We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthough of Hi-Tech Expressions' 1993 license-based platformer for the Super Nintendo, We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story.
Played through on the normal difficulty level.
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is an action game based on the star-studded 1993 animated children's film of the same name. I never saw the movie so I can't speak to how faithful the game stays to it, but it all revolves around two kids, Louie and Cecelia, that have been kidnapped by some crazed scientist named Dr. Screweyes. You play Rex, a tyrannosaurus rex that somehow is transformed by a scientific invention (wait, is this Swamp Thing?) into a heroic figure that must stomp his way around New York City in order to save the children.
Even by SNES standards, this is a fairly absurd plot.
The game is typical of what you would expect from a movie tie-in aimed at kids. You run from left-to-right, jumping on bad guys trying to reach the goal in each stage. You get a range of attacks (which ones you can use at any moment are decided by your power level), including rock throwing and tail swiping, and you can find objects that summon other dinosaur friends to aid you in different ways - one can fly you to otherwise inaccessible areas loaded with bonus items, while another might charge through any enemies in your path. It's all pretty benign and kid-friendly. As long as you consider a T-Rex mowing down random people in a busy city as kid-friendly, that is.
The graphics are a bit uninspired, but they're generally nice to look at. It was made by Visual Concepts (the guys behind Claymates, ClayFighter, and Harley's Humongous Adventure), and though it's not claymation, the stylistic similarities are fairly obvious. Rex himself is an enormous sprite for a playable character, and some of the bosses are impressively large and fly about with no slowdown. The music is fine too, though the game would've really benefitted from a few more tracks for variety's sake.
The gameplay is about what you would expect, too. The levels are largely linear, though a few offer a branching path or two, and the powerups keep it interesting. The controls are a bit wonky feeling, though. Since it takes a moment to build up momentum, Rex's running and jumping feel slightly off. It feels like they were trying to make the character feel like he was heavy in the controls, but the jumping angles are really awkward and unintuitive. You'll be used to it by the time you get to the stages with demanding jumping sequences, but it is an annoyance that makes the game feel less smooth than it should.
All in all, We're Back! isn't a bad game - it's just underwhelming one. If I had gotten this and played it as a kid, though, I could certainly see enjoying it despite its flaws. It does what it sets out to do well enough, so if you're a fan of the film, you'll probably get a kick out of it. Otherwise, you're probably better off with Mario.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
NintendoComplete (www.nintendocom...) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!

[@NintendoComplete]

If you're looking for something that's cutesy, kid friendly, and not too demanding, this movie tie-in will fit the bill.

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

They're _BAAA-AAACK!_ Man, this is just one of those movies with such flair, lovely animation and such a crazy, off-the-wall ridiculous premise that it it's just so classic, and just screams *90's* especially considering its association with dinosaurs. And Steven Spielberg. This game is super-silly too as Rex (not to be confused with Rex from Toy Story) stomps his way across New York. You ever wanted to see a T-Rex rampage through the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade? I have. I LOVED T-Rexes as a kid.

[@AlienFaun]

Gotta love how games based on animated shows/movies not only became ridiculously hard but completely different to the plot.

[@andrewgonzalez4230]

Had a good soundtrack too.

[@yusakug]

I find it funny that this game has you playing as a giant T-Rex who jumps on top of much smaller human enemies, likely crushing every bone in their body. Kiddie-game my butt!

[@chamberkingston7609]

Dude. The first enemy you see can withstand a t-rex jumping on him. The second time, not so much, but still! That's a feat and a half for a human.

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

"I never saw the movie so I can't speak to how faithful the game stays to it" Even with my last memories of watching the movie being about 25 years prior to now, your answer is "HAHAHAHA it's not even CLOSE". Seems like I'd remember the part of the movie where a John Goodman-voiced character took on the Evil Iron Giant, and of course we don't get to see the actual, rather creepy end to the movie's villain. Eh, maybe here Rex just depressurizes the hull or something between Screweyes' exit and the ending cutscene.

[@gregorygousy2897]

23:29 Oh that’s not fair, you tried to summon one of Rex’s friends to help you and then you died from the spear. Wow, major bummer on that.

[@rockyshoemaker4273]

The movie would have been better if Screweyes had a giant robot for a last stand. It's no wonder the game wasn't as boring as other movie games since it was probably made before the movie itself got released and they just got a pretty small summary of the actual plot.

[@CHYLLofficial]

This game used to scare the shit out of me as a kid for some reason lol

[@MHArcadia]

A friend had this when I was younger. Got to what was either the last level or next to last one after many attempts and the game froze. :| Also, if you haven't done so yet, just... just go look up 'Roll Back the Rock.' First result should be what you're after. Yes, Cecilia is Lisa Simpson. Yes, Rex is voiced by John Goodman. Yes, it's a damn earworm that'll never leave your head.

[@riversart2030]

Between this and Bubsy I had some pretty bad taste in games as a kid lol...

[@LPetal86]

I saw the movie a few times. The villain is really creepy, which is awesome. If you do see the movie, wait till you get a load of his death scene. As I never had a SNES as a girl, I can tell you the Genesis version is very different from this and you played as the kids instead of the dinos, if I remember correctly, so it was fun seeing this vastly different take.

[@kylepomeroy73]

I remembered I played the heck out of the game and never knew it was a movie until today

[@superduty4556]

This movie scared me towards the end when they went back to being actual "dinosaurs".

[@mechajesus948]

Out running the subway train was oddly thrilling. That level used to stress me out so much as a kid

[@BKDBrian2]

No relation to Rex from Toy Story, or Elsa from Frozen. The ones in this game are an orange t-rex and a purple pterodactyl.

[@djmocha7]

Don’t be a Dweeb (I can’t think of a pun for Woog)..

[@RileyAndersen2015]

(C) 1993 Universal Studios Interactive, Amlien entertainment, Don Bluth Production, Hitech Expressions And Visual Concepts All rights reserved

[@supershadowman6478]

I remember having this movie as a kid I didn't know it had a video game too

[@Dodgyboy43]

good framerate, cool music, great movie, nostalgia! love it

[@Nikkii199045]

Balloon with faces 9:48 10:47 11:10 11:17 13:46 13:53 14:18 14:26 15:10 12:40 Bonus 15:26

[@p6mkq]

It was my first SNES game and I have no regrets. The Central Park stages were my favorite as a kid.

[@EspyPom]

Can you do the genesis version someday? I always loved that game as a kid.

[@TrueSolunar]

Didn’t this movie have some connection to Radical Rex..?

[@littleman7514]

OK, so the creators of Radical Rex were originally going to title the game "Baby T-Rex" this is because they had developed a Game Boy game a year earlier known as "Baby T-Rex". The correlation between the two is that in America, this game was being made and they decided to ask the creators of Baby T-Rex if they could reskin it and turn it into a Game Boy tie in for this game.

[@TrueSolunar]

So THAT’S what happened...

[@Dorelaxen]

The movie was actually from Spielberg's Amblimation studio. It had Walter freakin' Cronkite doing a voice in it, too!

[@erainmartinez8175]

how true

[@KnightoftheLord1]

Wow, they actually made a game of this crap film? Lol.

[@IsaacMperez-kr6db]

Good Luck Rex You can do it! 😊You can make it my friend

[@cartoonfan1014]

42 minutes and 17 seconds to beat the game. That's a whole day's worth of screen time.

[@cast982]

We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story is Only for SNES?

[@LPetal86]

Nah it's also on the Genesis. I remember because my Dad let my brother and I rent it from Blockbuster back in the day. Here's a video of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJSoY5uqnaamm8k

[@Wolfdragon92584]

What the- I grew up during this time, got an SNES a few years later, yet i never even HEARD of this film or game till I read Video Game Critic's recent review. Looks charming!

[@mcdonaldsparamountuniversa4018]

If Viacom doesn't sell USA Network?

[@matthewfender1993]

Complete In 100%!

[@Arak_Drakoniz]

For once, I can say I’m astonished that I didn’t know something: the existence of this game.

[@christianboyce2070]

The graphics and sounds are just like claymates. They’re both made by Visual concepts

[@IsaacMperez-kr6db]

I love dinosaurs

[@RikodiusRex]

Toddbot! Get out of there! Walk towards my voice!!! I am gonna get you out of there, buddy!

[@JoshuaJacobs83]

I had no idea this existed. Wow.

[@yaboijack67]

Same lol

[@suellyananias7329]

Lá Paz e que outro aluno possa fazer uma entrevista a um ☝🏻 ❤☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 ☝🏻 😂que a gente pessoa a cada mesma que é uma que se vai é isso e se se vai ser isso e eu se suficiente pra ver casa 🏠 e 🏠 ☝ o ☝ que o meu dinheiro meu pai e vai esposa que e tenho que me foi dito pagar uma conta e o dinheiro meu não me lembro o

[@daviscameron713]

I never knew there was a video game of this

[@killercore007]

7:00 Choo choo modda fu- Nope.

[@TheWASHINGMACHINEBOY]

for christmas i got a modded SNES classic edition that expanded its library by a lot and one of the added games is this one but i now wish i got the unmodded console because i found out the system has a gameplay demo that plays if you don’t press a button on the main menu for about 1 minute and the added games don’t have a pre-recorded gameplay demo

[@RetroCollector89]

I remember the movie, specially the old guy eated alive by a bunch of crows...look it up

[@boulderingbadger6179]

This game was hard af. I never beat the last level or 2.

[@reubenguttenberg7405]

Rhea perlman

[@dynajay4106]

Prehistoric Panic scared the crap outta me when I was a kid.

[@CaptainCretaceous91]

I never played this game, but I wish the other dinosaurs were playable too.

[@reubenguttenberg7405]

John Goodman as rex

[@FistSaidToTheFace]

This is so different than I remember. Granted the last time I played it was in the 90s at a friend's birthday party. I remember the construction level but I thought it was so much different back then.

[@wesrandecker]

How does Dweeb help in this game?

[@lipe5002]

Hi tech expressions and your "incredible" games (incredible bad)

[@juanfuentez7275]

I used to cry on the game over screen

[@travisbost469]

How many levels are in this game

[@josefmartinezcameron4campq613]

RetroArch Que We’re Back In Dinosaur Story Ir Juego Fanafono…

[@johnqpublic1]

1:47, 3:32 they predicted nining leven

[@Pingelap35]

Cool so we’re back a Dinosaur story

[@disneyvillainrocket1]

I loved the movie when I was a kid

[@Renzo_Anime]

This game is somewhat like Claymates

[@jeromedado7416]

Cute games

[@reubenguttenberg7405]

Charles Fleischer

[@alonzospurley23]

Moonbug kids

[@alonzospurley23]

Moonbug kids

[@alonzospurley23]

@1993

[@alonzospurley23]

@1993

[@ccateni28]

Is it better than the genesis port?

[@NintendoComplete]

They're totally different games, aren't they?

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

@@NintendoComplete Yeah, in the Genesis version, you're playing as the kids, and it follows the general progression of the movie more - still not particularly faithful to the movie if that's a thing you care about, and it's still a pretty generic platformer (with a few 'dodgem' stages thrown in as well), though it did have the interesting idea of letting you buy powerups during the levels with the local pickups. Neither's an outright bad game, though. Minor note of interest, too, BOTH games were published by Hi-Tech Expressions, but the dev teams were different - the SNES one was done by "Visual Concepts" and the Genesis one was done by "Funcom Productions".