Previous Next

Dare you think it? Can you believe it? Could it ever make sense? Can you cope? What do you mean with what? With Ken D. Fish, that's what. Yeah, looks like our very own lovable, cuddly, harmless and ever so innocent Ken D. Fish has a pretty shady distant past.

Capcom sources inform us that deep in those dark and dangerous times when Japan was a country full of er... dark and dangerous deeds, and Ken's family was still in the early stages of evolution (i.e. human and not particularly fishy at all!) one vile, boil-ridden and generally smelly ancestor of his was running riot in the east. Shocking, eh?

The nasty piece of work in question was none other than Ryu Ken. Oh, the sort of villain who kidnaps children, razes harmless villages to the ground and brainwashes simple peasants into becoming the soldiers of his black and wicked cause. Boo, hiss.

Lucky that even then there were guys like Lee Wong (that's you) around. These were the sort of guys who risked everything to free the innocent and save the free. Aaah.

Single-handedly and without the tiniest bit of help, he sets off through several different temple, outdoor and indoor environments to beat those brain-dead soldiers into a pulp, rescue the children and make sure guys like Ryu Ken Oh never breathe again.

Good job that some of the dying soldiers leave behind bonus power, weapons and goodies. Not so good that every now and again Lee comes across a great big, stonking, mega-hard temple guardian, the sort of guy you'd like to spend a lifetime washing dishes and avoiding - let alone kill. Unless he jumps out of his way and beats him up pretty quick, Lee's mincemeat.

Oh yeah - and if you let the darker side of Ken's family survive, what will happen to Ken D. Fish?

Fish fingers, that's what.

Yay, I thought when I first saw this - a Tiger Road coin-op (well nearly) slap bang in the middle of the Zzap! office. Fab! Now for the bad news: neither version is entirely faithful to the coin-op and not all that many levels look the same. Now hold on - don't go rushing off with that miserable look on your face - here comes the good news: it's still really good fun to play.

Yep, the combat's fast, the gameplay is furious and the levels are just hard enough to keep you playing on and on. I wouldn't say the C64 or the Amiga graphics are exactly spectacular but the action is a bucketful of fun. And basically, when it comes down to it and all that an' everyfin', that's what counts, innit?

Call me mad Maff if you like, but I just couldn't get into this. I haven't played the arcade game, so I can't really comment on how good a conversion it is - but on both formats, the game itself just seems to lack that extra edge. Apart from the end-of-level baddies, the sprites aren't all that big and a lot of the time on the C64, I found it a bit difficult to see what was going on.

The sound's not too bad on either version but when it comes to the gameplay department there just isn't enough to interest me. You might like it though. All I'm saying is, try before you rush out and rip it off the shelf.

Threaten to throw a bucket of water over my head and I'd be the first to admit that Tiger Road isn't the slickest conversion I've ever seen on the C64. The levels aren't particularly faithful to the coin-op (a bit more on the Amiga, but not much!) and some of the end-of-level aliens are a bit of a letdown.

Still, it's a dead good game in its own right, with plenty of variety to keep you hooked. As long as you're not expecting a well-faithful conversion, run down to your local software shop and demand to see this in a strong, purposeful voice.

Presentation 65%
Keyboard option and no-frills screen presentation on the C64. The Amiga has an in-between level screen as well - woooh.

Graphics 70%
Nice backgrounds on both versions but some of the sprites on the C64 are a bit small and lack detail. Amiga has nice animation and the sprites are very like the coin-op.

Sound 69%
Silly oriental title music on the C64 and bland in-game theme - luckily you can switch it off. The Amiga version has a title tune and dramatic sound effects.

Hookability 82%
Easy to get into and very addictive right from the start.

Lastability 66%
The action might get a mite repetitive after a while.

Overall 73%
Not a top notch conversion but a pretty good game nevertheless.