Written: 10.10.06
Acquired: 6.19.06
Status: Cart only
Price: $14.95

When I was searching for information on Spark World on the internet, it, pardon the pun, shocked me there was nothing. Sure the game's highly unoriginal, but it's pretty good regardless, so I thought I'd find SOMETHING on it. I wasn't expecting to find a full-blown
write-up, but at least a blurb in a "Recommend me some good SFC games" topic. There
was nothing to be found. It's sadly another case of an obscurity left lurking in the shadows.
That's a shame, so tonight let's shine the spotlight on this little gem

If Battle Cross was sort of like Mario Kart meets Bomberman, with emphasis on the former, then Spark World is the same -- only with the emphasis placed on the latter

The story goes as follows:

It's a distant world where intelligent cars rule, a shady casino operator who is actually a drug dealer casts his shadow over the alleys and streets. Two young cop cars, Beat and Barts decide to take matters into their own hands (so to speak) when they learn that the police department is riddled with corruption by the syndicate Boss. The intrepid pair must set off to points around the globe and blow up enemies by denotating fuel barrels. If you're not in the mood for saving the world you can always play against 3 friends (or CPU's in the battle mode)

The Story mode allows you
to select any one of nine
stages. Each stage has three
zones with the 4th being the
boss. 4-character passwords
are given after each stage

The classic themes are represented: jungle, river, ice, desert, etc.

City 1's boss is the TERROR TRAIN


The meat of the game, like Bomberman, is the battle mode with 12 selectable stages. Any combination of 2-4 players can play, and CPU AI is selectable from 1-9. You could set CPU
1 AI level nine, CPU 2 AI five and CPU 3 AI one if you so choose. Very user-friendly


And of course, by blowing blocks sky-high, you reveal items that can either help or hinder. Longer sparks, more bombs dropped at a time, jelly bombs (I told you this game was highly unoriginal...), a boxing glove (though instead of punching bombs you punch the OPPONENTS... sweet) etc.


? marks are a HUGE gamble. If you get the bad side of it, a grim reaper appears over your head with a 30 second countdown. When it reaches 0, whoever has the icon dies. Luckily, you can transfer it to anyone you touch, and it can be passed back and forth until the timer reaches 0.
It's a riot making the switch to someone with 1 second to go!  *evil laughter*


There are no dinosaurs or animals here, but each player can sustain two hits

BATTLE ZONE 1

Basic plain classic stage where pure skills reigns supreme

BATTLE ZONE 2

At first glance one might assume the arrows indicate where bombs go, but rather than COMPLETELY ripping off Bomberman, the arrows actually indicate where YOU can go

BATTLE ZONE 3

Red button = no pass. Blue = OK. The colors switch occasionally and shrewd timing
is the key to surviving and creating traps

BATTLE ZONE 4

I thought my SNES broke when I first played this zone. You're moved automatically! Challenging zone indeed

BATTLE ZONE 5

When the sides are bombed, the doors on the floor opens up. Get called up to the big house if you fall through!

BATTLE ZONE 6

Ahh the classic stage with 4 exit points. I love the look here. Unfortunately, the sparks
will NOT go through the exit points, unlike Bomberman. Shame, but oh well

BATTLE ZONE 7

I love this stage: design and gimmick alike. Once the boulder is free it'll roll around the stage. Sparks influence its direction. Don't let it crush you!  There's nothing better than blasting the giant rock right through your friend!

BATTLE ZONE 8

Ahhh the classic conveyor belt stage. I also love the look here. Good, GOOD stuff

You can set match victory
to 1-5 matches much like
Bomberman. The victory
screen is a hoot




OOPS!!!  VICTRY!

While Spark World is a rip-off almost through and through, it does have a sweet feature that draws the battle lines in the sand quite  emphatically. At the end of a round the game lets you know who your "Rival" is




Yellow car is SO screwed for round 2... haha

CLOSING THOUGHTS

A solid, fun Bomberman clone -- not as good, but makes for a decent alternative. If you love these games as much as I do, it's a must-own. The four stages not highlighted all have crazy gimmicks (i.e. gun placed in the middle, mega bombs, etc.) but they all use the same stage design

When the sparks get long the battles get really intense. It's neat how the spark color indicates
who dropped the bomb(s). Overall, worth a look!

                                                                               SW, you were born for this moment

Overall: 7.5

Bronze Award