''Dennis the Menace'' (known as ''Dennis'' in Europe) is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

adaptation of the 1993 film of the same name which itself is based on the '' Dennis the Menace'' comic strip. It was released for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

, and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

. The object of the game is to defeat the antagonist from the film, Switchblade Sam, who managed to find Dennis' town via the local railroad connection. Stages include Mr. Wilson's house, the great outdoors, a boiler room, and eventually a boss battle with Switchblade Sam.

Plot

Dennis Mitchell has to rescue his friends Joey and Margaret, along with Mr. Wilson's coin collection, from the burglar Switchblade Sam.

Gameplay

Controlling Dennis Mitchell, the player has to go through four stages, collecting five large coins in each one. If the player manages to find both of Dennis's friends along with Mr. Wilson's entire coin collection, he will have won the game.

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

is represented by hearts. If Dennis is touched by an enemy, one heart will disappear, and Dennis is temporarily stunned. Once all of the hearts are gone, the player must restart the level (but retains all main coins found). Pieces of

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

located throughout the levels fully restore Dennis' health when collected. The player has 999 seconds (16.7 minutes) to complete each stage. If time runs out, there is an immediate

game over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...

, which completely eradicates all work done on a level. The clock is not reset when Dennis loses a life.

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''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 magazine was fou ...

'' gave the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

version a 5.6 out of 10, remarking that "the game is somewhat unappealing, with a main character that just doesn't come to life." Super Gamer gave an overall score of 74% writing: "An extremely pretty and challenging game, although gameplay is rather fiddly and slow."

References

{{Dennis the Menace 1993 video games Amiga 1200 games Amiga games Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics) Game Boy games Ocean Software games Platformers Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games about children Video games based on adaptations Video games based on films Video games developed in the United Kingdom