Received: February 12th, 2021 | Written: December 3rd-17th, 2021
Year: 1994, 1995 | Developed by: Virtual Studio
Published by: Infogrames | [ ◯ ]
Hello, my readers and gamers alike, welcome to my blog, and thank you for taking the time to tune in today; I know it's been some months since I've last published a review and I have not been as active on my blog this year as I have in the past, but rest assured I am still alive and well (just I've been busy in real life, I have passions outside of gaming like I've mentioned once before, and I just wanted to get into the right mood for the review). I cannot promise I'll update in as frequent a pace as I've managed in the past (I apologize in advance and hope you understand), since I'm not getting any younger, but I will update a review once in awhile (I'll just go at my own pace, I set a high standard for myself for when I write my reviews as I aim to write better today than I did yesterday, and to write better tomorrow than I have today which I hope I've been accomplishing these past few years; thank you all for sticking around). Now having said all that, let's hear it for salt! 🧂 ... Confused? I promise there is a relevancy to it and what I'm covering today.
In 1947 a Belgian artist named Pierre Culliford, mainly recognized by his pseudonym "Peyo", created a Medieval-based sword-and-sorcery comic strip series called Johan which had its name extended to Johan et Pirlouit (translated in English as Johan and Peewit) several years later after the latter's introduction for Dupuis and Dargaud's Spirou comic magazine.
Image from the Smurfs fandom wiki
One of the dynamic duo's adventures led to the encounter of a small humanoid creature with a blue body on October 23rd, 1958.The names of these creatures, as well as their term and language, derived from a dinner conversion Peyo had with his friend and colleague André Franquin (creator of Marsupilami and Spirou et Fantasio) at a Belgian coast; because of a momentary brain fart, Peyo forgot the word "salt" so he asked Franquin in French to pass the schtroumpf (pronounced like the German word for sock, "Strumpf") to which he jokingly replied "Here's the Schtroumpf--when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back...". This in turn led to the two speaking in "schtroumpf language" for the rest of the weekend, and thus a name and language for these small blue humanoids was born which would later be translated in Dutch as "Smurf", which the English language would adopt.
The Smurfs would gain a lot of popularity, so much so that they got their own comic stories devoted to them starting in 1959 and over the years would become a hugely successful franchise inspiring a lineup of miniatures and toys, five movies (1965's Les Aventures des Schtroumpfs/The Adventures of the Smurfs, Belvision's 1976 animated film La Flûte à six schtroumpfs/The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, Raja Gosnell's 2011 live action/CGI film and 2013 sequel, and the 2017 computer animated film Smurfs: The Lost Village), two TV series (the 1981 Hanna-Barbera series that lasted nine seasons until 1989 and the 2021 computer animated Belgian series taking place after the events of the latest movie), and especially video games.
Their video game foray came in the form of the Coleco-developed ColecoVision and Atari 2600 title Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle in 1982 which did well at the time, and it got followed by a few more games for these formats.
RIP Infogrames, 1983-2009
Over a decade since their last video game excursion, and who better to handle Peyo's beloved license for the '90s generation than Infogrames who by this point have made a name for themselves with licensed properties, especially when it's European comic-based video game entertainment?
Image from GameFAQs
In 1994 PAL SNES gamers got treated to The Smurfs, which received a Sega MegaDrive and Mega-CD conversion by Virtual Studio the following year in 1995, then in 1997 it got ported by East Point Software to the MS-DOS and Windows computer formats, and finally it saw a Game Boy Advance port on October 2002 courtesy of Bit Managers but as The Revenge of the Smurfs (for... some reason, I don't know). For this review I'll focus solely on the Sega 16-bit version which was programmed by Frédéric Bibet, Lionel Laissus, and Emmanuel Régis, designed by Stéphane Baudet (who also acted as the game's director), Xavier Schon, and Vincent Pourieux, produced by Infogrames founder Bruno Bonnell, executive produced by Benoit de Maulmin, with Beate Vigliano-Reiter handling the translation work, and Edith Protiere who worked on publishing.
You silly French company, this is Italy's correct color order: [ | ]
I don't think so, fam.
Inquisitive Smurf (second to the right) relieved to not partake in an adventure... yet
Papa Smurf, elder and wise leader of the Smurfs, appoints and entrusts the brave and strong Hefty Smurf to journey out of Smurf Village and rescue Jokey Smurf, Brainy Smurf, Greedy Smurf, and Smurfette from the clutches of Gargamel before it is too late; it'll be a tough road ahead, but only he can undertake this important mission. Good smurf, Hefty!
Enjoy this background image of Brainy Smurf politely rescinding the offer to have a sample of Greedy Smurf's cake followed by Lazy Smurf unable to keep himself awake with Jokey Smurf laughing and Grouchy Smurf expressing sheer annoyance at Harmony Smurf's trumpet playing
In the options screen you can select your difficulty level, choose one of two control schemes by pressing left or right on the joypad, choose whether to have the background music play or not, and toggle between the different areas' music for a nice little sound test.
Left: Entering a house just to shoot himself up through a chimney, logic | Right: Waiting for the coast to be clear so I don't run into the bag
In the sidescrolling action-platformer The Smurfs you largely take control of Hefty Smurf whom you can move left and right, press up to enter through a door (but only in the Smurf Village), duck down, crawl on his elbows to fit through tight spaces by holding down while moving in either direction, pick up a sarsaparilla spring (or a key to free a Smurf from inside a cage) by pressing down beside it and carry it around with you until you decide to place it back down by pressing down once more.
Left: Careful not to get hit by the granular emanating from Farmer Smurf's worker snail 🐌 | Right: You know, there's just something fundamentally funny and ironic about starting a game where you have to avoid sustaining damage from your own kind before the adventure proper commences, watch out for Flying Smurf!
To jump up in the air press the B button (or the C button if you went with the alternate control scheme) with your gained altitude based on how hard or how lightly you pressed the button (and should you hold down the jump button when bouncing off of a sarsaparilla spring you'll propel yourself up high), if you wish to move faster hold down the A (or B) button which will add a sense of traction, and the C (or A button) button will allow you to toss the item you're carrying ahead of you.
Left: Traversing through the forest | Right: Slowly fluttering and falling leaves can serve, with precise timing, as good platforms 🍃
Throughout the course of the game are items for you to gather (either in the air or inside a tiny mushroom which you must jump on to split open) such as sarsaparilla leaves, smurfberries to replenish your health by one heart (the capacity being four), bonus stars, and a Smurf doll to gain a new life (which you could also gain by collecting twenty-five sarsaparilla leaves). Also littered throughout are enemies and obstacles, the former of which (unless they have quills or spikes on them) are mainly disposed of by hopping and bopping on them while the latter you have to steer clear of as best you can, and at the end of every fourth Act (three after Act 12) is a boss fight which requires that you damage them just enough times for them to relinquish the key that allows you to free the Smurf they are guarding, at which point you'll be granted a four-character password that allows you to pick up from that point.
Left: Be mindful of those acorn-dropping squirrels as you scale up that tree | Right: Walking on a stable portion of a bridge
Once in awhile you'll take control of the Smurf you had freed like Jokey Smurf who lobs his unlimited arsenal of explosive gifts at his foes, Brainy Smurf whose spectacles allow him to explore the dark cave with a candle in hand, and Greedy Smurf who tosses his unlimited array of cakes to his enemies, but just for that one Act or two before you return to play as Hefty. It's a nice way to change things up a little while it lasts.
Left: Leaping fish | Right: Platforming on easily weighed down birds with considerable tact and nuance
You lose a life in one of four ways in The Smurfs: by having all your health depleted by enemies and/or obstacles, by falling offscreen (or in the water or swamp depending on what Act you're in), by being touched by a Purple fly or Purple Smurf therefore making the Smurf you're currently controlling become one in the process therefore losing all your health at once, or if the timer on the upper right corner goes all the way down to zero, at which point you have to start the Act (or if there's more than one portion of said Act, the portion you made it up to) or boss fight from the beginning, but should you lose your last life you'll get a game over and will be sent back to the title screen as there are no continues. The main goal of each Act is to make it to the end in the allotted amount of time that you are given, at which point your score will get tallied up based on how much time you had remaining and how much health you've had by the time you got there plus it will let you know how many bonus stars you gathered up to now in total.
Left: Splitting open a mushroom to reveal its contents | Right: So long as you don't fall in the water should you fall off of a bird or a loose portion of a bridge you'll be fine
The Smurfs' visuals were worked on by Nicolas Pothier, Xavier Schon, and Jean-Marc Torroella and it is a very vibrant and colorful-looking game with a good sense of detail, very pleasant to the eyes. I like how the Smurf Village is bustling with Smurf activity with their mushroom houses in the backdrop, the forest is fittingly dark with very little light and highly detailed grass and trees (especially those adorned with mushrooms), the lake is so serene looking with its clear water while its second half devolves to nighttime with a haunted setting and creepy faces on gigantic sword hilts stuck on the floor occasionally sprouting its evil energy from its eyes,
Left: The Purple Smurfs are like the Boo ghosts in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. franchise in that they'll try to approach if you're looking away from them, but here be sure to hop and bop on them when they're close to you | Right: "GNAP! GNAP! GNAP!"
the fields are laced with deep green foliage and occasional drops of dew, the swamp has an appropriately dreary color palette, the mountains have got a neatly designed rocky setting with a cloudy backdrop the farther up you go, and the inside of Gargamel's manor house is foreboding with its eerily bricked up structure and all the deadly apparatus laying about. I love how when you boot up the game the clouds open themselves up to reveal the map with a Smurf riding on Feathers the stork into view which lends it an endearing sense of scale.
Left: Just narrowly sauntering past a fallen squash that's dropped into position | Right: Battling a carnivorous plant while simultaneously being mindful of Purple Smurfs passing by
The titular Smurfs themselves are designed really good with their vibrant baby blue skin and white Phrygian caps, Infogrames' design team has done an affable job at ensuring that this platformer's visual aesthetic captured the charm and spirit of Peyo's creations throughout. The walking, jumping, throwing, and elbow crawling animations are all solid, and I like how depending on the Smurf you're controlling their facial design and life icons are different, plus they each have their own distinct sense of idle animation if you hold still long enough: with Hefty Smurf covering up his mouth when letting out a long and visible yawn, Jokey Smurf (who has a mischievous eye) casually standing by his explosive gift while peering around, and Greedy Smurf (with his tongue sticking out) having a sample of the cake in his hand and eating it too. They also have a cute "yippee" cheering pose when reaching the end of an Act.
Left: Now playing as Jokey Smurf riding on a duck | Right: From duck to duck
The enemies the Smurfs have to contend with as well as ones serving as platforms are all drawn nicely too, with incredulous reactions upon being ousted, comprising of giant worms, Purple flies and Purple Smurfs with their unwaveringly threatening expression on their face, leaping frogs and mosquitos, spooky ghosts, those cool-looking dopey-eyed swamp spider creatures and their occasional tendency to suck the swamp into their system, hopping rabbits and crows (the former of which cover up their eyes with their ears upon being jumped on and the latter losing all their feathers), and Gargamel's loyal cat Azrael at the end is drawn nicely and on brand.
Left: "Heads up, frog, you got a gift!" 🎁 | Right: "One that's sure to blow you away, heeheeheeheehee, I'm funny!" 🤪
All the bosses are big and imposing in size next to the Smurfs, like the carnivorous plant in the Black Forest, the deadly snake that coils around a substance and lets out an intimidating hiss upon you being locked on as its target in the swamp, and I like how Gargamel tries to run towards you in the final battle against him with his mad grin and towering stature. I love how anytime you reach a new Act on the map screen there is a dotted trail followed by a couple of angel-winged Smurfs looming into view from the bottom of the screen pulling on each side of the scroll to reveal the name of the Act, and there is something quite ominous about the added lightning strike when looking at Gargamel's manor house upon receiving a game over.
Left: "Gee, this place sure got spooky all of a sudden, why can't Hefty do this part instead of me?" | Right: Run away, it's a ghost! 👻
The music was composed by Frédéric Mentzen, having frequently contributed his music composing skills with Infogrames for properties such as Drakkhen, The Light Corridor, Continuum, Eternam, the iconic and influential Alone in the Dark 3D horror franchise, and licensed venues such as the MegaDrive/Genesis platformer Fantasia based on the classic 1940 Disney movie, Toxic Crusaders based on the short-lived animated series, and the SNES incarnation of Astérix based on the French comic book series by Goscinny and Uderzo, and for The Smurfs he has crafted a good soundtrack that does wonders for the atmosphere and tone that it lends to the proceedings.
Left: Blowing up an hourglass to access that exit ⌛ | Right: Be careful not to have any dewdrops fall on you 💧
The title theme has got a nice and catchy rendition of Hoyt Curtin's well-known "La La Song" (sans lyrics) that segues into a deeper composition as you learn the plot (or watch the attract demos) if you don't press Start long enough, the first part of the lake theme has got an upbeat and empowering leitmotif for it that lends it an adventurous flair while the second half of Act 5 vies for a spookier and darker rendition in its opening notes paving the way for an aptly creepy composition given its shattered glass and haunted aesthetic. The theme that plays when you start at the Smurf Village is so endearing and full of character, the bridge and dam theme is bouncy, the music for the sarsaparilla fields is atmospherically immersive, and I like the zany instrumentation of the swamp theme.
Left: Elbow crawling through the fields | Right: Picking up and carrying a sarsaparilla spring
The forest and cave Acts have got one of my favorite themes in the game because of the atmospheric composition and the light sense of threat as the song progresses further, the mountain theme sounds majestic in its splendor as you reach the heights, the boss theme sounds a bit intense, this game has a nicely playful rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" with an added The Smurfs flair during the mine car and sledding Acts, and the final Act theme on the way to face off against Gargamel on the rooftop is relentlessly foreboding.
Left: Slipping down a dewy vine | Right: Entomologists, what is that swamp spider thing? I would like to know, because that's a fascinating design (that or its dopey expression is what does it for me)
The sound effects are solid across the board, such as the splashing sound for when you get in the water, the pronounced "sproing" sound for when you jump on an enemy or when the rabbits bounce back and forth in the mountains, the buzzing of the fly enemies, the booing of the ghost enemies, and the hissing of the snake boss. I also like the digitized audio bytes of the Smurf's "Yippee!" upon completing an Act, Azrael's meows sound fairly realistic, and Gargamel's evil cackle upon you sustaining damage reminds me of Jafar's evil laugh from Virgin Interactive's adaptation of Disney's Aladdin.
Screengrabbed while watching Dosgamert's Longplay of The Smurfs MS-DOS edition on YouTube; outside of the game, I have childhood memories of The Smurfs growing up, I saw episodes of the Hanna-Barbera series on VHS if not on TV, I remember playing with the miniature toys along with my cousins, and for a while there was this lineup of Smurfs miniatures at this ice cream parlor adorning its entrance wall by where one of my dad's relatives lived across from a beach
If you grew up in Europe during the '90s chances are you may have played a game or two based on a property that was hugely popular in the continent, and that was certainly the case for me having lived in and grown up in Italy during my first eleven years until 2002. Aside from the PlayStation One and Game Boy handhelds I sometimes played games on my dad's Microsoft Windows computer, and one of the games I played on it was East Point Software's conversion of The Smurfs (which was the first game I played that had Infogrames' name attached to it) which I remember finding fun at the time but I didn't get very far in it; the farthest I had gotten was the beginning of the third Act on my last set of lives as it was pretty difficult (of course, I was in my single digits when I first played it, not to mention my gameplay skills were not yet fully developed).Many years had passed since I last played it, I didn't realize until I had gotten older that this game was never released in American shores (obviously because the IP was not as popular here as it was in Europe). I was also surprised upon learning that this 16-bit take of The Smurfs was also available on the SNES, the MegaDrive, and the Game Boy Advance, but alas they were all PAL exclusive. There came a point last Summer that I really wanted to replay it again, regardless of format; sometimes when I shop on eBay I browse to see if there are any repro carts of games never officially released in America for the SNES and/or Genesis at the time out of curiosity and if there's anything I find interesting,
but as far as games concerning Peyo's characters go, the only one that usually ended up floating around for the Genesis repro cart was the Virtual Studio-developed sequel The Smurfs Travel the World (I didn't learn until I got older that there even was a sequel), which don't get me wrong: I like that American audiences are slowly, slowly getting a chance to catch up with previously Japan and/or Europe-exclusive titles via repro carts over the years, but I much desired to play its predecessor a lot more.
I love the presentation here: The Smurfs would've definitely been given a "K-A Kids to Adults" ESRB rating had it been released in American shores in 1995 as the "E for Everyone" rating wasn't a thing yet, and I love how the plastic clam shell case is colored blue like the titular protagonists which is an adorably fitting aesthetic choice
Then on one fateful February day this year (a week before SNOVID-21 hit my home, the coldest day I've experienced in a long time, the first time I've seen so much snow so early in the year where I live) I decided to look up if there was a repro cart for The Smurfs, and lo and behold there it was, at which point I was like, *gaaaaaasp* 😯 "Oh my God, there it is, and there's only one!" 😮 "... I might never get a chance like this again! ...... I must have it!" For the first time in almost two decades I was going to play 16-bit The Smurfs again, albeit this time on a Sega format. Within the same hour (or two) of finding out about the repro cart I went for it (with the aid of a couple eBay gift cards to curb the spending), this was the second most amount of money I've spent on a game (with gift cards), with the costliest game I bought being Tose's Namco Museum Volume 5 for the PlayStation One which had a price tag of $100 almost two years ago (which also entailed gift cards).
They didn't have to go out of their way to produce a manual, but I'm glad they did as it harkens back to a simpler era of gaming (only every instance of "MegaDrive" is replaced with "Genesis"), and just look at that atomic game cart! All purple and a little see-through, I love it, one of my most cherished cartridges in my Sega Genesis collection--and it helps that the game is good, too! 😄
Sure, I got this repro cart purely on impulse and because I wanted to revisit 16-bit The Smurfs after such a long time, but you know what? It was money well spent, in my eyes! 😃 What made it better is that I got this game a lot sooner than I expected to because when I ordered it I was told that the estimated delivery date would've been a week and a half from that day but imagine my surprise and excitement upon it arriving just two days later. 😲
Left: "AAAARGH, SMUUUURF!!!!" 😱 | Right: Rescuing Brainy
This video game adaptation of The Smurfs is an enjoyably good and well-made platformer replete with lighthearted charm that does an affable job at conveying the spirit of Peyo's franchise, it's largely polished throughout visually and in regards to its gameplay which is easily intuitive, has got a fun sense of area design, and I also like that there are many different challenges and obstacles to overcome which lends it a sense of variety and fun.
Left: Hefty tired of just standing idly | Right: Walking along a collapsible, crumbling gap filler of a bridge
Depending on what mode you play you might begin or pick up from an Act via password with more (five on easy) or less (three on hard) lives, there being a varied number of enemies littering the location, easy mode reducing the length of certain Acts (2, 6, 9, 10, and 12) to its first portion while the subsequent difficulty modes make the other half accessible, bosses take a varied number of hits in order to be defeated, and the eleventh and thirteenth Acts with the mine car and snow sled involve going through a differing amount of loops in order to surpass them both and eventually reach the respective exits.
Left: Pouncing a rabbit | Right: Scaling up the mountain
There's also a good sense of challenge flow as it slightly amps up the farther you go along, especially when playing on the harder difficulty settings. Examples being fluttering leaves which could be used as temporary midair platforms, making your way across the incomplete bridge by jumping on birds that get weighed down by standing on them forcing you to jump off and getting back on them but making sure not to fall down to the water due to the temporary makeshift platforms' occasional jitteriness, riding on and occasionally jumping from duck to duck,
Left: Jumping on a detonator in order to open up a previously blocked path | Right: Crawling behind a waterfall
blowing up hourglasses, evading dewdrops falling from above you as you roam around and while you're crawling, at one point near the end of an Act you must carry a sarsaparilla spring to a specific spot so you can reach it while simultaneously evading the acorns dropped down by the Howlibird as it constantly hovers over you, making sure to jump on half-submerged frog heads with precise timing before it sinks its head down,
Left: Slipped on the snow | Right: Jumping up from a snow ramp while riding down on a sled
searching thoroughly and occasionally backtracking in order to find bomb detonators to open up previously blocked passages, making your way up the volcano as its lava rises, and heading up the stairs while doing your best to evade bats as well as apples and books falling down each step, et al.
Left: Be careful of the snowballs occasionally rolling down the hill | Right: Be mindful especially of the occasionally snowboarding by Abominable Snowbeast who'll attempt to bump you off course
I like that sometimes you play as Jokey Smurf and Greedy Smurf who have their moments to shine plus they've got a long range (albeit an arched one) as they toss their items at foes, a nice break from controlling Hefty (pretty much the de facto Smurfs video game protagonist) as brief as those moments are, and the snow hill Act as you ride down from the mountain is a sweet deviation from the platforming action. I do feel that Brainy Smurf was a bit underutilized by comparison, though (they each had two Acts devoted to them while the bespectacled Smurf only had one which doesn't seem fair).
Left: Greedy tasting a sample of his cake | Right: Carefully timing when to jump should the log above the cliff be rolling
As perfectly manageable as this game is once you learn to overcome its challenges while still leaning towards the hard side, there are some moments that will continue to be challenging after the fact: in the sarsaparilla fields you'll stumble across agitated porcupines that tend to bounce around and ricochet off the edges of its confined space at unpredictable speeds and in random directions, being careful not to go too fast as there are ghosts lingering around that cannot be disposed of lest you lob an explosive gift at them that blows them away with accurate timing (though that's optional),
Left: Carefully guiding and maneuvering a bubble through a tree with thorny branches to get to the window of Gargamel's manor house | Right: That fly's about to get caked
the mine car sequence is like a rollercoaster in that it goes from slow to fast really quick especially as you veer downward as you must duck down arches unless you want to lose damage and must make absolutely sure to press the button beside an oncoming lever to stay on course as failure to do so will result in you crashing on a wall and forcing you to start over again (God help me if I can get through this Act without resorting to pausing and unpausing constantly because of how swiftly things become), at the beginning of the final Act you must float around in a bubble and maneuver it around in as delicate a manner as can be managed through thorny and twisted branches as failure to do so will result in you having to do it all again (it may happen once or twice, so try not to lose your cool here for you've got all the time you need), and the final bout with Gargamel requires you to get into the proper rhythm as you mustn't break the concentration with the Howlibird and where you're placed as it drops its innumerable amount of acorns down towards you.
Left: Going up the stairs and ducking down until the bat flies away | Right: Gargamel standoff
As video game platformers starring Peyo's Smurfs that were made during the '90s go, I feel that this 16-bit take is among the best of them (alongside the 8-bit edition developed by Bit Managers for the Game Boy, which is also an enjoyably good platformer in its own right), if not the best. As simple as it is compared to what would follow during that same decade, there is a beauty in The Smurfs' simplicity and is a fun fifty or sixty minutes to play while it lasts (or more depending how you play) with a solid sense of area design and well thought-out challenges (even if some will still get to you after you feel you've figured them out the first time), but most importantly imbued with a sense of charm and spirit that made the property so beloved in the first place. If you live in Europe and own a MegaDrive I recommend playing it, but if you live in North America and own a Genesis console if you get the chance as (and if you can afford it, for it only shows up once in a blue moon) I recommend buying the repro cart to see what American gamers missed out on at the time. Good smurf, Infogrames. 😃
My Personal Score: 8.0/10
d(^-^)dTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
● Something to note is because of the repro cart being made for a region where games ran at 60Hz speed, it has been upscaled by approximately 16.7% in regards to the tempo of the background music (click on one of the links for a theme and change the playback speed under the settings to 1.25 to have a good idea of what I'm talking about) which I admit was a little weird at first but over time I learned to get used to it--and because of that the title theme now comes across like a beatbox rhythm which I've got no complaints about, it's catchy! 😄
● For this review I looked up the list of characters and took the liberty to rewatch several episodes of the Hanna-Barbera series officially uploaded on YouTube (mostly Season 1) to refresh myself on The Smurfs' lore as I have not seen the show in such a long time, but also because I'm an animation enthusiast (animation is my jam) and honestly: I found what episodes I've caught up with to be endearing to watch, so many different storylines (including one which covered sign language when one of the Smurfs was rendered mute, so well-handled).
● Send your thoughts and prayers to the families recently affected by the recent tornado outbreak, and even though it's been almost a month also send your thoughts and prayers to the families of those who got hurt in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
● Hope you have a good weekend, everyone!
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, be a nice human, keep yourself protected during this pandemic, and take care! 😃
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