Pandemonium!

This game has a certain charm to it. Quirky and loveable it is. Pandemonium is the tale of Nikki, a sorceress, Fargus, a jester, and his puppet Sid. One night they accidentally summon a monster called Yungo, who eats their village. In order to put things back to how they were, they must have a wish granted by the Wishing Engine. And so commences their journey.

I love the level select screen, with its little model representations of the areas. Here is where you can switch character. I prefer Nikki's mobility, and I looked up to her when I was younger. Levels themselves consist of fixed paths through scenery, which can often twist in fascinating ways. On the way there are drops out of the environment which cause death, moving surfaces, bouncy objects, traps and powers to absorb. The latter can manifest as ice to freeze and shatter an enemy, to a sort of green bubble that shrinks them.
Most enemies are dispatched by the very simple act of jumping on them, although there are some that you should seek to avoid interaction with altogether.
There are sometimes alternative paths through a part of a level, usually being much higher up and requiring that you hop onto dragonflies.



A downside of the game is that, if you play without first having entered relevant passwords, you have only two health points, illustrated as hearts. It is very easy to lose them. You collect extra heart spaces throughout the game if you find them, but anybody who doesn't is in for a frustrating time.
A much more enjoyable gaming experience can be obtained by first toggling-in the passwords BORNFREE and HARDBODY.

You have no need for a memory card, everything is done with passwords.

A few levels feature barriers that you pass through which turn you into another creature, until you pass through the matching set at the end. This includes a flying dragon! Most areas are upbeat and cheery, save for the Storm Temple level which features some sort of evil incarnation of potato smiley faces and I find it horrendous to this day.
The boss levels are fairly simple, involving moving in circles and a pattern of avoidance.
Even the credits themselves are a level!




Depending on how much treasure you collect in-game, you may wind up in one of two bonus games at the end of a level.
Overall, this is a very charming title. It can be incredibly enraging at times, but this is a good way to get rid of life stress, and you'll have a great sense of reward at the end.

Burke Trieschmann's soundtrack is absolutely lovely, and capable of evoking lots of different moods.