The Smurfs

When someone mentions The Smurfs, I picture those little blue figurines from the 25-second cartoon shorts. This Mastery game isn't quite that. It's a platformer from 1994 by an obscure publisher (hardly unusual for the Sega), where you play as a Smurf collecting items through left-scrolling levels packed with enemies, mainly Gargamel and his crew. The goal is simple — reach the end of each level without falling into the void.

The gameplay mechanics are nothing surprising. You jump, collect items — need more health, find a key, light your path. Controls are basic — arrow keys, jump button, nothing fancy. Responsiveness is adequate enough; for a '90s game, you can't expect modern precision. What really stings, though, is the level design. They're not bad, just tedious — same light backgrounds, same enemy patterns repeating endlessly. Progressing through them isn't hard or fun, just monotonous drudgery.

Graphically, it looks like an average Megadrive/Master System cash-in. The Smurfs are distorted compared to the source material, characters stiff, animation sparse. The sound is peak '90s — chiptune that nobody remembers because it's neither catchy nor sharp. More like background noise.

This isn't a game anyone would remember today. The Smurfs was never a legend on Sega, just another licensed title someone had to churn out. Firing it up now, I appreciate it more as an artifact — proof that in the '90s, they made games out of anything. It has a place in historical collections or archives, but the replay value? One digit with a zero behind it.

If you want a solid retro platformer from that era, better options exist — Sonic, Kirby, or even third-tier alternatives are more fun. Only grab this if you're collecting everything Smurf-related or want to see how weak Sega's catalog could get.