Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Cliffhanger unfolds as a classic side‐scrolling beat’em up that pits Sylvester Stallone’s character against waves of rugged thugs and unforgiving mountain terrain. The core combat mechanics echo the tried-and-true formula popularized by Final Fight, with straightforward punch, kick and grab moves. Early on, you’ll notice that your attack range is a bit tighter and timing more exacting than in other brawlers of the era—landing hits requires precision, making each encounter feel slightly more tactical.

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What sets Cliffhanger apart is its alternating rhythm between climbing segments and locked-screen skirmishes. One moment you’re scaling rocky outcrops, avoiding sheer drops and loose boulders, and the next you’re trapped in a confined area as enemies pour in from both sides. This ebb and flow keeps things fresh, but it can also lead to uneven pacing: a thrilling ascent might be followed by a surprisingly brief or overly congested fight.

The Sega CD version spices things up further by introducing 3-D snowboarding escape sequences during avalanches. These fast-paced sprints down the mountain add a welcome burst of adrenaline, forcing you to weave between obstacles and maintain speed to evade the incoming snow. While the cartridge versions stick to climbing and running, these exclusive snowboarding stages demonstrate the added potential of CD-based hardware.

Weapon pickups—including knives and pistols dropped by tougher foes—provide temporary power boosts, but ammunition is scarce, encouraging you to rely primarily on your martial arts arsenal. Despite the limited move set and occasional unresponsive hit detection, mastering the timing and positioning of Stallone’s punches and kicks becomes rewarding over time. Repeat playthroughs reveal subtle openings in enemy patterns that, once exploited, make progression feel earned.

Overall, Cliffhanger’s gameplay loop may sound repetitive on paper, but the constant shifts between environmental challenges and brawling sections, coupled with the occasional snowboarding interlude, offer enough variety to keep enthusiasts of retro beat’em ups engaged. Patience is key, as the controls demand precision and the difficulty curve can spike unexpectedly.

Graphics

The visual design of Cliffhanger leans heavily into its Rocky Mountain setting, with jagged peaks, snow-covered cliffs and icy caverns rendered in rich, contrasting palettes. On cartridge platforms, backgrounds exhibit a surprising depth for their generation, with parallax scrolling adding to the illusion of vastness as Stallone traverses the treacherous slopes.

Sprite work is functional if unremarkable: Stallone’s sprite is easily recognizable, and enemy animations—though limited—convey distinct fighting styles for knife‐wielding goons and handgun toting crooks. Occasional flickers occur when multiple adversaries appear on screen, a minor technical hiccup that rarely disrupts the action but does remind you of the hardware’s constraints.

Sega CD owners are treated to upgraded visuals during the snowboarding sequences, where pre-rendered 3-D tracks and smoother animations highlight the platform’s enhanced graphical capabilities. The inclusion of digitized film clips between levels further elevates the presentation, offering a cinematic flair unmatched by the cartridge variants.

Animated cutscenes on the cartridge versions are modest but effective, using stylized art to bridge narrative gaps. While the transitions aren’t lavish, they maintain player immersion and ensure the story stays front and center. On the Sega CD, short bursts of actual movie footage bolster the cinematic feel, though they appear in low resolution and can feel grainy.

In sum, Cliffhanger looks its age but maximizes what its target hardware can deliver. The environmental variety, from craggy cliffs to frozen caves and avalanche courses, prevents the visuals from feeling stale, while the CD extras provide a glimpse of the game’s unrealized potential on more powerful systems.

Story

True to its source material, Cliffhanger follows Stallone’s character as he hunts down scattered suitcases of stolen cash across the Rockies after a tragic plane incident. If you’ve seen the film, the levels will feel immediately familiar: you’ll revisit the mountain’s perilous slopes, infiltrate hidden caverns and battle thinly-veiled versions of the movie’s villains.

The narrative is delivered primarily through static cutscenes on cartridge carts, which use hand-drawn panels and captioned dialogue to move the plot forward. Although basic, these segments effectively remind you why you’re scrambling over ice and snow while fending off shadowy henchmen.

Sega CD owners enjoy additional storytelling polish via brief movie clips that punctuate level transitions. While the clip quality is rough by today’s standards, hearing Stallone’s voice and catching glimpses of real footage adds authenticity to the adaptation and strengthens the player’s connection to the original film.

Despite the faithful adaptation, Cliffhanger’s story can feel like a linear checklist of film set-pieces. There’s little in the way of branching paths or hidden narrative surprises—what you see in the cutscenes is exactly what you get in the game. For die-hard fans of the movie, this predictability can be reassuring; for others, it may come across as a missed opportunity to expand on the film’s world.

Ultimately, Cliffhanger succeeds as a nostalgic retelling rather than a bold reinterpretation of the story. It captures the essence of the film’s high-altitude tension and injects it into the gameplay loop, ensuring that each snowy climb and boss encounter feels motivated by the underlying plot.

Overall Experience

Cliffhanger delivers a nostalgic trip back to mid-’90s beat’em up design, emphasizing methodical combat and environmental hazards over flashy combos or branching narratives. Its side-scrolling action, while occasionally hampered by stiff controls and limited moves, retains a steady sense of challenge that will appeal to retro enthusiasts.

The game’s unique selling point is its mountain-based setting, which infuses every level with a sense of peril that extends beyond just enemy encounters. Scaling cliffs, jumping gaps and outrunning avalanches add diverse gameplay moments that differentiate Cliffhanger from its urban counterparts.

Graphically, the contrast between cartridge and Sega CD versions is notable. While both present solid sprite work and evocative backgrounds, the CD’s snowboarding sequences and film clips offer an enhanced cinematic experience that fans of Stallone’s film will appreciate. If you’re choosing between platforms, the Sega CD edition is the definitive way to experience the game.

Storywise, the faithful retelling will satisfy film aficionados, though the lack of narrative innovation may leave some craving more depth or side content. From a technical standpoint, control precision and hit detection can frustrate newcomers, but persistence pays off as you learn enemy patterns and refine Stallone’s martial arts timing.

In the end, Cliffhanger stands as a solid licensed beat’em up that successfully translates the thrill of the mountainside chase and hand-to-hand combat into pixel form. Although it doesn’t reinvent the genre, its blend of climbing, fighting and occasional snowboarding offers a distinctive retro experience well worth exploring for fans of classic action games and the film alike.

Retro Replay Score

5.5/10