Luigi en Circusland

Luigi's circus mission ended before it even began. This isn't a game about collecting coins or rescuing princesses — it's about something far less dignified. Luigi finds himself in the middle of circus chaos, jumping over obstacles, collecting items, and trying not to lose all his lives. Year 1994, MS-DOS, pure simplicity with zero ambition for originality.

Luigi en Circusland is a classic arcade platformer with simple logic — move forward, jump over obstacles, collect stuff, boss at the end of the level. The character controls without the slightest finesse, moving left and right and jumping on command. The graphics are minimalist, the sounds are what you'd expect from a computer running on a 386 processor backbone — a few beeps, a few buzzes, done. The levels gradually get tougher by adding new obstacle and enemy types, but that's all the game has to offer.

Playing is straightforward, even tedious. There's no surprise, no moment where you'd rejoice at brilliant design. Luigi's movement is stiff, jumping is mechanical. Visually it echoes older games, but without their magic — there's no wit, no asymmetrical beauty that would turn simplicity into addictive fun. Levels burn through one after another, but they lack rhythm, unexpectedness, something that would make you care where you jump next.

Luigi en Circusland is just another computer attempt to justify a character who clearly doesn't deserve this misguided tribute. The game would deserve attention if it were made with passion — instead it's an exercise in total apathy. It's not bad in the sense of being completely broken, but it's not good either. It just is.

Today only those who want to see how Nintendo in the nineties handed properties to the least capable creators can play it. Either from nostalgia or morbid curiosity about what actually came to be. You can run it in a browser in no time, but you'll have more fun if you don't.