As a child, cinema revolving around dinosaurs was the pinnacle of cool. Jurassic Park, terrifying as it was to me at that age, never ceased to wow me with the amazing effects and beautiful dinos. At such an age, I was thoroughly convinced that dinosaurs were real. How else would they be able to create a movie such as that?
Not too long after, my parents introduced me to a charming animated film called We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story. I grew obsessed with it, and what do you do when you’re obsessed with something as a child? You fawn for every single piece of merchandise under the sun. I didn’t get everything I wanted, but I did get the game based on the movie. Nowadays, this might sound like a not-so-exciting prospect, but this was at a time where games adapted from movies were often good.
We’re Back! tells the story of dinosaurs who were fed “Brain Grain” cereal, causing them to grow docile and intelligent. As smart dinosaurs are prone to do, they leapt through time and landed in our era, where they traversed New York City and granted wishes for children. There is, of course, plenty of conflict and romance, but I will withhold from spoiling any of that, and it’s all kind of moot anyways given how poorly it translates to the game.
In terms of gameplay, We’re Back! is a platformer of the most straightforward variety. You jump over gaps, you fight enemies, you collect things, you travel right the entire time. In no way is this a bad thing, though. Simplicity tends to lend itself well to games that are adapted from a film, and that is certainly the case here.
The media wants you to think that dinosaurs are heartless creatures who have it out for you. This is pure slander, though, and We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story wants you to know that. Should you ever see a dinosaur, run to it. When you’re face to face with it, close your eyes and make a wish. I’m not a believer in magic, but dinosaurs have an untapped element of divination within them that is begging to be used.
Holy shit, I remember that movie!
I was obsessed with it, had no idea their was a game.