What if the Beach Boys sang about surfing gorillas?
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: LJN
DEVELOPER: Sculptured Software
GENRE: Action
RELEASE DATE: March 1992
T&C Surf Designs presents: surfing, skating, plummeting down a waterfall, riding a shark. Sounds pretty boss, right? Now imagine doing it all as a hip gorilla. If you just exclaimed, “Gorillas? Bro!”, Thrilla’s Surfari will scratch that simian itch. Just don’t pack the coconuts: this trip is all business. Thrilla’s girlfriend, a human (!) named Barbi Bikini, has been stolen by Wazula, an evil witch doctor. Naturally, Thrilla feels incomplete without his better, blonder half, so he flies to Africa to save her. Keeping Thrilla atop his board is the objective in every level, and it’s no monkeying matter. Whether he’s surfing on a river in the jungle or skating through the desert, obstacles abound. Getting knocked off your board is an insta-kill too. So Thrilla can skate, swim, and (since he’s a gorilla) is naturally strong, but he can’t take a few hits of damage? Even Excitebike lets your wee raceman get back up after flipping his bike repeatedly. Surf Designs almost forces you to skate or surf quickly, but for me, taking it slow was the key to moderate success. Even after you feel more comfortable with the game’s pacing, Surf Designs will still reign many deaths upon poor Thrilla. The levels put more and more crap in your way, one-hit kills, no continues. It’s enough to make any gorilla write off additional surfaris – even with their bimbo girlfriend’s well-being at stake.
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One reply on “#635 – T&C Surf Designs: Thrilla’s Surfari”
One hit kills? That’s only if you fall in a pit or hit a rock. There’s a life bar that later in the game can hold like 8 hits.