Barney's Hide and Seek
Encyclopedia
Barney's Hide and Seek is a game that was released on June 1, 1993 by Sega of America
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis video game system.
This game was released to the North America
n and South America
n markets but never saw a Japanese, European or an Australian release due to licensing issues and translation issues. It was based on the children's television
and home video franchise known as the "Barney
" franchise. The voice of Barney was recorded by Bob West
, who also did it on the television show. There are more than more than one hundred words and two hundred phrases spoken by Barney the Dinosaur. Favorite things are always mentioned by name by Barney when the player helps him discover them. Educational concepts taught in this game include counting
, matching, and problem solving
. There is a self-play feature that guides the player to the objective when he or she is not playing.
s, the player is not allowed to die (a lack of a proper health bar also indicates Barney's inability to die). Should the player find all the children and presents in different levels, they would be rewarded with a "special surprise". During the surprise, the purple balloon
s are popped while confetti
and streamers are drizzled in the presence of excited children in addition to Barney and Baby Bop. Barney's Hide and Seek has a certain medieval/fantasy look because modern technology does not appear in this game.
When nowhere near an object to interact with, Barney can blow kiss
es in the air complete with flying heart symbol
s. Locating a child results in giving him or her a hug. Barney can even fly on balloon
s, float on cloud
s, and jump on nearby platforms. Sound quality can be questionable on certain parts; "fish" tends to be one of the words that the game has trouble vocalizing correctly. The inability for Barney to die is indicated by him refusing to fall off floating platforms; instead there is a safety lecture handed out by Barney so kids can learn to be careful like him. Cloud jumping is only possible when the traffic light
is showing a green signal.
among gaming circles. Sega-16 has given this video game a 4.0 out of 10.
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis video game system.
This game was released to the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n markets but never saw a Japanese, European or an Australian release due to licensing issues and translation issues. It was based on the children's television
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
and home video franchise known as the "Barney
Barney & Friends
Barney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...
" franchise. The voice of Barney was recorded by Bob West
Bob West
Bob West is an American television actor best known as the voice of Barney in the hit children's show Barney & Friends. He has also appeared in several Barney-related shows such as concert tours...
, who also did it on the television show. There are more than more than one hundred words and two hundred phrases spoken by Barney the Dinosaur. Favorite things are always mentioned by name by Barney when the player helps him discover them. Educational concepts taught in this game include counting
Counting
Counting is the action of finding the number of elements of a finite set of objects. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a counter by a unit for every element of the set, in some order, while marking those elements to avoid visiting the same element more than once,...
, matching, and problem solving
Problem solving
Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Consideredthe most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of...
. There is a self-play feature that guides the player to the objective when he or she is not playing.
Gameplay
In this game, the objective is to move Barney around four themed levels and locate five children and five presents that are hiding throughout the level. Unlike action gameAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s, the player is not allowed to die (a lack of a proper health bar also indicates Barney's inability to die). Should the player find all the children and presents in different levels, they would be rewarded with a "special surprise". During the surprise, the purple balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
s are popped while confetti
Confetti
Confetti is a multitude of pieces of paper, mylar or metallic material which is usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings . Confetti is made in a variety of colors, and commercially available confetti is available in imaginative shapes...
and streamers are drizzled in the presence of excited children in addition to Barney and Baby Bop. Barney's Hide and Seek has a certain medieval/fantasy look because modern technology does not appear in this game.
When nowhere near an object to interact with, Barney can blow kiss
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
es in the air complete with flying heart symbol
Heart (symbol)
The heart has long been used as a symbol to refer to the spiritual, emotional, moral, and in the past, also intellectual core of a human being...
s. Locating a child results in giving him or her a hug. Barney can even fly on balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
s, float on cloud
Cloud
A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth's atmosphere are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology...
s, and jump on nearby platforms. Sound quality can be questionable on certain parts; "fish" tends to be one of the words that the game has trouble vocalizing correctly. The inability for Barney to die is indicated by him refusing to fall off floating platforms; instead there is a safety lecture handed out by Barney so kids can learn to be careful like him. Cloud jumping is only possible when the traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
is showing a green signal.
Instrumental songs
- Barney Theme Song (Tune: Yankee DoodleYankee Doodle"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
) - Forest Melody (The Happy WandererThe Happy Wanderer"The Happy Wanderer" is a popular song by Friedrich-Wilhelm Möller written shortly after World War II. It is often mistaken for a German folk song, but it is actually an original composition...
, Sarasponda, A-Camping We Will Go) - Twinkle Twinkle Little StarTwinkle Twinkle Little Star"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The lyrics are from an early nineteenth-century English poem, "The Star" by Jane Taylor. The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann...
- Music Town Melody (I Am a Fine Musician, Skip to My LouSkip to My Lou"Skip to My Lou" is a popular children's song.Skip to My Lou was a popular partner-stealing dance from America's frontier period.According to :...
, AlouetteAlouette (song)"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song originating in France about plucking the feathers from a lark. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques"...
) - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Reprise)
- Sea Melody (Row Row Row your BoatRow, Row, Row Your Boat"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is an English language nursery rhyme, and a popular children's song, often sung as a round. It can also be an 'action' nursery rhyme where singers sit opposite one another and 'row' forwards and backwards with joined hands...
, Sailing SailingSailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, traditional Sea theme) - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Reprise 2)
- Farm Songs (Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Mary Had a Little Lamb, BingoBingo (song)"Bingo", also known as "Bingo Was His Name-O" and "There Was a Farmer Who Had a Dog", is an English language children's song of obscure origin...
) - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Finale)
- I Love You (Tune: This Old ManThis Old Man"This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550.-Origins and history:The origins of this song are obscure...
)
Reception
While not many professional reviews exist for Barney's Hide and Seek, the game has been the subject of much mockery due to the general unpopularity of the Barney franchise and the popularity of anti-Barney humorAnti-Barney humor
Anti-Barney humor is a form of humor that targets the children's television program Barney & Friends. The notion that the show is saccharine, boring, annoying, sugary, dangerous or uneducational has made the program a target for parody and negative attacks by children of various ages, adolescents,...
among gaming circles. Sega-16 has given this video game a 4.0 out of 10.