Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude!

After the success of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, Sega began to put more focus on building a roster of mascots for the Genesis. Some, like Toejam & Earl proved successful enough to warrant a sequel. And then there are ones like 1992's Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude, which feel quickly to the wayside. It's not like Sega didn't try with Greendog as there were advertisements and a bit of a push, it just never really got beyond the first game and a lackluster Game Gear port. So, is Greendog an underrated gem, or just a no good beach bum?

Plot of the game is as follows. You play Greendog, a laid back surfer extraordinaire who, upon a massive wipeout, somehow ends up with a pendant around his neck that he can't get off. His girlfriend Bambi, a red bikini wearing mistress of exposition, tells Greendog that the pendant is cursed. That with wearing it, he'll be targeted by every creature on earth, and worst of all, he'll never be able to surf again. The only way to break the spell is to find the six pieces of an idol scattered across six different islands. Once restored, Greendog can reclaim his surfer dude ways.

You control Greendog with the D-pad, can jump with C, use special items with A and use your main weapon of the game, a flying disc with the B button. You can even shoot the disc at a diagonal angle by holding the up button. Each area has spots you can shoot at which will drop foodstuffs that give you points, cola that lowers your damage bar and one of three items you can use in a pinch. A clock that freezes all enemies briefly, an umbrella hat that stops damage from spiked ceilings, and the most effective one, the super disc that acts as a brief homing device. Good for some of the more cramped areas.

Levels in Greendog are broken into three areas. A basic left to right scrolling area, a level in a temple, and a pedalcopter level where you pedal your way to the next island. Sometimes you'll get a change in the monotony, like a level where you can use a skateboard or roller blades to platform across obstacles. There are six worlds in Greendog, consisting of a jungle river, a beach, an aquarium complete with giant clams and insta-kill fishing lures, a city level complete with a cramped subway area, a jungle hideout, and finally a cave with rising and falling water. So, for the most part, variety is very alive in Greendog.

Well, for the most part. The temple levels all feel very similar, as you'll have to battle the same totem pole boss three times, and the other three temple levels are just skateboard stages. Hell, the last temple level is just the two skateboard stages combined. Which means there's no end boss of the game, which makes the game feel like it was very rushed to completion. That may explain Greendog's very mixed level of difficulty. Some levels you'll breeze through with no issues, while others become a massive pain to traverse due to cheap deaths, or spots that will send you further back into the level. The collision detection is a bit lax too as you'll sometimes fall through platforms despite seeming like you're right on top of them.

On the graphics side, the backgrounds look great, fitting the Caribbean vibe that the game is trying to represent. The enemy sprites also look expressive and well designed. In fact, my only gripe is Greendog himself, who just looks weird. I think it's his hair, which sometimes looks like hair and other times looks like a straw hat. He's also just not a very dynamic looking sprite, which, for a protagonist, just doesn't scream major mascot to me.

Musically, the game has a very solid calypso vibe to it, once again fitting of the surfer and Caribbean motif. Best song in the game in my opinion is the temple level, which will be one you'll listen to most in the game, and that's not a bad thing at all. The sounds effects do sound a little weak though, with bird chirps and squawks sounding like weak squeaks on the Genesis sound chip.

Overall, I enjoyed Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude despite its flaws. It's difficulty is all over the place, and the hit detection is a bit off, but that aside, I didn't find myself overly hating the game. You'll beat the game in under an hour with barely any issues, and you'll have a bit of fun for certain. Or at the least, you'll enjoy one heck of a soundtrack. It is a shame Greendog remained beached after this, as I'm certain Interactive Designs and Sega Technical Institute could have improved with a real sequel. But for what we got, it's still a fair enough effort.

RATING: B-