Steg the Slug

"It's slime time with Steg the Slug! T'yungunz need nosh and Steg needs to feed 'em. So strap on the bionic legs, engage that rocket pack. Steg's slug family needs raisin!"

One of the last few budget games I got for the Commodore 64. The idea of the game is to engulf the grubz in bubbles and let them float around to eventually land in the nest to feed the yungunz. You get some power ups to help you along like jetpack, extra speed and extra energy. Just avoid the bad apples as they sap your energy. Collecting the question marks can be risky as its random what item it will give you including the bad apple. The bionic legs which allow you to jump and survive a fall and also work with the trampolines. The jetpack makes it easy to get around but you cant blow bubbles and you will kill the grubs if they are hit by the thrust.

The C64 version of this game doesn't seem to follow the game play rules that the other versions do and it ends up breaking the game. While the levels are slightly different, they still work mostly the same. It's the bubbles that become a problem as now they explode if they collide meaning you cant just let them go and do their own thing. You have to micromanage them a bit and that costs time. Level 6 and 9 seem broken to me and I haven't found a solution for level 6 if it is even doable. Level 9 is another overly difficult one. Interestingly they are both Ice/industrial in design and the trick with these is to aim for saving just three of the yungunz. I think the icicles should act like spikes, but they don't so I have to pop the bubbles my self causing problems with time management. A bigger problem is the vanishing grubz and the fact I have to watch the last bubbles pop else the game just doesn't acknowledge they exist. All the other levels play as expected like the other versions.

For the longplay I am using the original tape release of the game. It has many gfx glitches and maybe some gameplay glitches too as the grubs sometimes appear in the wrong place (in my favour) and the trampolines don't work so you cant bounce for some height. I used the loader music from the Commodore Format 51 version. Interestingly this version has fixed most of the gfx issues and gameplay issues with the trampolines but levels 6 and 9 are still broken. Unfortunately the fixed it by completely removing the music and sfx so I didn't play this version. All ten levels are shown but I used passcodes after failing levels 6 which resets the score. I show all bonus screens in every level. Thankfully in this version the main game stops while you are in the bonus areas.

Overall, the game is very well presented with plenty of music at the start but only basic sfx in game. It's to bad that this is the most buggy version of the game and I do not believe it is completable in one long run especially as you only get one life. The difficulty is quite high as problems can arise if the bubbles are not aligned and get stuck on the walls and anything that causes you to take longer to traverse the level can mean more grubz are needed to keep the yungunz alive. It is a budget game and on the surface a nice looking small and short puzzler and you want to enjoy it but the game mechanics, especially in this c64 version take away much of that enjoyment.

00:00:00 Loader Music from Commodore Format 51
00:02:30 Title screen Music
00:05:10 Level Objective screen (I only play this music the once)
00:06:42 Level 1
00:09:26 Level 2
00:11:54 Level 3
00:14:54 Level 4
00:18:50 Level 5
00:20:54 Level 6 (FAIL!)
00:32:42 Level 7
00:37:55 Level 8
00:40:30 Level 9
00:50:18 Level 10
00:54:31 Win!