Short Order / Eggsplode! stands as one of the final attempts by Nintendo to justify the floor-mat Power Pad peripheral, bundling two distinct experiences that leverage the accessory's twelve-button "Side B." Developed by Nintendo’s R&D2 team, the title trades the athletic sprinting of World Class Track Meet for a focus on memory and rhythmic reaction. It is a colorful, arcade-style compilation that aims for family-friendly engagement, though it arrived late in the NES life cycle when the novelty of the Power Pad was already beginning to wane among the core audience.
The first half, Short Order, is essentially a culinary take on the classic Simon game, tasking players with memorizing increasingly complex sequences of burger toppings by stepping on the corresponding pads. It starts gently but quickly escalates into a frantic physical workout for both the mind and legs as the burger towers reach ridiculous heights. Conversely, Eggsplode! functions more like a horizontal "Whack-a-Mole," where the player must jump on specific pads to defuse bombs planted under a row of nesting chickens. Both games utilize the NES's vibrant palette and chunky sprites to create a charming, upbeat atmosphere, though neither offers much depth beyond their initial gameplay loops.
While technically proficient and physically engaging, the multicart suffers from the inherent limitations of the Power Pad itself, which often struggles with precision during high-speed play. For collectors, the game is a curious artifact of Nintendo’s experimental phase with alternative inputs, demonstrating that the NES could handle more than just standard D-pad movement.
