Dennis The Menace is a multiplatform video game based on the 1993 movie of the same name

Dennis the Menace (film)

Dennis the Menace is a 1993 live-action American family film based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip of the same name....

. The object in all versions of the game is to defeat a burglar who managed to find Dennis' town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 via the local railroad connection. Stages include Mr. Wilson's house

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

, the great outdoors, a boiler room, and eventually the big boss battle with the burglar himself.

General gameplay

Before the actual playing takes place, Dennis has just discovered that he left Mr. Wilson's door unlocked, and a thief has stolen Mr. Wilson's entire coin collection. Dennis must retrieve all of the coins before Mr. Wilson finds out. The object of the game is to collect six large coins scattered throughout each level. The same coin-collection game is present throughout the entirety of the game (with the exception of two stages in the first park stage set, wherein Dennis must traverse the park on a wagon led by his dog). After each sixth level, there is a boss stage, followed by a new set of levels. The sets of levels are, in order, Mr. Wilson's House, Park, Boiler Room, Sewers, and finally, Woods. The end of the woods levels, and the subsequent beating of the final boss, marks the end of the game.

Health bars

Health

Health (gaming)

Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....

 is represented by hearts, located at the top-right of the screen. If touched by an enemy, one heart will disappear. Each touch by an enemy removes one heart (as well as temporarily stunning Dennis). Once all of the hearts are gone, the player must restart the level (but retains all main coins found). Restoring health is a matter of finding the pieces of candy

Candy

Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...

 located throughout the levels. Each piece of candy restores 100% of Dennis' health.

Time

Time is an important factor in Dennis The Menace. There is a clock, located in the top-middle of the screen, that starts at 999 seconds (16.7 minutes) and counts backwards down to zero seconds. Once the clock is at zero seconds, there is an immediate and automatic game over

Game over

Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...

screen, which completely eradicates all work done on a level. The amount of time taken during a level, even after Dennis loses a life, remains the same (if the time is at 456 seconds, and Dennis loses a life, he will restart the level with 456 seconds).