StarTropics begins with Mike Jones, a pitcher from Seattle, Washington. Mike is on vacation to the tropical C-Island to visit his uncle, Dr. Steve Jones, a researcher. After docking, Mike makes his way to the nearby Coracola Village to find his uncle. Speaking with the village chief, Mike discovers that "Dr. J" has gone missing and the path to his lab is obstructed by a large mountain range. The village chief presents Mike with a Yo-Yo (renamed as the "Village Star" for the Virtual Console to avoid trademark issues in Canada) to aid him in his quest, and Mike descends into an underground passage to locate "Dr. J."

The vast majority of the game follows a pattern of alternating between over-world and dungeon exploration. Borrowing the style of the much similar Zelda franchise, the game is done from an overhead scrolling viewpoint. The over-world usually consists of an island with around two villages, or houses, to explore. Each area contains people to converse with that will eventually point Mike in the right direction. These sequences are generally short and they don't really have much impact on the game other than to further the story. Where StarTropics really shines is in it's dungeon sequences.

Each dungeon consists of a series of small rooms, usually no larger than the screen. These screens generally contain a handful of monsters, switches, doors and occasionally items. Puzzles normally consist of flipping switches in a specific pattern or by enemy genocide. Dungeons also hold somewhat of a mixed bag. Circumstances like rooms filled with water or panels that disappear the moment Mike steps onto them offered instant kills that frequently make the game frustrating. This is especially maddening when considering that the game has a limited number of lives in which to finish a dungeon. While playing, I frequently found myself becoming infuriated by puzzles that consisted almost entirely of memorization, or trial and error to locate things that would, again, instantly kill me.

These sequences were not all bad. StarTropics featured an interesting perspective and unique game-play that was not common in titles of that time. Variable floor height offered ledges and pits, and subsequently also a unique way to avoiding monsters and perform sneak attacks. Bosses often require players to figure out their vulnerabilities rather than simply bombarding them with attacks. There is also the game's notorious primary weapon: The Yo-Yo. The attack system revolved around a noticeably limited toy, which is obviously an odd choice for a baseball star. The game does eventually feature other weapons like shurikens, bats, baseballs and even laser cannons. These items had to be found inside the confines of the dungeon and were promptly taken away once Mike returned to the over-world or if he extinguished their ammunition.

Graphically, the game ranges from superb to down-right average. Overhead sequences tend to be a bit on the drab side, frequently using cookie cutter style graphics that almost seem to be phoned-in from other titles. Conversations feature curtain style decorations on the sides of the screen with large, detailed characters. This was a level of quality that was rare during conversations in most NES titles. The dungeons are obviously where most of the designer's time was invested. Rocks are sculpted with intricate beveling and sprites featured fluid animation. Many of the tile graphics were a bit overused, but considering the era, this is not unexpected. The bosses of are some of the largest you will see on the system and they even move. Large moving sprites was unexpected, and almost unheard of on a screen that was not otherwise blank.

Unfortunately, StarTropics has one of the best features that few people will be able to ever experience: The addition of a real life prop. Included with the game was a letter from Dr. J inviting Mike to the island. Many people simply wrote this object off as a needless pack in, like posters or game kitch that was popular with infocom. Eventually, the game tells the player to dip Dr. J's letter in water to reveal a code required within the game to advance. The decision to include this feature was unique, although it did pose a new set of problems. Many players were not used to working with real life props and as such did not connect the physical letter with the game itself. Most gamers would fruitlessly struggled to find a letter within the game. Additionally, many players had not purchased the game retail, myself included. Having rented the title, I was not supplied a letter in which to dip in water. As the result of this, there were enough calls to the tip line that they actually published the code in Nintendo Power magazine.

StarTropics was far from perfect. Occasionally clunky mechanics, instant deaths and repetitive graphics were symptomatic throughout the entire title. Being released only in Europe and North America, as well as having a tropical theme that some found unappealing, many gamers ultimately missed out on a fantastic title. The game-play is unique, and it's chapter based story line allowed for more casual players to enjoy the game as well. It was also one of the first games to incorporate tangible objects, something that I personally feel is not used enough.