Platform: Sega 32X Genesis

Developer: Sega

Publisher: Sega

Release Date (NA): 1995

Genre: Platforming

Nerd Rating: 6.25 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Aaaand-a-one, and-a-two, and-a-three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Keep the rhythm. Keep the tempo. Hold on… Surely that’s what this game is about, right? It is called “Tempo,” afterall. Well, maybe it is a game about tempo and music, maybe it isn’t. We’ll dive into that soon enough, but before I go all-in on a game review, I generally love to take in the initial experience. Put myself in my own shoes, or the shoes of somebody in the era, in the moment.

Picture yourself… It’s 1996. You’re standing in the aisle at Toys ‘R Us or K-Mart, and you’re staring into the glass case. You see THIS (see box-art above): Some bug-boy with badass shades kicking a one-eyed Triceratoctopus. You’re confused, but you’re intrigued.

“MA! HEY MA!”

*Mom runs to the aisle, terrified you’re being abducted: “What! What’s wrong?!”

*In your sweetest softest voice ever: “Mommy. Can I… Can I… Can I have this game because it looks SO cool!”

*Mom sees liquidated price and says: “Sure hon!”

“THANKS MOM! YOU’RE THE BEST!

And that’s how you create a really happy child in 1996.

The point being: you see this cool looking game, you admire the artwork. The design. You’re fully entranced by the colors of the screenshots on the back of the box. And you marvel at the thought of how damn cool this next-generation game could be. You get home, open the game, and you notice every little angle on the sleek black cartidge, with its softer / more rounded edges than a standard Genesis cart. You boot it up, you sit about 2 and 1/2 feet from the TV encased in a full wood cabinet, and you love… every… second of being a child.

A QUICK RECAP ON THE 32X

Ah, yes. The 32X. No pepperoni, just strictly a mushroom topping for this Sega Pie (IYKYK). The hottest pile of garbage from the good ol’ days. I am, of course, referring to the Sega 32X Genesis add-on. An atrocious (yet peculiarly cool) add-on designed to beef up the Genesis with better graphics, color, processing, and more. In all honesty, it DOES deliver some improved graphics, but the sound is atrocious, the price is insane (currently and back at launch), it’s difficult to actually get working, and it’s soooo not worth it. With that said… WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

Such was the tagline for the 32X. Welcome to the Next Level.  And this thing is seriously frustrating to contend with. So, if the “next level” is frustration, then I must be on the Final Boss because I’m beyond frustrated. While I do own three of these badboys (WHY!?), one of them is the OG that my mom got me from K-Mart when they were being liquidated for $20. I’m proud to still own it near 30 years later. Unfortunately, it’s tricky to get booted up sometimes. I will say, I may have found the perfect combination of system, cables, etc to get it booted. I swapped out cables, adapters, metal clips, Genesiseses’ss (spelling?) and 32Xesxesx (help me) like I was working a Myst puzzle, and eventually matched the perfect combination! I can just picture the stone head from Legends of the Hidden Temple trying to give me instructions…

TEMPO: ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC?

Tempo is a general platforming game whose story is entirely lost on me. I’m sure some internet research will yield some results… Beep boop beep. Yup, here it is. Excerpt from SegaRetro.org/tempo

In the world of Rhythmia, Dance Master Major Minor is holding a huge music festival. Tempo the grasshopper and his friend Katy are competing in a dance contest on the Major Minor Show for a coveted trophy. But the sinister King Dirge wants the trophy. He and his minions, called Mussi Productions, try to force Tempo and Katy out of the contest.

Okay… Credit where credit is due. That’s a cool idea for a story. So maybe the “Tempo” name makes a little more sense. There’s dancing, there’s music, there’s… there’s… Wait. If that’s the story, then please explain the gameplay to me because there must be some similarities between the gameplay and the story/concept, right?

WRONG

GAMEPLAY

Tempo, for all its glory and renown amongst the 32X’s small library as one of the system’s best games, is a simple and straightforward platformer at its core, and nothing more. There’s a few gimmicks here and there that keep it fresh, but truly this is a platforming game and little else. I admittedly did not beat the game, but I did paly it for many hours and explored a lot of the game. I later used cheat codes to at least get a glimpse and feel for each level.

Our protagonist Tempo is a fun little character to play with, and he’s fairly easy to get a hang of. He has a few slick moves such as a jump kick and a flutter move, and a fun little projectile attack. He jumps from platform to platform, traversing the modestly designed stages. There’s a boss battle and then the level is complete. There you have it. Tempo in a nutshell.

 

Admittedly, I was completely enthralled. Captivated. Taken aback (positively). On my first go-round with Tempo, there were many exciting moments. Highlight-worthy moments:

• The music is snazzy on every level. Each tune has a real funky vibe, and I quickly found myself nodding my head and tapping my foot. Certainly not the worst sound I’ve ever heard on a 32X.
• Gameplay is tight and feels smooth. Very fluid.
• The graphics are downright insane for the era, and on a cartridge to boot.
• This is fun as hell!

The above bullets represent my first 60-ish minutes of gaming. I was occasionally confused about what’s an enemy, what’s the point and purpose, what does this do, what does that do, and so forth. But I never felt lost or without purpose. But after that initial hour of gameplay, I hadn’t died once… and I’m really not THAT good at video games. I started to get bored and was quickly losing interest. I began to notice the game is fairly repetitive, the music (for all its funky glory) is on a very short loop and never ascends to the next level (c’mon 32X). The level designs seem like scattershot: one level will be intricately designed while the other feels like it could be a free-to-play web game.

LEVEL DESIGN

I mentioned above that some levels seem to have a very basic design to them, while others seem intricate and well-thought-out. But regardless, ALL of the levels look REALLY good. There’s an indigestion level where you start off going through some giant creatures mouth, then you go into their insides and play there. There’s an urban street level. A Christmas level. A jungle level. Etc. The variety of locales is pretty neat and keeps the visuals fresh.

The bonus stages, on the other hand, appear to be a complete afterthought. Honestly, I wasn’t able to accomplish a single thing in ANY of the bonus stages. They give you zero instructions, and I failed out within mere seconds. Also, the visuals here are… well… lacking, to say the least. They look like late-80s computer interactive program art more than “Next Generation 32X Graphics.” It’s embarrasing! But at least they’re bonus levels and not standard levels.

OVERALL
To conclude this review:

Despite my initial excitement and fun with Tempo, it all vanished so quickly. Boredom set in super hard after a few levels, and I asked myself: What’s the point in continuing? It all started to run together and actually grew tiresome. Admittedly, the graphics are super nice, and the music is really a ton of fun, and the gameplay is tight, but it really lacks anything extra. It feels like maybe this game was designed as a showcase for the 32X, and they put all their money into the polish and shine and not enough into the substance. And, disappointingly, there seems to be zero emphasis on tempo, rhythm, dancing, etc. But oh well.

But I don’t want to be too harsh. Tempo is not a bad game. And sometimes, this is just what gaming was like during this 4th generation of gaming. But therein lies the issue: the market was oversatured with mediocre Mario-clones who didn’t do enough to separate themselves. For those of you who may be new to the 32X and you’re exploring the library, or maybe you’re well-versed with the 32X, and you’re curious about Tempo, I’m here to tell you: you can certainly do much worse! It’s fun enough to warrant a playthrough, and maybe you’ll like it more than I did, because it’s NOT a bad game. Cheers.

Nerd Rating: 6.25 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry