Noon

According to Noon's jewel case it is a "New Type Action Game", I think a more proper genre classification would be "Multi player/Puzzle/Action game" but "New Type Action Game" is a bit easier on the tongue so I don't blame them. Ayway, what we've got here is a game in the vain of Bomberman mixed with Dr.Mario. Sounds strange, I know but whats waiting is a heck of a good time for anyone who will give it a chance. Please bear with me while I try to explain the gameplay, it may sound confusing but it is one of those games that will just click with you once you sit down and play it. If my descriptions are kind of confusing I took some pics of the game for you to see.

Noon is a 1 to 4 player battle game. You play the game out in 2 out of 3 rounds. So just how is it played? Prepare yourself, I'll try to explain. I'll explain the normal 1 on 1 battles. The 4 player battle royals are essantially the same only there are four characters and 4 playfields. You and your opponent each have what I like to call a play field. Each play field is a 5X2(or is it 2X5?....)grid. The point of the game is to keep your playfield clear and to cover your opponents. What do you cover them with? Bombs, and how do you get bombs? Balls. You see, balls materialize on the stage and these balls are the main factor to Noon. This is where the similarites to Dr.Mario appear. The balls appear in 5 different colors: Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Multi. For the first four colors You simply have to line up 3 or more and then hit them and they explode and disappear and materialize as bombs on your opponents play field. However, the multi color(or rainbow color) balls work a bit differently. They are the key to achieving Noons. They can either be "exploded" by lining them up 3 or more of the same kind or you can add them to any other color. For example, 3 multi coloreds will blow up or you can add a multi color to a set of two of the other four colors(Like two oranges and a multi color or two blues and a multi color). Using the multi colored balls gets you Noons which are basically comboes. Now, The more balls you have lined up when you "explode" them the more bombs it will send over to your opponent's play field.

Now onto the bombs, Unlike you would think, simply filling up the opponents play field does not allow you to win. Once you get their play field mostly filled their timer will go down from 10. If they can't clear it enough before the timer reaches zero you win! Even if they get it cleared before zero they do not gain back any time so next time you fill his/her play field the timer will resume from where it left off. So, are you helpless when the bombs are all over your play field? Far from it. Thankfully, you hav the ability to push the bombs just as you push the balls. So you can always push them off of your play field and onto your opponents. However, this isn't exactly easy, nor time conscience when your play field is filled and the timer is ticking. In these instances you should squish them. You do this by pushing them against a wall or pushing them against a few others until the squish into oblivian. You also have the ability to squish the balls should they be un-needed or in your way. Squishing balls and bombs fill up your special attack meter. Each character has their own special attack ranging from automatically filling up an opponents play field to lining up a big row of the same color balls for you to "explode".

Speaking of attacks, I guess I should mention the fact that you are not helpless when you see your opponent lining up a bunch of balls. You have the ability to attack them. Attacking them can do one of two things, it can push them across the stage or push them into a ball destroying it. Apart from special attacks and normal attacks there are also items that appear from time to time. These are pretty useful, especially the one that switches your play field with your opponents.

Now, if you are going to play the one player mode you also have a boss or two to fight. These boss fights have slightly different rules. You are still doing the same thing only now, instead of bombs appearing on your opponents play field the balls simply fly up and smash into the boss character taking out some of his life bar(Yes the boss actually has a life bar). All the while he attacks you which dazes you and fills up you play field. You in the boss fight by completely draining his life bar. The boss fight idea is quite cool and a welcome idea. Definitely breaks up the tedium.

That is the game in a nutshell. It plays quite well and I'm very impressed with it. It is easy to control and I haven't really got any complaints with the gameplay other than the fact that single player(as with most games of this type) can become rather old. Multi player is a lot of fun though. You just have to see your friends face after he is destroying you and then you get the item that switches your play field with his. Not quite as good as Bomberman, but it is still a lot of fun. Nice Party game.

The music deserves special mention. I absolutely love the music in Noon. I find myself humming it quite a bit. Really gets me in the mood for the game. Thankfully, they music is redbook audio meaning that you can plop the disc in your Cd player and crank the music! Just don't listen to track 1, as that can mess with your speakers. I'm not really sure what genre the music would be considered but if hard pressed I'd say a mix of Techno and Metal. The sound FX are decent. Nothing worth mentioning.

Most of the game is in English so there really isn't any need to worry about language requirement. the only thing in Japanese is the story sequences in story mode and the tutorial mode. All menus are in English. The only reason the little Japanese might have been a problem is that the game isn't exactly too easy to figure out how to play completely, but my description of the gameplay should help with that.

Replay value is a little on the low end if you only plan on playing single player. Like Bomberman, multi player is where it's it. However, also like Bomberman, some will enjoy single player just as much as multi. While it is a little low on the single player replay, it is a whole lot of fun while it lasts.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun 2 to 4 player game for parties then you owe it to yourself to pick up Noon. Since Noon is a little different, it holds a special charm for single player that may make you want to come back for more and more. It all really depends on the gamer in question. Recommending Noon for multi player is a no brainer, single player on the other hand depends solely on what the gamer thinks. If it sounds fun, go for it. Just don't expect an epic of a game. Great fun....

Pictures of Noon

©2001 Ed Finnegan

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