Jim Power in Mutant Planet (PC Engine CD)

Hybrid (Horizontal / Platformer)
Checkpoints OFF
1 Difficulty level
5 Stages
Ship speed fixed
- - - - - - -
Developed by Loriciel
Published by Micro World in 1992

Putting together run'n'gun and shoot'em up levels in the same video game seems like a very nice way to entertain fans of both styles. A true representative of this particular genre crossover, Jim Power, or Jim Power in Mutant Planet as displayed in the start screen, was first released for the Commodore Amiga before appearing in a few other platforms. I can't vouch for how the game behaves in comparison with the original, but the PC Engine CD version is considered by many to be one of the best pretty much on the account of the soundtrack, which is indeed the technical highlight of the game.

Upon a quick glance, however, the graphics and the animation for the main character are of course admirable. Colorful sprites and abundant parallax in the shmup levels give you the impression of a truly charming adventure, where a heroic young man named Jim is sent to another planet to rescue the president's daughter from an evil alien called Vulkhor. The game's European heritage is too strong though, and Jim Power in Mutant Plant is an authentic product of this dreaded development school. That's why players should expect to fight not only against the enemies, but also against wonky controls and a series of contentious design choices that aren't really the epitome of engaging shooting action.

The good news is that what seems like a painful ordeal is just a good old challenge in memorization. On top of the bullet count being actually very low, absolutely everything moves according to a fixed pattern and does not respawn. With a little practice and at least some minor degree of patience everyone can beat the game, regardless of the lack of continues. There's also a password feature that allows direct access to all stages, which is also good for training.

A voyage to a mutant planet to rescue a beautiful girl
(courtesy of YouTube user The VideoGames Museum)

Exclusive to this version is the extended intro that shows how Jim gets to the mutant planet. Once there, he must battle through five levels to get to Vulkhor. Stages 1, 3 and 5 are of the platforming type, whereas stages 2 and 4 unfold in a horizontal shooting fashion. All bosses are also fought in a shmup environment, and since they're all complete pushovers the bulk of the challenge lies in not dying during the levels themselves. In the platforming levels button II is used to shoot and button I is used to jump. Hold the shot button to charge and release a limited special attack, which the game erroneously – by well-known genre conventions – calls a smart bomb (SB). This resource isn't available during the shmup parts, where you're naturally only allowed to use the shot button.

As Jim gets through the platforming parts, it's very important to master the jump mechanic. It's definitely an awkward one, and requires specific timing to land over moving surfaces. And if you want to fire your gun while jumping, think twice. Doing so interrupts the jump movement, which more often than not makes you fall to an agonizing demise over deadly thorns. Also be on the lookout for enemies hopping happily where you're about to land, which is another way to die and feel stupid about yourself. A single touch from an enemy or an active obstacle (drops from the ceiling, spikes, etc.) is enough to kill you. It's possible to duck, but you're only allowed to shoot left and right, not up or at diagonals.

A series of items appears by destroying an insect-like container, or simply hovering at mid-air in certain points. The most important ones are the clock, which resets your timer to 1:59 (timing out means death), the 1UP (extra life), the key (which opens up doors along the way), EXT (extra, a.k.a. power-up) and very scarce symbols that alters your shot type later on during the game. A couple of items resembling fruit give you some points, in the same way the green and the golden crystals that pop up everywhere do. The aforementioned smart bomb (SB) has a purpose, but I much prefer to just activate a turbo funtion and rely on regular shooting from start to finish. Finally, a somewhat useless invincibility item works for some seconds only, so my advice is to not trust its effect at all. Fortunately it's not necessary to get out of your way to get any of these items. They're all naturally placed to be easily collected as you move along.

Shooting sections are shorter but initially a lot more treacherous because your hitbox is huge and lives behave like health. Jim doesn't disintegrate in a skeleton animation like in the platforming areas, instead the hit just takes away one life and he keeps on flying. Once again, memorization is key to get through all those waves of drones, insect flocks, flying mushrooms, stray leaves and jumping fish. Everything gets by really fast, and at least in stage 2 you're severely underpowered, a situation that demands an active approach to avoid the successive loss of lives. Strangely enough, stage 4 is a little easier since you'll have better firepower once you get there. Not a single bullet is fired against you in these shmup parts, so the enemies themselves behave as "bullets" (Deep Blue, anyone?). The only items found in both shooting stages are a clock and a 1UP.

A powerful jetpack and lava rivers

Jim Power in Mutant Planet looks nice but completely lacks the beautiful parallax effects of the platforming sections seen in the Amiga original, but this actually provides less confusion for those who might have a hard time with the visual overload of multiple planes scrolling at different speeds. Judging by videos, it's also clear that this version simplifies other important aspects such as the enemy diversity in shooting stages, which in turn are less dynamic, and boss battles, which take place in a dark empty room. Besides, all bosses were turned into crippled creatures that aren't even able to shoot. Final boss Vulkhor at least fires one large fireball, if that counts for something.

The uneven difficulty perception combined with the awkward controls is what ultimately keeps this game from achieving the expected results hinted by the cool graphics. As I mentioned above, the initial difficulty wanes fast once you start to memorize stage and enemy layouts, hoarding extra lives to get through any part of the game that might be considered tricky. That's why Jim Power in Mutant Planet becomes less of a chore with time despite all the unfriendly gameplay elements. The great soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck definitely helps in that regard. The BGM that plays in stage 3 is awesome.

I managed to defeat Vulkhor and save the presiden't daughter with the final result below. I like to think she was eager to spend a good time with Jim in her trip back to Earth!

Pseudo-sequel Jim Power - The Lost Dimension was released soon after for the SNES. A canceled version for Mega Drive was finished and eventually released decades later for several video game platforms, along with a brand-new retro port for the NES.