The Great Ragtime Show/Boogie Wings

**Eight One** · 14 Apr 2003, 08:44 PM

Boogie what?

This game is probably one of the least-seen from Data East (aside from Edward Randy). It's actually kinda pricey, but it's fun.

This horizontal shooter is set in 193X. You have to kill of the bad guys and save world. (Yeah, we've all heard that one before). What better to do it than with your trusty airplane. Typical? Not exactly.

A lot of the gameplay is shooting, but to spice things up, your airplane has a hook attached to its tail so you can pick up, flags, debris, bombs and even enemy soldiers! You can even use some things as a shield (by swinging captured items around). Like Gunforce, you can ride some vehicles such as tanks, "rocket" cars, robots, elephnts, even a pogo stick! If your airplane is destroyed, you run on foot. Take a hit, "Noooooooooooooooo!"

The stages are very colorful and usually busy. Sometimes there is so much going on that you might get periods of slowdown and still lose track of what going on. While this game is very 'period', you have your share of oddities. One stage is called "Konyi Island" where you fly through an amusement park and have to chase a runaway Ferris wheel and fight a Frankenstein robot as a boss. Another stge is the "transporter" where you're inside of a giant airship. In that stage, you have to run on foot for most of the stage, but can ride in vehicles/animals during the "freefall" portion. There's also a Christmas-themed level where you fight a giant parade Santa Claus robot constantly saying, "Merry Christmas!" as enemy soldiers come out of his bag of toys.

The music is catch and seems to fit the game (I think most DECO games from the early 90s had cool music in some way or another. I think I heard something that sounds like Louis Armstrong's When the Saints go marching in - in game music. The voice in this game is sometimes funny, too. There's a boss with his corny evil-villian banter like "Prepare to meet your maker!" Not bad.

Overall, it's a cool game. Not exactly one of those game you can beat with one credit. (you die a LOT of cheap deaths), After all, chasing enemies on giraffe and taking out airplanes with flower pots is sooooooo much fun!