Claymates (Super NES)

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Claymates is a side-scrolling platformer developed by Visual Concepts and published by Interplay in 1993 exclusively for the Super NES. The was by far the most popular genre of gaming in the 8 and 16-bit era so this one probably got lost in the crowd a little. The most unique thing about this game is its claymation style animation similar to what the same company did in ClayFighter which was released around the same time. ClayFighter had pretty big success and judging from the three page ad layout in EGM, Interplay must of thought they had a big hit on their hands with Claymates as well. Honestly though, I didn't remember this game at all so I'm not sure it was as popular as they hoped...but maybe it was just me.

This game follows the same general formula as most other side-scrolling platform games of the time. Run and jump avoiding obstacles and defeating or avoiding enemies along the way. The unique play mechanic in this game is the fact that the main characters is a ball of clay that can transform into one of four animals. These include Muckster the Cat, Doh-Doh the Duck, Oozy the Mouse, Goopy the Guppy, and Globmeister the Chipmunk. The ad here features Goopy the Guppy leaving me to wonder if there were ads for all of the animals. In any case, each animal has its own special abilities that will help you in different situations.

This game has a fair amount of variety. As you work your way through different levels you will progress through places such as your back yard, the Pacific, Japan, Africa, and even outer space. The story doesn't really matter much but you are basically trying to rescue your father from the bad guy that stole his transformation serum and turned you into a clay ball.

The graphics are kind of a mixed bag. On one had, the backgrounds are nice and the claymation effect is very unique. On the other hand, these clay animated figures, though well done, don't necessarily look as good as the sharp and colorful looking sprites found in most games. I guess it's a personal preference thing. There's also nothing to complain about with the sound and music.

This game was generally reviewed well. If I were playing a side-scroller like this at the time, other than Mario, I would have been more into sci-fi themed games so I would probably have passed this one by. A pin-up of Goopy the Guppy sure wouldn't have made me want to play it, lol. However, if you are a fan of the genre and the SNES, then this is definitely a decent one to pick up. This would seem to be a case of not wanting to judge a book by its cover.

There are a couple of interesting development notes. Development initially started on the NES but moved to the Super NES early on. There was also a Genesis version planned but for some reason never completed. I'm not really sure why. It doesn't seem like it would have been a particularly difficult port but perhaps the sales weren't what they were expecting and they chose not to pursue additional ports. I'm just speculating but Clayfighter had a number of sequels and I don't think there were any sequels to this game.

Claymates was added to the Nintendo Classics service in 2021. If you have a Nintendo Switch or a Switch 2 then that is an easy way to play this game. Otherwise, you will have to track down an original copy for your Super NES or use emulation. As far as I know, there haven't been any other releases of this game.

The ad above is from the March 1994 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

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