Daze Before Christmas

Daze Before Christmas is a platform game for the Sega Genesis where the player controls Santa Claus. His mission is to restore Christmas after antagonists including an evil snowman and the Timekeeper have disrupted the preparations. This involves navigating through a series of twenty four distinct areas.

The core gameplay involves running through levels, confronting various enemies, and locating a spinning star to progress. Santa's primary attack is throwing magic, but consuming hot cocoa temporarily transforms him into a powerful, invincible form called Anti-Santa. The game incorporates a password system, allowing players to resume progress from specific stages.

Santa's health is shown as a set of five hats, which are lost upon taking damage. Running out of hats costs a life, though gold bells found in levels act as checkpoints. While exploring, Santa can collect presents that may contain helpful items like extra lives or a health-restoring red hat, but they can also conceal hazards such as bombs.

Not all stages follow the standard platforming format. Some shift to an aerial perspective where Santa flies over different countries and must accurately drop presents down chimneys. The structure is challenging, with a boss encounter occurring after every five regular areas.