There’s nothing quite like the crushing disappointment you feel when a game that should have been great – based on snippets of pre-release information and a few screenshots – turns out to be duff. Major Minor is one such game, and Go! Go! Minon, now rebranded for Western audiences as Minon: Everyday Hero (or Domino Rally in the US), is another.

The idea of a domino rally game sounded great, and the jaunty graphics and upbeat J-pop soundtrack lured us in. But it didn’t take us long to realize that some fundamental control problems had conspired to ruin the whole experience. In theory, waggling the remote to make the hero, Minon, run over domino-like rows of objects is fine, but having to then use the pointer to skip him over gaps is nigh-on impossible.

These frustrations are compounded by an unfriendly overhead view that’s occasionally essential for seeing which parts of a level you haven’t explored. The amount of aimless wandering required to complete goals is tiresome too. There are elements of better games such as Ouendan and Katamari Damacy here, but Minon can only dream of their greatness.

Jun 12, 2009