The Incredible Crash Dummies

Overview

The Incredible Crash Dummies (known as "The Incredible Crash Dummies: Slick Bouya no Daichousen" in Japan. The subtitle roughly translates as "Slick's Great Challenge") is an action platformer game based on the Incredible Crash Dummies license, a toy series that became an animated TV show. The player controls Slick, one of the titular Incredible Crash Dummies, and must rescue Dr Zub from the evil Junkman before he can use the good Doctor's knowledge to create an army of robots.

The game was released on many home systems of the era, some of which varied slightly in their presentation and gameplay.

Game Boy Version

The Game Boy version of The Incredible Crash Dummies featured many different forms of gameplay, resembling more of a mini-game collection than its Super Nintendo counterpart. Players must either successfully crash the playable dummy, or successfully pass the Dummy through various levels.

Levels (Dummy Stunts)

Five separate stunts await the Dummy for testing. The Roof Jump comprises of a vertical drop off the edge of a burning building. Players receive more points for each awning they are able to break, and for each fire hazard they are able to avoid. A target is painted on the sidewalk, which the Dummy must hit in order to progress to the next stage of testing.

The Air Bumper stage puts the Dummy behind the wheel of a new car model, with improved air bumper safety features. The player must steer the car over air cans in order to inflate the bumper, while avoiding large pits on the test track, along with oil slicks that cause the Dummy's vehicle to spin out.

The Ski Slope tests the Dummy's agility and reflexes, as trees must be avoided, and points are awarded for any jumps completed.

The Dummy proceeds to enter the Bomb Factory, where the player must ensure the quality of bombs created by blowing out any lit fuses. Failing to do so on any three bombs will result in the stunt starting over. Conveyor belts move the bombs from the top of the screen to the bottom, with other various items. The Dummy is instructed to smash all of the other items with a mallet, ensuring that only quality tested bombs make it through the factory.

The Cruise Missle stunt is an arcade style level, where the player navigates a space ship in an extremely low gravity environment. Changing the ship's trajectory requires rotating the vehicle and igniting the engine, creating a delicate balance between speed and maneuverability as the player is timed. The Dummy must crash the ship on yet another bulls eye, ending the stunt.

After the end of each stunt, the Dummy's boss will critique the player's work. The Dummy receives cash if the stunt went as planned, and a small bonus if the boss was impressed. Three levels of difficulty are presented, with easy, normal, and hard, encouraging the player to revisit each stunt for more cash.

Critical Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the SNES version a review score of 4 out of 10. Mike Weigand wrote, "...This side-scrolling, survive the levels-type game is cute at times, but the poor control and mandatory cheap hits by enemies ruin things".