Released in 1995
Available in 
Genre: Platforming
Tempo
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Released in 1995 |
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Available in |
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Genre: Platforming |
One of the few platforming games released for the 32X, Tempo has you play as a radical grasshopper (named Tempo) who is out to win the Major Minor Show, which is a huge dance contest. Tempo enters with his friend Katy, however King Dirge has other ideas. He wants to win, but he knows he isn't as skilled as Tempo. So he deploys his minions to try and stop them. Tempo has to travel through various stages (called "performances" in the game), avoiding hazards and defeating enemies. Tempo can kick his enemies or jump on them, and he can throw musical notes which will stun certain foes for a short period of time.
Whilst the game hasn't aged well in certain areas (check out the cheese you get to listen to in the opening), Tempo is seen as being the best 32X platforming game. The graphics in particular are well-animated and generally a pleasure to look at, although some might find that the sheer amount of stuff going on in some the backgrounds to be distracting.
Contents
1) Info
2) Cheats
3) Prototypes
4) Trivia
Info
When the game starts you have access to three different levels. You have to make your way through each level, which is comprised of several stages, the last one of which being a boss fight. Tempo can jump on or kick enemies to defeat them, or use the C button to throw musical notes that stun your opponents. As well as being able to jump, Tempo can hover by jumping and then quickly pressing the jump button again and holding it. You can also run by double tapping left or right. Whilst running, press the A button to do a slide kick.
You can take a number of hits before losing a life, and the health meter is located in the top left corner of the screen. For boss fights, the boss will also have a health meter, which is shown in the top right corner of the screen. When the boss health meter is emptied, the boss will be defeated and the stage will end. After clearing the first three stages, hold up at the level select screen to move up a floor and find two new levels waiting to be cleared. Clear these levels and you can then move up one more level, where the last level of the game can be entered. By moving to the very bottom level of the level select screen you will find some bonus games you can play, which cost coins to play (coins can be found in levels).
In each level are helpful items, such as giant musical notes (which completely restore your health) and items which improve Tempo's musical note stun attack. However one of the more interesting items is the "Dance" item, which will bring Katy onto the screen. Katy will help Tempo by defending him from attacks, opening up hidden rooms and more. She will stay with Tempo throughout the entire level unless Tempo takes too many hits, or loses a life.
These passwords open up the later levels in the game.
Circus Performance:
D, A, F, E, C-1, E, A, Rest
Winter Performance:
A, Rest, E, Rest, C-1, Rest, G, C
Final Performance:
G, Rest, G, G, E, D, B, R
There are eight prototypes available for this game, read about them here.
This game has several different endings depending on what your final score is, however, some of the endings are basically unobtainable without doing an insane amount of grinding, which includes repeatedly losing all of your lives and replaying levels just to make the highest score possible. See this video here for more info. One of the prototype versions of the game had a different scoring system, where you got more points for defeating enemies, making it seem that the scoring issue in the final version of the game was a programmer oversight.
This game was not released in Europe. The only game in the Tempo series to see a European release was Tempo Jr., a Game Gear game.
