You're probably sitting there now, thinking “wait a minute, Olly023 – I wanted a review, not overview! Opinions, please!!”. First off, calm down. It's Xmas. Secondly, yes I'm getting to that right here: in my honest, totally unbiased and certainly unpaid opinion (because unlike random trolls may chat, there aint no advertising revenue here; ask our banks!) - it's pretty freakin' sweet. The game design and controls, while not anything extraordinary or particularly game-changin' (for back then, let alone now) are on point. The controls are responsive and Santa reacts just as you'd imagine with each sequential button press. You want things tight in a platformer and thus Daze succeeds, instead of leaving the player rage-quitting over finicky jumping mechanics or poor hit detection. It's just all good stuff and compliments the presentation accordingly.

The presentation itself is absolutely top-notch. As this was one of the few commercial Xmas titles, it's imperative that it was (to put it bluntly) festive as fuck! Really, the game is. Besides the obvious, it genuinely does look, act, sound, play and (I'm pretty sure if it could, it would) even smell like a Xmas game. In fact, perhaps Sunsoft should have dipped the plastic of the cartridge into some mould cider before shipping, just to go that extra mile. Unfortunetly not the case, but the drift (never mind the whiff) must be caught by now. Daze Before Christmas should be to gaming aficionados what the superior (yeah, I said it) Miracle on 34th Street remake is to those who love a good seasonal flick.

Graphically speaking, Daze looks gorgeous. It's totally just cartoonish fun, of course; but it's as of a standard you would find in a 16-bit Disney title. Which you'd rightly assume, is high praise from moi if you've ever seen me comment on Virgin's Disney releases, specifically. Foregrounds thankfully stick out enough that you don't ever get muddled with what's going on at the back (and thus make ridiculous decisions in-game due to such), with much of the games actual platforms having a neat slanted effect. Animation across the board here is as smooth as a newborns behind, too – with each character having decent and defined cycles with a good few frames a piece. Santa (and by extension Anti-Claus) is obviously the real star of the show. Whether it's the eye-popping look he gives when falling, or pulling his hat down in an over-the-top motion when crouching, or simply just taking in the scenery while idle. Anti-Claus specifically has a crouch n' move animation where he creeps inside his sack and slithers along the floor. That sort of thing deserves medals.

Before each stage, you also get a cool static art screen, ala Rayman and the like; that also gives the specific title for said stage. This coupled with the whole advent calendar thing that I previously mentioned helps give the game that extra edge. Just simple things that can easily be overlooked but really added to my personal enjoyment. The levels are a bit all over the place, however. On the one hand Santa will be trekking through the snow, but the next minute you'll be in a magical cave or a factory. Everything fits in and the design remains good, it's just a little one-eyebrow raising when you're at polar opposite locations while working your way through. Also, some levels are insanely short, so that may be a downer to some folk; but for me when paired with larger stages it's fine as it helps everything move at a swift pace. A pace that can be upheld despite lack of a stage timer. Exploration is also key in some levels to rack up the most points and such, which is something I always appreciate.

To bounce off of the overall presentation and land back in gameplay central for a minute, while the game has three modes of difficulty, finding hats and gaining extra lives are never a chore. This is either an upper or a downer, it's dependent on the individual. For me, I was happily simply in context. I wanted to play Daze to play a game that was a relatively straight forward challenge, which it most certainly provided. Besides that, there is also a password save system in place, with continuing only really having an impact on your scoring and amount of presents obtained. But, there's even a trick around that where you can essentially grind on certain levels just by memorising where an extra life item is and proceeding to attack and attack again the respawning enemies post-suicide. I don't recommend that, as that is tedious and ultimately unnecessary, but figured I'd point it out regardless. Within the stages you will also be able to find a checkpoint in the form of a bell. Ends of stages are indicated by a flashy looking star (such as that that sits atop your tree) that Santa can touch for further adventure.