Little Nemo: The Dream Master
A dream-based platformer with animal-riding mechanics.
In this 1990 NES platformer from Capcom, a young boy explores his surreal dreams to reach Slumberland. Nemo can tame animals like a frog, gorilla, or mole by giving them candy, each with unique abilities for navigating levels. The goal is to rescue King Morpheus from the Nightmare King. Junko Tamiya, credited as Gonzou, composed the music. The game draws from the 1989 film and Winsor McCay’s comic strip.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Capcom
- Publisher
- NA/JP
- Capcom
- EU
- Nintendo
- Producer
- Tokuro Fujiwara
- Designer
- Tatsuya Minami
- Programmer
- Yoshito Ito
- Artist
- Naoya Tomita
- Natsue Ueda
- Yoshifumi Onishi
- Composer
- Junko Tamiya
- Platforms
- Nintendo Entertainment System
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player controls Nemo through side-scrolling, 2D levels, collecting a specific number of keys scattered throughout each stage. The required key count is not shown until reaching the exit, which has a matching number of locks. Levels are traversed left to right and also up and down. Nemo can feed candy to animals such as a frog, gorilla, or mole to ride them and use their powers. Some animal abilities are necessary to progress, while others merely ease the journey. Animals may have different lifebars than Nemo, sometimes with extra health. Enemies are virtually infinite, contributing to the game's high difficulty.
Reception
Critics generally liked Little Nemo: The Dream Master for the NES. Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "Rescue Rangers in a dream world," praising its pastel graphics, ideas, action, and difficulty. GamePro's The Unknown Gamer liked the visuals, sound, gameplay, fun, and challenge. Brazil's VideoGame gave high scores for difficulty, graphics, music, and sound effects. Hobby Consolas' José Luis Sanz appreciated the colorful graphics, sound, gameplay, and originality but noted occasional scrolling problems. Player One's Christophe Delpierre praised the graphics, animated characters, sound, well-paced difficulty, longevity, controls, and absence of sprite flickering. Mean Machines' Rob Bright and Radion Automatic disagreed, pointing out flickering with many objects, collision issues, and instant death traps, though they liked the presentation, cartoon visuals, cheerful sound, responsive controls, and riding animals. Video Games' Jan Barysch noted high difficulty and somewhat unresponsive controls. AllGame's Christian Huey called it "a wonderfully creative side-scrolling platformer" with cartoon graphics and ethereal music, but found the gameplay basic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Little Nemo: The Dream Master?
Little Nemo: The Dream Master was published by NA/JP, Capcom, EU and Nintendo.
What platforms is Little Nemo: The Dream Master available on?
Little Nemo: The Dream Master was released for Nintendo Entertainment System.
Who designed Little Nemo: The Dream Master?
Little Nemo: The Dream Master was designed by Tatsuya Minami.
More in Capcom Games of the 1990s
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