Genre
Action

Dominant Algorithm
Run & Jump Rail Shooter/Have Headache

Game-play
You are tasked with running through 8 worlds, each broken down into 4 parts. As you traverse these fantasy worlds, you must jump over pits, blast baddies with your fireballs, and collect power-ups like stars and mushrooms. At the end of each world is a boss, stronger and scarier than anything you have fought up until that point.

Nope. Not that one. Let’s try again…

Welcome to Visual Hell!!!

Spend all the time you like. There is no technology or intellectual process that can decipher the visual catastrophe that is 3D World Runner in 3D. Generously, the programmers included a 2D mode in the game when it was released which distinguishes itself from the 3D mode by being playable.

Still pretty rough...

Sweetness
Interesting perspective and clever programming give the game a really nice feel. The controls are smooth enough and the sound you hear when you collect a star is cute.

Weakness
Incredibly boring and repetitive. A lot of these early games were as much experiments in programming as they were attempts to make an engaging experience. This one leans heavily on the ‘development’ side of the equation.

Invaluable Lessons:

1) In Mario, mushrooms give you more power. In 3D World Runner, they hurt you. From this I learned that the world is a complicated place and we must study hard to understand the differences between healthy mushrooms and poisonous ones.

2) Don’t be quick to judge. While the 3D mode looks like something a donkey puked at the state fair, you shouldn’t write it off completely. In the upper levels, you will fight invisible enemies. Switching to 3D will betray their position on the screen.

3) Stepping on a frog’s head will launch you into a super jump.

Still Fun?
Not really. With the thrill of 3D having been well worn on every console since the NES, this game is reduced feeling like a tech demo for tech that is utterly useless now. I wonder how Fantavision will fare in 20 years. Probably none-the-better.

Relevance Satellite to the Paradigm Shift from my Youth
It’s important to remember that the Famicom and NES marked an unexpected revival of home-gaming. While the company was seeing its boom, many young programming firms were trying to find their place in the gaming world. Before Square was creating the greatest RPGs our species has ever seen, they were making incredibly mediocre action games and this is among that set.

But, this diversion was to be short lived. In the same year that 3D World Runner was released, the three main programmers on that project also developed and released Final Fantasy. Although 3D World Runner saw one sequel in Japan, I think it’s pretty easy to assess which franchise took off.


  • Punkdefied

    I remember playing this game at day care back in the day. The day care had 1 NES with 1 controller, 2 games ( this one and Mega Man 2) and a black and white 13″ tv). If you think playing this game in 3D mode in color was unplayable imagine on black and white TV(I guess we’d call that Paul mode?) Anyways I remember Mega Man 2 being played about 4000% more often than this game. But I do remember it being kinda cool that you were not playing the typical left to right side scroller so I give them some props for that. If you say that he was “shooting” fireballs, this may be the first 3rd person (over the shoulder type like Gears of War) shooter ever. I guess that’s some kind of accomplishment…

  • http://www.Bonus-Level.com Lance

    I wonder if they will remake this game on the 3DS or is it to remained all but forgotten.