Game Review - Acme Animation (SNES)

Acme Animation is a game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Having been released by Sunsoft solely for the SNES in 1994, Acme Animation received mixed commercial reviews.

Acme Animation is not a game that has a true plot. The genre of this game is a little shaky, but I'd classify it best as something similar to Mario Paint. Similarly to Mario Paint, Acme Animation offers usage of the SNES Mario Mouse, allowing one to best control one's creations. The basic functions in this game include copy-pasting, painting with various palettes, tools, and tips, and tilting and revolving the various frames.

Graphics in Acme Animation are fine; nothing is pixelated, and everything is quite colorful. Due to the genre of this game, it's in its nature to have to have decent visual quality; the whole point is to create works of "art". For a child, the graphics are just fine. Animations in this game are a bit dull, but that won't detract from the quality in the eyes of any child. Any of us likely to be picking this game up so many years later, though, are likely to dislike such things.

Audio in Acme Animation is nonexistent. Beyond the quick voice on the main menu, nothing resembling audio is to speak of in this game. Not that that matters, however, as the entire point is to create art-it's a bit like asking Microsoft to give MSPaint a soundtrack!

The learning curve in Acme Animation is pretty short, and I'd compare it to that of MSPaint. All animation is done automatically, and any placement or drawing you do is quite straightforward (exactly the same as in Paint).

Overall, I'd give Acme Animation a 2.5 out of 5. The problem with this game is that it's created for a very young age demographic, and the only people apt to pick it up so many years after its creation are us folk looking for nostalgia. No child is going to play this anymore, and no adult is going to enjoy it. Perhaps if you have an emulation system set up for your children, you can run this game copy by them, and see what they think.