''Mr. Bones'' is a multi-genre
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
conceptualized by
Ed Annunziata, developed by
Zono
Zono Inc. was an American video game developer based in El Segundo, California. The company was founded on July 25, 1991, by Ed Zobrist and William Novak, originally located in Costa Mesa, California. They are best known for their 2000 real-time ...
and published by
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
for the
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
in 1996. The soundtrack to ''Mr. Bones'' was composed and performed by
Ronnie Montrose
Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...
, with cutscenes and art assets done by
Angel Studios
Angel Studios is an American video streaming service, media company, and film distribution studio. The studio uses equity crowdfunding to finance its original productions by offering individual investors the opportunity to purchase shares in ...
. The player takes on the role of a reanimated skeleton working to prevent the magician who revived him from using his undead army to ravage the world. Much of the gameplay relies upon effectively managing "skeletal magnetism", the magic which holds Mr. Bones's reanimated body together, and the game allows and at times requires Mr. Bones to operate with less than a full skeleton.
The game met with divisive reviews, with some hailing it as strikingly original and others decrying it as a hackneyed and generic
platformer
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
.
Story
DaGoulian, a mad philosopher who believes that one can only "ensure the survival of good by making evil thrive", sets out to purify the world with evil.
By playing a special set of drums powered by science and alchemy, he is able to tap into a primal power which he calls "skeletal magnetism" (or "skeletism") and summon the dead from their graves as his skeletal soldiers.
One inmate of the cemetery, however, is pure of heart and is thus resurrected not with red (evil) skeletism, but with blue (good) skeletism. Because of this, he retains his free will. This fact is quickly noticed by DaGoulian, and he orders his newly created army to destroy this rebel, who calls himself simply "Mr. Bones."
[
Mr. Bones soon becomes determined to stop DaGoulian's plan. He must find a way to counteract the evil of red skeletism before DaGoulian's minions catch up to him.
]
Gameplay
One of ''Mr. Bones most distinctive qualities is in it having very few levels which share the same style of gameplay; with only a few exceptions, almost every level looks and feels different from the rest. Some levels simply change the camera perspective, while others offer up their own distinct genre. The most common thread running throughout the game is that of an action/platform game with slight gameplay and viewing angle variations per level, but at times the styles diverge far more drastically, ranging from a music/rhythm game to a ''Breakout''-style game to a game of memorization. Once a level has been beaten, the player can return directly to that level from the main menu any time they choose.
In lieu of a normal health bar
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, Mental health, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World H ...
, Mr. Bones has a supply of skeletism. When his skeletism level drops, he gradually loses body parts, being reduced to just a skull and spine at his lowest levels.[ His lost body parts remain in play and can be reattached, though unless Mr. Bones regains skeletism the reattachment will be fragile and even landing from a significant height will cause the parts to fall off again. The game's physics also take Mr. Bones' state of completion into account; for example, if he has lost both legs he will crawl with his arms, and cannot run or jump. In most levels, Mr. Bones can shoot a beam from his hand which destroys enemies and restores his skeletism level.][ He can also restore skeletism by collecting blue items.][
]
Development
The cinematics were designed and directed by Allen Battino. Actor Fitz Houston was the original voice of Mr. Bones though other parts were revoiced over the years. Fitz Houston was also the vocalist in the song "In This World."
A playable demo of ''Mr. Bones'' was exhibited at the May 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo
E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
.
The music was composed by musician Ronnie Montrose
Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...
. This was part of a larger trend of established musicians in the late 1990s who composed music for video games, with other examples being Ian McDonald composing for ''Wachenröder
is a 1998 Japanese Simulation role-playing game, simulation role playing game. It was developed by TNS Co., Ltd. and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It was never released outside of Japan.
Gameplay
''Wachenröder'' is a Simulation role ...
'' and Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
composing music for ''Spyro the Dragon
''Spyro the Dragon'' is a platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation on September 9, 1998. The first game in the ''Spyro'' series, it stars the title character, a young purple dr ...
''.
Reception
''Mr. Bones'' polarized reviewers, who sharply disagreed on whether the gameplay was bizarre and extraordinarily original, or mundane "hop n bop" platforming. ''GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s Tom Ham gave it a modest score but a relentlessly positive review, applauding the unique stage designs, varying perspectives, titular character, beautiful and eerie visual design, and blues-rock soundtrack. He summarized the game as "a cool, musically interactive, multi-level scroller that's surprisingly fun to play." The four reviewers of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' were also enthralled, with Dan Hsu summarizing, "''Mr. Bones'' is completely unique - you can tell that some true geniuses worked on this project." Most of them commented that the different gameplay types in the many levels are consistently ingenious and fun, though Sushi-X said the gameplay is weak, and that it is the humorous and audio-visually stunning full-motion video cutscenes which make the game enjoyable. In contrast, ''GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' completely panned the game, citing "unfinished graphics", unfairly difficult enemy AI, and "insipid hop-n-bop gameplay." They said the music is a positive point, but the spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
background in "Glass Shards" is annoying. '' Next Generation'' commented that the concept of the game is refreshingly unusual but that most of the levels use "fairly average" side-scrolling gameplay which does not live up to the originality of the concept. They still concluded the game to be moderately appealing due to its humor and especially its massive length. Lee Nutter of the British ''Sega Saturn Magazine
''Sega Saturn Magazine'' was a monthly UK magazine covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues included a demo CD created by Sega, ''Sega Flash'', which included ...
'' said that, due in part to its much delayed PAL conversion, ''Mr. Bones'' was outdated by the time of its release in the UK. He contended that the different gameplay types just make the game feel like a generic platformer with a lot of out-of-place mini-games. However, his main criticism was that the game is too distinctively American.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Bones
1996 video games
Action games
Minigame compilations
Sega Saturn games
Sega Saturn-only games
Side-scrolling video games
Video games developed in the United States
Video games with 2.5D graphics
Fictional skeletons
Video games about skeletons
Video games set in cemeteries
Single-player video games
Sega video games