If you don't remember City Connection, we wouldn't blame you. In 1985, arcades in the U.S. and elsewhere were booming in popularity, and as a result that particular industry was rather strong. This title came to NES owners a little later, however, releasing in the middle of 1988. It looks and feels like a relic of a bygone era, and serves better as a reminder of what games used to be rather than as a contemporary form of entertainment, especially when experienced on the Wii U.
The name City Connection was actually derived from the name of the car the main character drives, the Japan-only Honda City. The car wasn't the only aspect of City Connection that never left Japan, however; in the Western releases of the game the main character, Clarice — one of the first female protagonists in console gaming — was replaced by a nameless male character.
In City Connection the goal is to drive around as many famous locales as possible and cover the roads in paint. Each level is broken up into multiple platforms you must drive across to cover each pixel; to travel between them you have the ability to jump your car horizontally or vertically. Throughout each course you'll need to duck police and avoid obstacles, though the police can be spun off the road by shooting them with an oil can. When you're not busy vandalizing roadways and slamming police off the road, you have to look out for obstacles in the form of cats and spikes. Both will randomly appear in front of your car, leaving you no option other than turn your car around and head the other direction or to leap over them, if you have enough time to react.
There are seven stages in total, each representing a famous city from New York to London to Tokyo. Particularly skilled players could beat this one in mere minutes, but we weren't so lucky. Like so many mid-'80s arcade titles City Connection is a quarter-muncher. It demands quick reflexes, resulting in jumps that feel like they need to be pixel-perfect or you will meet your certain demise; it also won't allow you to continue, so once you're out of cars to wreck your adventure must start anew. Each stage has its own music, but each clip is short and can start to wear on one's nerves after a period, especially when considering how long some levels can take.
Conclusion
City Connection is a poor port of an arcade game that was already lost to the ages. Putting it not only on the Wii U but the 3DS is a perplexing choice, as so many quality titles are still languishing in the NES' back catalog; controls that weren't exactly stellar in 1988 only look worse in 2016. Steer clear of this one.
Comments 22
3?
That's a bit cruel
I use to play this on my NES. My mom would take away my entire collection if my grades were not up. Sadly the only game she didn't take was City Connection. I played the heck out of this game. There is a pattern to all the levels. It is like riding a bike. Once you know how you never forget. I think this game deserves a 5. The graphics are bad. The music is kind of fun. The game play is rudimentary. I love this game.
So City Connection should be disconnected?
@MarinaKat She knew I didn't like that game and she thought Video games were violent. This game was unplayable, until it was the only game I had.
Ah nostalgia. I remember passing up this game on screenshots alone. And here they are again confirming my young mind's decision.
I've tossed around the idea of getting this as a time waster on my 3DS, I think 3/10 is a bit sad. Not that I've EVER played it or even heard of someone else playing this, not even a streetpass once, but it seems like it would be better than that!
A game I didn't even want to play back in the day, much less now. Yes, I agree. This is a "perplexing choice" for Nintendo to release when there are so many other classic games that could be on the eShop.
I liked this when I played it many years ago but I doubt I could get through 1 minute of it now.
I have this game for the NES and I actually like it a lot! I'd give it a 7 out of 10 as far as old arcade games go.
I wish they'd put out the arcade version, it was much better. As it stands, I used to love this game but don't see myself playing it today.
I used to have this game. I liked it for a smaall arcade experience. I don't think it deserves a 3. Maybe a 5 or 6.
To be fair, it was released on the Famicom in 1985.
I used to play this back on the NES and it's not that bad. Definitely agree there are better games to get on the virtual console, of course, but I'd say this will keep you interested for a bit if you don't mind it being pretty dated.
Despite the score, this thing remains a true classic or me, but that's because I am old. Oh so very old...
This game is brutal. Fair review! A 5 or a 6 is mediocre... this one doesn't even reach that standard. Below a 3 would be unfair because the game isn't broken... it's just really bad.
Those. Friggin'. Cats.
Sean Connery pronounces this correctly...
I never played this, but it looks similar to a game I had on the Amiga called Carvup
Well, I respectfully disagree: maybe it didn't age very well, for sure, but 3/10 is very cruel. It's not that bad. It's an average but somewhat funnish arcade game with slow controls that are part of the challenge!
Still, I didn't know about the character change... That sad and without motivation...
@onex Truly the worst, but at least there's happy music when you smash them. XD
@Alessandro_P Right?? It's such a juxtaposition!
oh god.... they brought it back on nes online
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