Games Beaten 2019:1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Switch2. Alex Kidd in The Enchanted Castle
Switch3. Streets of Rage
Switch4. Vectorman
Switch5. Galaxy Force II
Switch6. Flicky
Switch *NEW*
FlickyThe journey to clear all the games in the Sega Mega Drive Classics collection continues onwards with Flicky, a fairly early release on the console based on the 1984 Arcade game of the same name. You play as a blue bird who must jump around a looping scrolling level gathering up your chicks before taking them to the exit. As you acquire each chick they will follow along behind you and copy your moves, and if you take them all to the exit at once you will get more points than if you take them in small groups.
Making this more tricky are the 2 types of enemy which appear in the level - all levels feature 2 cats who will spawn and then start looping around the level. They somewhat chase you - if you're nearby they will try to move to the same vertical level as you, and sometimes if they pass you they'll turn around and come back for you. One hit from these cats kills you, so you have to avoid them at all costs. If the cats miss you but touch any of your chicks, the line of chicks will cut off at the point they collided, and the chicks seperate from you will scatter and run along the floor, requiring you to gather them up again. Later levels feature more chicks wearing sweet sunglasses, which are a pain because they run much faster when seperated from you.
The other enemy type starts to appear later on, and only appears one at a time - an iguana enemy. This one can't make your chicks become seperated from you, but he can still kill you if he touches you. He's also way faster, and can walk up walls - both the vertical kind you'll have to jump over, and also the background walls - meaning he can run up the background to a ledge you're on, or run along the ceiling blocking you from jumping.
You can deal with either pest using various items scattered around the stage - plant pots, apples, telephones etc. Running into these will pick them up, and next time you jump the item will be launched forward, defeating any enemies it hits. They're one time use, and enemies respawn quickly, so they're nice to have but not reliable.
Flicky contains 48 stages - every 3rd or 4th stage is a bonus round where chicks are launched into the air and you catch as many as possible, but most stages have you platforming around avoiding cats. The difficulty, like many of these old-school arcade platformers, can be inconsistent, but overall Flicky is on the easier end of the spectrum. Make sure to use level selects and the likes though!
Overall, Flicky was better than I expected. Unlike many other early Sega arcade games, I feel this one aged pretty well. The Mega Drive port is also pretty solid - it's hardly a looker, but it's up to scratch with the arcade original, and whilst the music is a little different I actually prefer the Mega Drive soundtrack. Flicky is worth a play.