Desert Demolition
| Desert Demolition Starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote | |
|---|---|
 Cover | |
| Publisher | BlueSky Software |
| Developer | Sega |
| Console | Sega Genesis |
| Genre | Platformer |
| Release date | NA: February 1995 EU: March 1995 |
| Title screen | |
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Desert Demolition Starring Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote is a platform game developed by BlueSky Software, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The game was released by Sega for the Sega Genesis console on February 1995 in North America, and in Europe the following month.
The game was re-released as part of the Sega Mega Hits range in September 1997.
Characters
Players get a choice between playing as:
Wile E. Coyote (canis-ravenous) - Players get to use his tricks which he uses in the Looney Tunes cartoons. By jumping into an Acme box, players can fly in his green flyer suit, skate, get springs on his feet to jump and so on. Catching up to Road Runner earns the player various benefits though this is not required to complete the level.
Road Runner (speedicus-birdicus) - Players must try to escape from Wile E. and complete the level by getting to the other end. If players get caught by Wile E., they lose health. Road Runner can scare the coyote by using his signature "Beep, beep!" catchphrase or simply by running him over, which gives the player items.
Gameplay
Desert Demolition is based around Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, who are the game's player characters and are tasked with playing through a series of levels as they respectively pursue and evade the other. The player can choose to control either the Road Runner or Wile E. Coyote for the game's duration.
Levels
There are a total of six levels in this game, five normal stages and a Boss Stage at the end.
Red Rock Rendezvous (Wile E.'s First Stage, Road Runner's Second Stage) - From desert dangers to the very moon. Bugs Bunny and Marvin the Martian also appear in the end of the bonus level.
Buttes and Ladders (Road Runner's First Stage, Wile E.'s Second Stage)- A village and a tightrope are the main focus. Sam Sheepdog makes an appearance in the bonus level.
The rest of these stages go on as normal.
Choo Choo Terrain - Roof-top chase on top of a train. Yosemite Sam appears in the bonus level.
Karl's Bad Caverns - This level takes place in a cavern, where Wile can use drills and escalators to get to the bottom. Sylvester and Tweety make an appearance on the bonus level.
Granite Gulch - Resembles the first level, but at night time. Also, a flying stage for Wile. The bonus level consists of going on logs through the water, where Elmer Fudd constantly shoots Daffy Duck (A reference to the "Hunting Trilogy" cartoons).
Acme Factory - In the final level, Road Runner or Wile E. Coyote uses a forklift to pursue the former/latter character. This is the only "boss stage" in the entire game.
Acme Boxes
There are Acme Boxes throughout the game. They are traps for Road Runner, but useful for Wile E. Coyote. They contain:
Rocket skates: The skates have a different design, but still have the same statistics: They help you go really fast.
Bat-Man's Outfit: In this outfit, you'll be able to fly to high places and glide from high areas.
Umbrella: A tiny umbrella used to gently float down without falling.
Jackhammer: Used to break through rocks and dig holes.
Bed springs: Used to jump to higher cliffs.
Wheel-headed helmet Used for traversing highwires. You need to keep Wile E. balanced to traverse the highwires.
Endings
Completing the game results in two different endings for each character, both of which feature cameo appearances by Bugs, Daffy, Tweety, Sylvester, Porky Pig, and Elmer (all of whom are working as employees of Acme Corporation). If playing as the Road Runner, a banner will come down from the ceiling that states: "Congratulations! Acme President", indicating the Road Runner has been named the president, leading Wile E. to panic and crash through the glass window behind him, leaving his silhouette in the window.
If playing as Wile E., the banner says, "Congratulations! Acme Customer of the Year", Bugs presents Wile E. with a trophy that goes with the award, and the others clap for him as the Road Runner says his trademark "Beep, beep!" and leaves, leaving the coyote in shock. Balloons and streams fall from the ceiling.
Development
Debug mode
There is a special debug mode feature that appears when the player does the following instruction:
Just at the title screen, press the following buttons: B, A, Right, B, A, Right and A in that order and as quickly as you can.
This will lead the player into the debug mode menu screen.
Behind the scenes
- Many animations, hazards and items from various Road Runner cartoons were used in this game:
- The Road-Wall comes from "Stop! Look! And Hasten! as did some of Wile E.'s running animations.
- The balloon and anvil were from Scrambled Aches
- The high wire structures and helmet came from "Whoa, Be-Gone!"
- Wile E.'s detonator animations and bat-suit both came from "Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z"
- While his skates are different, Wile E.'s animations from using the rocket-powered roller skates came from "Beep, Beep"
- The Bed-Springs were from the Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog short, "Ready, Woolen and Able".
- The jackhammer was from "Zoom and Bored"
