Totally Rad (1990). Play Free Online

Summary

Totally Rad bursts onto the NES with a surf‑streaked vibe, tossing you into the shoes of Jake, an apprentice magician chasing down his kidnapped girlfriend. The side‑scrolling levels pepper the run with varied boss fights, each demanding that you wield a handful of quirky summoning spells—one of the game’s few standout mechanics. While the Japanese version, Magic John, grants endless continues, the North American release caps you at three, forcing you to choose “Continue” wisely before the final Game Over cue plays. The instruction booklet leans heavily into Californian surfer slang, even featuring comic‑strip style jokes about the author’s “babe,” adding a humorous flavor rarely seen in 90‑s manuals. Critics were lukewarm; Mean Machines gave it a 63/100, calling the early stages easy and the gameplay simple, saying the title hinted at brilliance but fell short on originality.

Storyline

In the NES platformer Totally Rad, Jake (named John in the Japanese version) starts out as an apprentice magician under the tutelage of the eccentric Zebediah Pong. While training, a band of mysterious attackers swoops in and kidnaps his girlfriend Allison (Yuu in Japan), thrusting Jake into a frantic quest to uncover their motives. The investigation reveals that the kidnapping was a clever ploy designed to draw out Allison’s father, a famed scientist who has been in hiding. Determined to rescue the scientist, Jake battles through varied locales, eventually confronting an evil king who commands a hidden subterranean army. The final showdown pits Jake’s magical abilities against the king’s forces, deciding the fate of his world.

Edited by Maya Carter