Topic: 2025/03: Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) - John Brain

[JonLeung]

Escape From Mars: Starring Taz

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to John Brain's Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) maps.

Marvin the Martian is fascinated with "rare Earth creatures", so when he learns of one called the "Tasmanian Devil", he captures Taz, intending to keep him in a Martian zoo.  Unsurprisingly, the hot-headed Taz is not a fan of this arrangement, so he immediately breaks out and tries to find his way back home.

This is the adventure of "Escape From Mars: Starring Taz" (or, as the title on the box art reads, "Taz In Escape From Mars").  Somehow, via Acme shipping crates, Taz will travel from Mars to other planets, even back to Earth, though he must confront Marvin before he can return to Tasmania.  It's not an easy trek through all these large, sometimes labyrinthine areas, but Genesis fan and cartographer John Brain can help you and Taz escape from Mars, with these 19 maps ranging from Mars to Moleworld to Mexico.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this above-average Looney Tunes-licensed platformer, John Brain's Escape From Mars: Starring Taz (Genesis) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for March 2025.

[Cyartog959]

It was a nice game that continued from Taz-Mania's blueprint, but really, no game's yet to carry it from Escape From Mars' blueprint.

Nevertheless, it was rather fun, a good journey from Mars to Earth and, well, back again to stop Marvin's scheme involving, we guessed it, planetary conquest. I still shudder at the sight of Moleworld's giant boring machine, from its second level, that kept catching up to Taz, no matter how far he seemed to be, and should've been, away from it.

Honestly, its rubber-banding's not lenient enough to warrant chances of quick escapes for more than a few seconds, nor allowing anyone to get an extra life and a continue at once. I kept trying it, and I still ended up getting demolished by that machine time and again! *Ugh...!*

Still, its mostly original bosses were good.

I still love how it got featured as March's Map of the Month, here. Great honor, indeed.