Antcruz & Sarah

Antcruz & Sarah is a 1991 side-scrolling platformer video game once again developed by AC Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a direct sequel to Antcruz: Down Under!, the previous game released in the series. Gameplay is similar to the previous game. The game is a more traditional side-scroller game, as there is no time limit and it is optional to defeat all enemies. However, the worlds are also more linear this time and are more comparable to a traditional platformer game rather than an Antcruz game, rather than Down Under, which had level design more akin to the arcade games. Instead of sticking to one theme through the entirety of the game like previous titles, the game explores a variety of different world types, although still loosely based on a world exploration concept. The game has 8 worlds, each with 5 levels (with the exception of Bamboo Stonehenge, which only has one level.) The game was released on September 16, 1991 in North America and Japan, October 2, 1991 in Europe and Australia, and August 31, 1992 in South Korea.

Story
Following the events of Antcruz: Down Under!, Sieren returns and, without warning, snatches Natalie from Antcruz as a form of revenge. In a panic, without even considering that Sieren’s whereabouts are unknown at this point, Antcruz and Sarah quickly make their way out of Miracle Island. It’s not until they reach the end of Analog City that Sarah questions Antcruz on where Sieren even is or if they’re going in the right direction; However, on one of the walls of the Analog City Subway Station, they find a mysterious hint that states “the destination of a duo of yellow and lavender is behind the Ninjitsu Palace.” Antcruz takes this as a hint and the both of them proceed on their journey. After Antcruz and Sarah find the Bamboo Stonehenge, the final hint reveals that “the queen is making a weapon out of someone,” referring to how Sieren is planning to transform Natalie into a human weapon. After they find the entrance to and make their way across Flaming Mineral, Sieren’s world that is hidden deep underground, they realize the final hint was referring to Nora, a medusa-like clone of Natalie created using her DNA who is guarding the entrance to Sieren’s hallway. After she is defeated, Antcruz orders Sarah to stay outside the room while he handles everything onward, feeling like it’s something more appropriate for him to face. He then finally meets Sieren, transforms into his ultimate form, and defeats her.

There are three endings to the game, all of which depend on how many Ant Tokens the player has collected:

- If the player collects 20 or less Ant Tokens, Antcruz will rescue Natalie upon defeating Sieren, but Sarah ends up missing when he opens the door.

- If the player collects more than 20 but less than 50 Ant Tokens, Antcruz will rescue Natalie, and both of them and Sarah make it home safely; However, Sieren wakes up and begins fantasizing about her next revenge scheme. This is widely perceived to be the canon ending to the game.

- If the player collects all of the Ant Tokens, Antcruz will rescue Natalie, and the both of them and Sarah make it home safely, with peace being fully restored to their lives.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Antcruz & Sarah largely carries over from the previous game, Antcruz: Down Under!; It is a 2D, side-scrolling platformer in which the player, controlling either Antcruz or Sarah, must reach the end of the stage (or a goal that is located somewhere random in the stage rather than at the end, depending on the area.) Likewise, the level design continues off the same formula seen in Down Under, but focuses less on exploration and is more linear in tone. Similar to previous games, Antcruz is able to double jump and zap enemies using his energy fuel (gained from A-Cola) in order to earn points, while Sarah is able to briefly twirl in mid-air and shoot enemies using gun ammo; She does not have as much range as Antcruz but is much faster. Players can also collect rubies to earn points. Using Antcruz or Sarah’s abilities causes the amount of energy fuel to decrease, though collecting their respective power-ups will regenerate fuel. If the energy fuel completely runs out, it will leave the player unable to use their abilities. Items are stored inside of breakable heart boxes that are scattered throughout each stage. If the player directly touches an enemy, they’ll be hurt for 10 seconds, and if the player touches an enemy again while already hurt, they’ll lose a life entirely. If the player loses all of their lives entirely, the game will end. The player will receive extra points for bonuses at the end of each stage, and will also be given a bonus item by Nia, similarly to the previous game. New collectable items exclusive to the game are Ant Tokens, which are tokens that are scattered throughout the game and are usually seen inside of areas that require the usage of specific items or characters. There are 50 Ant Tokens in total that can be collected, and they’re used to unlock special modes in the game. The amount of Ant Tokens also affects the ending of the game. The game also features multiplayer mode where player one controls Antcruz and player two controls Sarah; However, unlike previous Antcruz games on the NES, including the NES version of Antcruz 2, which had turn-based multiplayer modes, the multiplayer mode of this game returns to the co-op seen in the arcade version of Antcruz 2; This mode also gives Antcruz and Sarah new gameplay mechanics where if one gets close to the other and executes the attack button, they will pick the other up, and then throw them once the attack button is executed again. Antcruz’s ultimate form also makes its return in both modes, being activated if Antcruz collects 20 A-Cola cans and allowing him to run faster, jump infinitely, and use stronger attacks. Along with the basic multiplayer mode is a brand new “battle mode” which is unlocked if the player collects 20 Ant Tokens. In this mode, two players (Antcruz and Sarah) are placed inside one of ten small, arena-like stages and must use their unique attacks on each other to defeat each other. This mode features a different life system, having a health bar in place of an energy bar and having attacks be infinitely usable; However, special items, which appear randomly, are only temporarily usable. More extra modes include “Sapphire Mode”, a mode that is unlocked after collecting 35 Ant Tokens in which the player must avoid collect rubies in favor of sapphires, and “Expert Mode”, a mode that is unlocked after collecting all 50 Ant Tokens which significantly ramps up the game’s difficulty. Antcruz & Sarah notably features the first hub-world in the series, known as the “Overworld Center.” After the player loses a life or completes a stage, they are taken to the Overworld Center, a room that consists of two doors that lead to smaller rooms (one of which containing a shop where rubies can be spent on items to start out the next stage with, and the other of which being a selection for separate game modes) as well as a small overworld map where the player chooses a stage.

Miracle Island
The first world in the game, based on the fictional island of Miracle Island, Antcruz’s home land. The world largely focuses on the basics of the game. This world is notable for being the first mention and major appearance of Miracle Island overall in an Antcruz game.

Analog City
The second world of the game in the US version. This world is based on New York City and introduces new hazards such as fast-moving cars, falling platforms and booby traps.

Clockwork Town
The third world of the game in the US version. This world is based on London, England and focuses more on puzzle-solving elements than most other worlds.

Voyager Harbor
The fourth world of the game in the US version. This world is based on Sydney, Australia and features more underwater sections, as well as a bigger focus on large amounts of enemies and toxic environments.

Ricco Square
The fifth world of the game in the US version. This world is based on the Alhambra in Spain (despite the final level being based on the Tower of Pisa in Italy) and puts more of a focus on labyrinth and maze-like environments.

Ninjutsu Palace
The sixth world of the game in the US version. This world is mainly based on traditional Japanese dojos, though it also makes reference to multiple other Asian territories, such as China and India. In terms of level structure, it mostly combines the labyrinth-like environments of Ricco Square with the tough enemies and traps of other previous worlds.

Bamboo Stonehenge
The seventh world of the game. The world consists of only one level that is based on a larger variant of the real-life Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Because of the combination of its massive environment and objective requiring the player to find a hidden exit, it has gained infamy for being one of the most long and tedious levels in the entire series.

Flaming Mineral
The final world of the game, being based on the deep underground territory in which Sieren rules the sabous. Each level, aside from the final one, which only consists of the final boss with Sieren, is a culmination of elements that were focused on in prior worlds.

Reception
The game was positively received upon release. The game is still reviewed very positively in retrospect, though critics were divided on whether it was better than its predecessor or not due to its level design and multiplayer mode, both of which being considered to be rather underwhelming. Nevertheless, the game was praised for its gameplay and was noted for having impressive conceptual choices for an NES platformer. GamesCompass retrospectively gave the game a 7/10, praising the game for its gameplay and interesting concepts for its time, but opined that its level design was inferior to that of Down Under. The review stated, “For a late-era NES title, the game’s concept of world exploration is rather interesting and gives the world a much rather open feeling compared to the straightforward nature of Down Under...we just wish the levels themselves matched that open feeling a bit more.” ScrewDefense gave the game a similar review, praising its unique ideas and evolution on the Antcruz formula but criticizing its level design, particularly singling out Bamboo Stonehenge as one of the absolute worst levels from any Antcruz game. Though some critics opined that the game was inferior to its predecessor, some disagreed. IJN felt that the game’s progression and content made up for most of the weaker stages, while AC Magazine actually praised the level design, feeling that it matched the game’s gameplay and physics engine well enough. In terms of the game’s extras, the extra unlockable modes were praised, but the game’s main co-op multiplayer mode was another aspect of the game that divided critics; Some thought it was too awkward compared to Antcruz 2’s similar multiplayer mode due to the smaller screen size and speed when played as Sarah and thus should’ve stuck to a taking-turns format like the NES version of Antcruz 2.

Trivia
- This game has the most regional change out of any other game in the series. While all versions of the game start with Miracle Island and end with Bamboo Stonehenge and Flaming Mineral, the second world is designated based on the regional version of the game. For example, in the Japanese Famicom version, the second world unlocked is Ninjutsu Palace. In the Australian version of the game, the second world unlocked is Voyager Harbor. This change has become infamous due to it resulting in poor difficulty structure in some versions.

- According to the series creator, there was an ending that was meant to occur if the player avoided collecting any of the Ant Tokens that was scrapped; In this ending, Antcruz defeats Sieren, but doesn’t end up rescuing Natalie since Nora would turn out to be a transformation of her rather than a clone. Although it was heavily believed to be scrapped due to its dark and controversial nature, it was actually just scrapped in order to avoid false implications.

- Another scrapped feature was a supposed equivalent to Antcruz’s ultimate form that would have occured if Sarah collected 20 ammo packs, allowing her to upgrade her gun to a “triple booster” that shot three bullets at a time (one in a straight line and two diagonally) and allowed her to twirl in the air infinitely. This was scrapped due to the limitations of the NES that were already met at that point, though this feature would end up becoming a reality in Antcruz Universe 2.

- The Ant Tokens were also reportedly implemented into the game as a way of compensating for the lack of exploration in comparison to Down Under.

- While this has never been specifically mentioned by the creator or anyone who worked on the game, there are unused graphics that may indicate that there was a scrapped world that was to be based on Iceland. This was likely scrapped due to time constraints.