Arcade Archives Clu Clu Land

Genre: Arcade

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Clu Clu Land is an Arcade-style game released in 1984 on the Japanese Famicom, and then in 1985 on its Western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System, as a launch title. Meanwhile, the game also received an arcade port in 1984.

This game uses 2D pixel art visuals and chiptune sound design that work well enough for the game. It all has a retro style charm to it, but it’s not exceptional in any way.

Clu Clu Land plays a bit like maze games such as Pac-Man, though instead of navigating a maze grabbing pickups while avoiding enemies, you’re searching the empty areas of each level for hidden ingots that end up forming the maze for enemies, while navigating by grabbing onto turnposts spread throughout the maze.

Unfortunately, I find this style of movement takes a lot of getting used to, and it never quite feels natural, making it far too easy to fumble your way right into enemies. The result is a game that just isn’t very fun.

This release of the game includes a new “Hi-Score Mode” that challenges players to make as many points as they can in one run. There is also a new “Caravan Mode” that does much the same, but with the limit being five minutes. In addition, this release of the game gives players a decent array of options, including various display options, sound options, challenge modifiers, button mapping, and online leaderboards.

So there are only two remaining elephants in the room to discuss. First: Is this game worth its $8 price tag? And second, is it worth buying if you already subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, which includes a version of this game on its Nintendo Entertainment System app? I’m going to say no on both counts. Not only is $8 pretty steep for a game this old and that plays this poorly, but the Nintendo Entertainment System app version is not different enough to make this version worthwhile in its own right. Really, the only reason anyone would want to buy this release is if they absolutely must own a version of the game. But if you plan on continuing to maintain your Nintendo Switch Online subscription, this release has very little of value for you.

In the end, Clu Clu Land is outdated, overpriced in this release, and irrelevant due to another way to play it that you very likely already have access to if you own a Nintendo Switch. If you really want to play this game, I suggest you just play it on Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Entertainment System app, and save yourself $8.

tl;dr – This is a bit of an odd twist on a Pac-Man-style maze game where players are bouncing around a maze trying to uncover hidden treasure while avoiding enemies. However, what they’ll fight more than anything are the awkward controls that have you turning by spinning around poles on the level. What’s more, the absurd $8 price tag and the ability to play this game on Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Entertainment System app mean there is very little reason to bother with this release.

Grade: D

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