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Widget: The World Watcher or Widget for short, it is an Action Platform Game based on the cartoon of the same name by Atlus for the NES in 1992.
You control Widget, the titular shape-shifting alien, through four different action stages as he takes on enemies and criminals from the show. Widget is normally armed with a ray gun to battle enemies, which can be upgraded with power ups that increase its shot speed and power. By clearing stages, you unlock different transformations that can be used to access different pathways in other levels. Widget's sidekick Mega-Brain will lend a hand offering tips and ideas on the adventure.
A follow up game, Super Widget was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993.
Both the NES game and Super Widget contain the examples of:
- Bottomless Pits: Falling off the screen costs a life.
- Death Throws: Losing life makes Widget fall off the screen. Enemies also do so upon being defeated.
- Green Aesop: Much like the cartoon its based on, your goal is to stop the enemies from whatever devious scheme they have polluting the planet.
- Jekyll & Hyde: During the battle with Dr. Dante, he will switch between his "Jekyll" and "Hyde" forms, his docile form is immune to all damage, but can still hurt you. You can only hurt Dr. Dante when he switches to his evil chaotic persona.
- Spikes of Doom: Touching spikes hurts Widget. Most of them are just a static object through some periodically retract.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Subverted. In the NES game Widget can only transform and shapeshift if he unlocks one of his transformations by defeating the bosses. In SNES, he transforms by collecting powerups.
The NES game contains examples of:
- 1-Up: Collecting Widget icons grants an extra life.
- Big Bad: One for each level.
- Level 1: Mega Slank
- Level 2: Bizarre Brain
- Level 3: Dr. Dante
- Level 4: Flim Flam McSham
- Level 5: Ratchet The World Trasher
- Bedsheet Ghost: One of the ground-based enemies resembles a ghost.
- Broken Bridge: Despite being the second level, Bizarre Brain's level can't be completed initially due to a pit of water that is too long to jump over. Widget will need to complete Dr. Dante's stage to get the Bird-man transformation in order to get across it.
- Cool, but Inefficient: The only thing Widget can turn into at the start of the game is a cannon. It can't move except to jump, though, and its shots are powerful but its range is extremely short. All the forms that do something useful have to be earned by beating a boss.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: Most of the enemies Widget encounters contradict canon. These include of birds, apples, snakes, bats, alligators, lizards, crabs, sea urchins, clams...basically creatures Widget is trying to save in the first place. Most of the enemies in Flim & Flam's stage don't count as they seem to be their contraptions, nor do Ratchet's stage enemies as they clearly look like his henchmen.
- Evil Counterpart: Ratchet, Widget's evil twin is the Final Boss.
- Heart Container: Star pickups increase maximum health by 2.
- Hearts Are Health: While health is represented by red bars, collecting heart symbols restores health.
- The Goomba: Green caterpillars serve as a basic enemy that moves slowly along the ground and doesn't shoot.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt: Conveyor belts are often placed haphazardly, acting as a stage element.
- One Bullet At Atime: The amount of projectiles Widget can have onscreen is limited.
- Password Save: To allow the player to put down the game and come back to it later. It only keeps track of the forms and levels the player's unlocked, though. All the energy bar extenders and gun power-ups are reset, and the player will have to spend some time re-collecting them.
- Saw Blades of Death: Flim Flam's stage features circular saws that run along the ground. Widget needs to jump over them to not get hurt.
- Scoring Points: There is a score counter that doesn't do anything.
- Super Drowning Skills: Widget can't swim on his own. He needs to transform into a Dolphin in order to swim.
The Super Widget contains examples of:
- Bouncy Bubbles: One of the stage is filled with bubbles that make the player bounce off of them.
- Fireballs: One of the transformations allows Widget to shoot balls of fire, some enemies shoot fireballs and some enemies ARE balls of fire.
- Law of 100: Collecting 100 W symbols grants Widget an extra life.
- Lethal Lava Land: One of the stages takes place inside volcano, complete with the fire-based stages one can expect.
- Spike Balls of Doom: Spiky balls, being an obstacle, can be found both near the surfaces, and floating mid-air.
- Springs, Springs Everywhere: Springboards are found throughout the game, helping to get Widget into higher places. Flicking hands are also present, acting as horizontal versions of springboards. There are also clouds and bumpers that also bounce the player.
