“These are the journals of Darien Lambert, Captain, Fugitive Retrieval Section, A.D. 2193.” With those words, we were introduced to actor Dale Midkiff’s action hero persona: a police officer from the future, sent back through time to retrieve Dr. Sahmbi, a renegade scientist using the past to hide from the law, and a cadre of 22nd century prisoners who assist him in his ventures. Because the 90s were a time of “anything goes” in the 16-bit gaming world, of course they made a video game out of it. This in and of itself wasn’t a bad idea–Time Trax being an action-oriented show featuring physical stunts and exploding set pieces lent itself to video game adaptation better than, say, Bebe’s Kids or The Wizard of Oz, both of which will likely get their turn in the spotlight around here when my editor wants to punish me for some transgression like ‘buying the wrong toilet paper’ or ‘going on vacation‘. But while designing a 2D platformer is simple, designing a good 2D platformer is a bit more complicated, something THQ and Malibu must have learned along their road to discovery.

Your title screen.

Honestly there isn’t a whole lot to say about Time Trax because it does so little to distinguish itself from other, superior platformers that the good bits wind up hopelessly lost in an ocean of ‘average’. Take your average 16-bit 2D action title, something like, oh, I don’t know…Super Metroid or Super Castlevania IV or heck, even Super Mario World. They’re phenomenal games that do everything right, and offer loads of options for replayability. In Mario’s case, it’s things like finding the hidden exits from various levels, navigating the Star Road, or seeing what the shortest distance is between stage 1-1 and Bowser. Super Metroid tells one of the most compelling video game stories of all time without resorting to a single FMV cutscene or voice-over after the initial short introduction. How is a licensed game like this supposed to compete with those triple-A titles?

Admit it, you read it in SELMA’s voice.

Well, surprisingly enough, Time Trax does something I wish more licensed games would do: assumes the player knows nothing at all about the show, and lays out a six-minute introduction to the game’s world. A passable rendition of the theme song plays while the game introduces you to Darien, Sahmbi, and explains what this whole time travel deal is all about. This is called ‘respecting your source material’ and I will give any game props for taking the time to do that. Is it likely somebody picked this game up in 1994 without knowing it was based on a TV show? No. But given the show’s been off the air for twenty years, it’s a fair assessment that even its most ardent enthusiasts could use a refresher today.

The MPPT doing what it’s meant to do.

But sadly, there ends the praise for Time Trax. Because after all the time spent with that introduction, everything that comes afterward could have come from virtually any other platformer of the time, with nothing at all save for his squat, leather jacket-clad sprite to remind us this is supposed to be Darien Lambert we’re controlling, not Joe ‘Sidescroller’ Protagonist.

Like the show, your first fugitive is Sepp Dietrich.

Aside from the aforementioned TV theme song, the rest of the music is generic, forgettable tunes that don’t connect the player to either the show or the action happening on-screen. What was the music like on level 2? I couldn’t tell you, because that would necessitate me putting the game back into my system and playing until I got to level 2, and it’s just not worth it. Sound effects are likewise average, though I find it annoying they used the same sound byte for an enemy’s death as when Darien gets injured. Also, for a game as intent on sticking to the television storyline as this one, it’s a shame the Micro-Pellet Projection Tube (MPPT), Darien’s weapon of choice, is not treated with the same respect. On the show one shot from this little remote keyfob-looking deal is enough to knock anyone on his ass anywhere from two minutes  to three hours without doing any long-lasting damage, much like a taser with the range of a pistol and accuracy of a sniper rifle. In the game, it’s not uncommon for Darien to unload half a dozen PPT rounds into one generic thug before closing to melee and dispatching that enemy with a few kicks.

A trip to the jungle, because…why not?

But that’s not the worst violation the weapon gets. Police in the future are issued this weapon specifically because it doesn’t cause damage to inanimate objects. The pellet fired is absorbed into living tissue, but scatters harmlessly when it encounters something inorganic. Despite this, Darien in the game uses the MPPT to smash walls, break barrels, and even bring down a helicopter in a massive, stage-long boss fight.  According to the source material, this would be as effective as laying into it with a water pistol, but the developers clearly weren’t going to let this stand in their way. Not content to leave it at that, they also provide Darien with a few upgrades to the MPPT, including one which turns it into the Spread Shot from Contra. You’d think they’d have taken Darien’s signature toy a bit more seriously.

Just another day on the Force for officer Lambert.

The final thing I’ll say about Time Trax: the graphics are both a strong-point and a major downfall. Don’t get me wrong, everything on the SNES looks beautiful: stages have awesome parallax scrolling in the backgrounds, Mode 7 is used to nice effect in the opening, and the in-game sprites are animated well enough. Darien’s sprite, unfortunately, seems to run through life with perpetually slumped shoulders. This doesn’t square with Dale Midkiff’s 6′ 2″ frame, but at least they keep the trademark jeans and leather jacket. Now, why the downfall? Time Trax lavishes a bit too much detail on many of the stages in an effort to give them a better feeling of depth, but goes too far in this regard, especially on stage one. It’s a great touch: Darien’s searching through a dusty basement for his quarry, so a bunch of cobwebs with spiders scuttling along them fit right in. Unfortunately those cobwebs obscured areas just enough that it was difficult to tell sometimes where a platform ended. Other stages feature the same problem, with it not being immediately clear whether a given part of the scenery was in the foreground, in which case you could walk behind it without issue, or the mid-ground which meant it would bar your progress. Again, I love the concept behind the effect, but the actual execution missed the mark in my opinion.

That’s not the game, your monitor is just filthy. Clean it, you barbarian.

I was a fan of Time Trax as a television show (in case you couldn’t tell), so when I found this SNES game in a bargain bin for five bucks, I knew I had to have it. It looks like a Genesis version was also in the works, and may have actually been completed, but was never given a final release so I’m not covering here–this article is specifically about the Super Nintendo version. I think I got my money’s worth–it’s an average game with a couple of above-average ideas. Ultimately unless you’re a fan of the show, there’s nothing here to recommend it over any other decent 2D action title. Copies tend towards the $10-15 range on eBay, and for that price you can find much better offerings for the Super Nintendo.

Michael Crisman

In 1979, Michael Crisman was mauled by a radioactive Gorgar pinball machine. After the wounds healed, doctors discovered his DNA had been re-coded. No longer fully human, Michael requires regular infusions of video games in order to continue living among you. If you see him, he can see you. Make no sudden moves, but instead bribe him with old issues of computer and video game magazines or a mint-in-box copy of Dragon Warrior IV.


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