Magic School Bus

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a game by Scholastic
Genre: Educational/Kids
Platform: Sega GenesisGenesis
Editor Rating: 8.3/10, based on 2 reviews
User Rating: 6.3/10 - 6 votes
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See also: Movie-Based Games
Magic School Bus
Magic School Bus
Magic School Bus

My experience with The Magic School Bus as a kid is a bit of a weird one. I was probably too old for it when it first aired, but where I lived it was followed by the awesome X-Men animated series so I would have to sit through it to get to X-Men. Still, it had some charm and I will admit that I did learn a thing or two from it. Now I am older, it is kind of cool how my son watches the reboot on Netflix. Enough of my life story, lets get to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive game that was released to go along with the show.

Let’s Ride The Magic School Bus!

The full title of this game is actually, Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game which is one heck of a mouth full! One thing I have to say about this game is that they captured the feel of the TV show very well. It features all of the kids, Miss Frizzle her weird lizard thing, and so on. This game as you have probably guessed is all themed around outer space and despite the fact it is a “game” it manages to be educational and not boring which is cool.

Driving A Bus In Outer Space

The game is themed around you going from planet to planet in our solar system. You start off by flying the Magic School Bus in a kind of the first-person point of view. You control a crosshair on the screen and you need to avoid the asteroids that are coming your way. I have to say this is done very, very well and if I had played this back in 1995, I would have been very impressed with how this simulates 3D. Once you make it to the planet, you get to play as one of the kids. You need to make it to Miss Frizzle in a strange platforming section, get asked to solve a sliding puzzle, do a matching type game, and then you move onto the next planet. You do have other things that you will be doing such as a shooting section that is kind of like asteroids and landing a lunar lander so there is more variety here than you may think.

Am I Watching The TV Show?

Ok so saying that Scholastic's The Magic School Bus: Space Exploration Game is just like the TV show in terms of its presentation is going way too far. But at the same time, things here are very recognizable if you have seen the show. The first-person bus flying sections are done very well and the part where you need to land the bus has a cool 3D model of the bus that spins. It may not look like much at first glance, but the game captures the look of the show pretty well.

The soundtrack is actually pretty decent too! The game sounds like an old arcade game with its beeps and bops and that is something I like. The music is not bad either with many songs sounding like they are from the TV show.

I know it sounds crazy, but I would have to say that The Magic School Bus for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis is a fairly decent game! It manages to teach you a thing or two about our solar system which is great, but it is also a game that is pretty fun to play. It was released in 1995, during the dying days of the Mega Drive/Genesis so with the PlayStation and Saturn on the scene no one really gave this the time of day. I say give it a go; you might be surprised at just how much fun it is.

8.5

Final Score

Pros:

  • The game actually teaches you about the solar system
  • Even though it is educational the game is still fun
  • It captures the feel of the show pretty well
  • There is a decent amount of variety to the gameplay
  • I liked the music and sound effects

Cons:

  • Once you beat it once, there is no much replay value
  • Sadly it is a game most people will completely overlook

Download Magic School Bus

Genesis

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Game modes: Single game mode

Player controls:

  • Up, Down, Left, Right - Arrow keys
  • Start - Enter (Pause, Menu select, Skip intro, Inventory)
  • "A" Gamepad button - Ctrl (usually Jump or Change weapon)
  • "B" button - Space (Jump, Fire, Menu select)
  • "C" button - Left Shift (Item select)

Use the F12 key to toggle mouse capture / release when using the mouse as a controller.

Game Reviews

Does anybody remember The Magic School Bus? Chances are that if you lived through the 90's you do. Beginning with a series of books, The Magic School Bus exploded into a vast educational entertainment franchise, including TV shows and movies. They wouldn't have made a video game as a medium to teach kids, right?

We remember the 90s as a decade where video games began to explode in popularity. Naturally, The Magic School Bus was translated into a game for the ever-trendy Sega Genesis. All those weird and wacky teachable moments now were interactive - but how well did they actually come off?

OK, Ms. Frizzle

How that Magic School Bus theme song brings back memories. Echoed in an 8-bit format, the nostalgia of this franchise knocks your head like a ton of the school books you were supposed to read to actually educate yourself. No time for that - Ms. Frizzle needs us to guide the bus to Mars.

The Magic School Bus game revolves around space exploration - where each planet can be selected as a mission on a map. There isn't much of a linear story behind it, however. The game will just present a series of mini-games as the bus takes you around the solar system to try and cram some learning material into your noggin. The games and missions you play do what an already established franchise does best - blatantly rips-off mechanics from other games. The Magic School Bus is not entirely guilty of copy and paste, as there are some unique elements to the mini-games. It's easy to see the resemblance considering playable missions like navigating through an Asteroid field (Asteroids) and flying through space to dodge all the ethereal junk thrown at you (Defender).

Some of the games are surprisingly challenging, considering they were developed for children. Any adult could actually have a whale of a time when attempting to perfectly land an upright school bus on Mars. Not so much when you are just hopping between space holiday snaps, maybe. As a wholesome game, however, The Magic School Bus actually stands up.

I Learned Nothing, But I Had Fun

Any learning medium that this game tries on seems to be completely redundant. Apart from the cognitive skills - the game teaches and the giggles it delivers when you travel to Uranus, you get the feeling you haven't learned a whole lot. That's perfectly OK, though.

The Magic School Bus' difficulty curve actually makes for a fun game to play. It's a game that simply forces its players to use their intuition and skill to beat each of its oddly similar missions. This was the early 90s - no hand-holding or tutorials here. You were simply expected to be seasoned in classic arcade games like Space Invaders or Outrun. There is nothing remarkably different or unique about gameplay and by no means revolutionary. The wholesomeness of the game's theme and the nostalgia of mechanics deliver an experience that you can easily invest hours into. The game is well-made and polished, with nothing overly frustrating about it besides some of the more tedious mini-games presented to you.

8

Why not dive back into The Magic School Bus and its first-ever game in the franchise? It certainly sets the tone for future games, and the nostalgia of early Saturday television will hit you in waves. Crack out your Genesis, and start exploring space with Ms. Frizzle.

Pros

  • Well-polished game
  • Decent difficulty curve that can immerse adults as well as children
  • Nostalgia is rife

Cons

  • Mini-games are copies of classic arcade games
  • Some mini-games are boring
  • That 8-bit theme song plays a bit too much

Snapshots and Media

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Screenshots