Dream TV (video game)

National video gamers Charlie and Jimmy are given a strange-looking game cartridge game in the mail. When loading it in, the boys find themselves transported into the game.[4] They are sucked in by an evil being known as the Critic.[4] Now Jimmy and Charlie must fight for their lives through four Dream Worlds (Medieval, Egyptian, Prehistoric, and Future) if they hope to return home safely.[4] Dream TV is an action-adventure puzzle video game with elements of ToeJam & Earl (1991), World of Illusion (1992), and The Lost Vikings (1993).[5][6] It incorporates a split screen for both its single-player and two-player modes. Similar to The Lost Vikings, the game involves the player controlling two characters, one of which moves via the L and R buttons.[6][7] Collecting nine hidden puzzle pieces from each level will take the guys to the final showdown with the Critic and hopefully back to reality.[4]

GamePro first announced Dream TV in its October 1992, revealing its premise of kids getting sucked into a television and reporting a planned release of fall 1992.[8]

Reviews from Nintendo Power and VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine praised its distinct utilization of the split-screen method, but felt it could've been better.[5][11] Nintendo Power reported situations where two different areas of a level that looked the same time could confuse players, and that a player character could still get hit even if offscreen.[5] The review also criticized the items' lack of clear purpose.[5]

Other critics, although acknowledging the unique split-screen, were not as favorable and felt the experience was worsened by other factors.[7][9] Critics found the character-switch mechanic aggravating to deal with, arguing it was easier to play the game in two-player mode.[9][7][10] Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame noted other several issues, such as the awkward controls, bland items, "poorly drawn and unimaginative" graphics that look like they're from a Master System title, uninteresting-to-fight enemies, and "mind-numbingly repetitive" music.[7] Critics from GameFan criticized its "ugly" and "tiny 8-bit" graphics, and "move to the left, move to the right action that goes nowhere",[9] and the German magazine Video Games called out its "pathetic" sprite animations, music and scarce sound effects.[10]