being changed to wear something that's not as vibrantly red as Santa's suit.
Left: Take heart ❤ | Right: Wow, so this is what Cogsworth's evil cousin looks like
The enemies Santa contends with are decently drawn and animate well as they comprise of snowball-tossing penguins, toy tanks, mice in overalls, mice in full-bodied scuba gear, jack in the boxes, specters, and sentient boxing coat hangers, et al. The bosses are big and imposing and yet have a cartoony quality to them which is appropriate given the lighthearted nature of this game, such as the slugger mouse in overalls and a giant weather cloud. During the gift-dropping stages Santa, his sleigh, and the two reindeer are bite-sized and well-designed as you contend with exaggerated portrayals of obstacles pertaining to the country you're flying over
Left: Gift delivering | Right: Penguin ahead 🐧
(like the United Kingdom flag-themed hot air balloon and copters spinning wildly out of control in England, a spacecraft descending towards you in Russia, kites flying and sentient rockets carrying dogs in Japan, and armadillos attached to copters coupled with leather footballs flying around in the USA stage).
Only showing the first six
What I love is that the stages are marked in a similar vein to and modeled after a twenty-four day advent calendar which is a very cute touch. 😃
Left: Standing on thin ice | Right: Arctic fish
The soundtrack to Daze Before Christmas was composed by Kim M. Jensen (whose other music credits comprise of A Dinosaur's Tale, Funcom's Mega-CD/Sega CD ports of SNK's Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury Special, as well as Innerloop Studios' JSF and Project IGI: I'm Going In) and Geir Tjelta (nicknamed "Badla", who's only other music credit was for Inflexion Development's Eoroid) and it perfectly complements the location settings that Santa travels to with its Christmassy flavor. James Lord Pierpont's "Jingle Bells" is a recurring theme on more than one occasion from the title theme with the deep digitized sound byte wishing "Merry Christmas" plus the occasional "Ho Ho Ho" here and there to the gentle and playful take in Santa's Hallway and House to the sinister and menacing Anti-Claus theme to the more devious sounding boss theme, and during the middle of the ice cave theme there is a mysteriously chilly yet invitingly atmospheric rendition of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" for a few notes.
Left: Sneaking past the sleeping bear cave | Right: "Stupid present, open up will ya!"
But it's not all wondrously translated video game conversions of well known Christmas songs as there's plenty of original songs as well that work splendidly: the story and credits theme sounds absolutely pleasant, the theme for when you venture in the snow is calm-sounding and joyful, the strange magical realm theme is gorgeously atmospheric and in-depth, the theme as you fly over the houses has a warm jingle to it, the theme as you explore the basement and the attic is lightheartedly menacing, and the toy factory theme is very jovial-sounding. The sound effects are well-chosen like the magic projectile Santa launches as well as the enemies turning into presents, there's a quaint unwrapping sound as you open the presents, the jingling of the bell is nice, the sound of the gift dropping down (preferably down a chimney) is humorous, and I like the bellowed "Oh no!" with the defeat of most bosses.
Left: Venturing through Magic Bubbles | Right: Santa's cap is big enough to hide his whole body
I remember learning of this game while looking into Sunsoft's catalogue of games (developed or published) many years ago when the title Daze Before Christmas caught my attention. The idea behind it was interesting and the screenshots I saw of it online were appealing and piqued my interest, unfortunately it never saw an official release outside of the PAL format so there was no way to play it in America (unless you owned a RetroDuo which can play select SNES PAL carts, but even then I'm not sure if this game in particular is compatible with that Super Famiclone), on top of that there weren't many copies of it on eBay whenever I decided to browse it.
The first four NTSC SNES repro carts I got long before this one, all in 2015, were Lenar's Ganpuru: Gunman's Proof, Polestar's Magical Pop'n, Human Entertainment's The Firemen, and Quintet's Terranigma
One day in November of 2019 I was shocked to find that there was an NTSC SNES repro cart of Funcom's Christmas platformer, I couldn't believe it. This was perfect! 😃 This was an opportunity I could not pass up on, it cost roughly $40 which was reasonable, and it was the fifth NTSC SNES repro cart I bought and the first of this kind of cart for the system I bought in almost four years. That games like this one are graced by the repro cart movement of the past decade or so is a true Christmas miracle. 😄
I love that not only Santa Claus and Christmas are canon in Square's Seiken Densetsu/Mana franchise but Whoopee Camp's Tomba!/Tombi! games as well since he appears in the second game (plus the title character made his official debut on Christmas Day in 1997)
Christmas-themed games are comparatively few and far between and generally if Santa makes an appearance in a game (mainly non-holiday themed) it's usually relegated to making a cameo appearance at best as he's not the main focus.
Left: Journeying through the attic | Right: Rope climbing
Finally you get a chance to take control of Santa in Daze Before Christmas and it's just as fun as it sounds and more, plus Funcom made absolutely sure not to deviate from the Christmas feeling one bit which they succeeded at with aplomb. The diverse locations are imaginatively creative and boast a lot of color, it's replete with charm, and it is wholesomely lighthearted with its tone. I like the endearing mishaps Santa gets himself into, like being wrapped into a gift as he goes through a gift-making machine (with its eyes targeted directly on you no matter where you are in relation to it), trying to escape a basement that gradually floods itself in key portions,
Left: Well gee, I guess the gentlemanly coat hanger from Disney's Beauty and the Beast took up boxing for Christmas, amazing! 🥊 | Right: Flame magic
jumping from platform to platform (including giant hearts that move up and down as well as ones in the basement that slip in and out of its walls a la Quintet's Actraiser/ActRaiser and Virgin Interactive's adaptation of Disney's Aladdin where timing is key, save for ones that move), clearing across cloudy platforms that vanish within seconds of stepping on them, leaping over the gentlemanly boxing coat hanger lest it knocks you back (luckily without losing damage), riding on magic carpets, melting the ice his reindeer are trapped behind, and mainly maneuvering yourself around out of control obstacles during the delivery runs, et al.
Left: It's an impenetrable ghost! | Right: Waiting by the barrels prior to the boss fight
I love the way that Santa rotates down upon remaining idle holding on to the perpetually rotating candy cane climbable substance during the Santa's Hallway and House stages, plus each stage is well-designed whether they are straightforward (like the snow and basement stages) or open-ended (like the pipe and attic areas). Regardless of the difficulty setting you choose to play this game it's very manageable and non-demanding fun which is not a bad thing, controls are pretty responsive, and can be beaten anywhere from forty to fifty to sixty minutes depending on how you do or whether you decide to get all the presents in the stages you're in which is completely optional.
Left: Slugger mouse | Right: Deep down
If there are problems with Daze Before Christmas they're not major and don't detract from the fun, but there are plenty of moments when you have to make blind leaps of faith towards a platform or ground across the gap which can't immediately be seen on account of the resolution size so you'll probably have to inch towards the edge just a little in order to see a glimpse of what's across if you're not familiar with the layout or aren't comfortable making the jump (including the heart platforms in the toy factory),
Left: Magically turning the scuba mouse into a gift | Right: Holding on to a spinning candy cane
and unlike Accolade's Bubsy and Iguana Entertainment's Aero the Acro-Bat games as well as Konami's TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventure/Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures there's no ability to scroll the screen ahead of you without moving yourself. Finally when it comes to battling Mr. Weather in the end, any time he sustains damage the screen flashes brightly which might potentially give those easily prone to epilepsy (not including me) a seizure which is a bit worrying but luckily it only happens briefly.
Left: Santa swinging across the gap | Right: Yes, coffee does sound good right about now
I haven't played every Nintendo 16-bit game that's got Sunsoft's name attached in one way or another, but Funcom's Daze Before Christmas is among the most fun I've had playing a Sunsoft release on the system next to the Tokai Engineering Super Famiport of Micro Cabin's Xak: The Art of Visual Stage, it's just thoroughly endearing, imaginatively and accessibly fun, and strives to deliver Christmas cheer in a way that those of any gaming skill level can appreciate. 😃
Left: "Hey, what are you doing slacking off? Get back to work!" | Right: Passing by armadillo-copters in the United States
And you know, just recently while playing it and thinking about it further, I cannot help but imagine what children who played video games in Europe during its contemporary 1994 holiday release (or even getting it as a Christmas present, appropriately enough) must've thought about the idea of a game with Santa Claus as the protagonist (initial confusion perhaps, based not just on the premise but the cover art) and what a positively pleasurable impression they must've had upon playing it and whether their feelings on it remained constant or whether they gained a new sense of appreciation for it as they grew older and wiser. Makes one think.
Left: Dropping off gifts before the big day | Right: Mr. Weather trying to impede Santa's magic gift delivering routine
If you want to play a game revolving around Santa Claus saving Christmas (and occasionally turn into Anti-Claus as an added twist) from the evil forces who are deadset against the holiday I recommend Daze Before Christmas as I think it's a warm and feel-good time, but if you're looking for a platformer that's high on difficulty and challenge you won't find one here, but then a Christmassy platformer like this shouldn't really be that hard but luckily there are varying obstacles to overcome that make up for that. If you live in Europe and own a PAL SNES console I recommend looking into it if you get the chance, but if you live an America and own an NTSC SNES console you're best bet is to find a repro cart. Funcom came up with an interesting concept and made playing as Santa a jolly fun time of good cheer. 🎅
My Personal Score: 8.0/10
d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW allowed); hope you have a great day, hope you keep yourselves safe and protected during this pandemic, and take care! 😃
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Man, I'm disappointed in Opus, and after having saved Santa (and by extension Christmas) that one time, too, guess he's off Santa's nice list now.
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