Introduction
The old original monochrome Game Boy will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first gaming device I've bought and basically started my love for videogames. Out of a feeling of nostalgia and curiousity I digged out my old machine a few months ago, basically to see if the games are still holding up today and I was pleasently surprised that they do just that. Most of the old classics are still a blast to play and I find it even more impressive now, how much charm and fun could be cramped into those little cartridges back then, especially when you're taking into account the limitations of the hardware (for example the simple color sheme with only four shades of grey).
I've even bought a new game for my 14 year old handheld recently (which is still working, besides missing some pixel lines on the right and left side of the screen^^') and I was beginning to wonder what I may have been missing, as there just have to be some rather unknown and/or underapreciated little games (besides the well known bestsellers ala Mario, Tetris and Pokemon) that slipped under my radar.
What's this thread all about?
It's a place where you could and should name those little games that may haven't gotten the attention they deserved. Drop a name or maybe post some screens or write a few words. A place where you can show your appreciation and where you may even find some monochrome gems that you've never heard of before.
So let's dig out those old grey boxes and let us enjoy some nostalgic feelings and goold old monochrome fun.
It doesn't hurt if you're old Game Boy is broken (okay, maybe it hurts your feelings) or if you don't have a handheld capable of playing original GameBoy cartridges at all, cause although with Nintendos newest handhelds (GB Micro, DS, DS Lite) the backwards compatibility has been dropped, it's still possible to play those old games on your new Nintendo hardware through the wonders of emulation, which works quite well, mainly cause of the brighter screens of the newer devices (and other emulation related things ala Real Time Saves, which can get handy, when the original cartridge doesn't offer Battery Save or Passwords).
So, enough rambling already, I'll start this thread with the game I bought recently, it's called "Catrap" ("Pit Man" in Japan) and is a cute little puzzlegame similar to the NES classic Fire 'N Ice.
Catrap
What's this game about?
The title is composed of the words "cat" and "trap" (and is therefore pronounced "ca-trap" and not "cat-rap", sorry hip hop fans).
It becomes pretty clear that the title is fitting, cause basically you're playing some anthropomorphic cats (a boy and a girl) that have been sent to an underground labyrinth by an angry monster, which they've accidently awakened during its "daytime beauty slumber". The Labyrinth consists of the 100 levels of the game, in which you have to kill all the enemies and avoid being trapped.
The story doesn't make much sense at all, so after you've read the whopping five sentences, don't be surprised if you'll find yourself scratching your head, which isn't a bad introduction to the game, cause you'll get accustomed to that real soon.
Don't let this little cute game trick you into thinking it's childs play, cause this one is a real brainteaser.
Of course it starts out slow and easy, the learning curve is quite decent actually, but it will get tough.
How does it play?
It's quite simple, really. You can choose one of the two kitties (doesn't make a difference, they're playing the same) and then you can choose one of 99 levels. Yes, you better believe! You can freely choose any of the levels except the last one (which has to be opened up by clearing all the others). That's pretty neat when you're stuck in one of the levels, as you can just try aother one instead.
The levels themselves consist of stationary blocks (which can be pushed around) and monsters. You move around the level from tile to tile and you basically have to knock out all the monsters, which is simply a matter of walking into them.
Sounds easy , but there are some obstacles on the way, in the form of the blocks I mentioned. Those can be pushed around (by running into them, as usual). Furthermore there are ladders to reach higher platforms (cause you can't just jump or climb up blocks) and sometimes there's soil, which you can dig (move) through.
And that's it basically. A simple concept at heart, that only needs the digipad for controlling your cat, utilized to build some mindboggling puzzles.
it starts out nice and easy
but of course it will get harder
So yeah, what do the A and B buttons do?
They're keeping you sane! As it does get quite tough in the later levels it's nice that the developers gave you the option to correct stupid mistakes. A rewinds and B forwards your past actions.
There are also little nuances here and there to keep things fresh over the course of the game, for example there are different types of enemies or some levels even give you the possibility to play with both of the cats at the same time.
there are some nice tagteam puzzles
Completing all the levels takes its time, and sadly, there's no battery save. There is an excellent password system though, which keeps track exactely of all the individual levels you've finished.
There's also a nice edit mode, where you can create your on levels. These are interchangebale, cause you can get a password for your creation and give it to a friend, who can then challenge your puzzles on his own cartridge, something that wouldn't be possible with only a battery save function. There are even some bonus levels in the form of passwords printed in the manual.
What does it sound and look like?
Graphic wise it's nothing groundbreaking. The characters are charming and the animations passable, but the nonchanging level grafics get a little old after a while.
The sound isn't overwhelming either and there's also little to no variety, as the same song is heard in every level.
Final thoughts
But all these audiovisual nitpicks pale in comparison to the charm and playability of this little gem. Its easy pick up and play mentality and the myriad of features, which are quite astonishing for such an early GB title, are the reason why this game hasn't aged one bit. It's friendly enough for beginners and offers a real challenge for puzzle pros in the later stages. The Rewind and Password functions ensure that it's never getting frustrating and the edit mode gives it longterm appeal, even after all the levels have been solved.
So what we have here is one of the best puzzlers on any handheld console and if you're into those games, you've just've no excuse not to check this out. Although afaik it hasn't been released in europe (which is quite a shame really), the US version can be found cheap and rather easily on fleabay.
The old original monochrome Game Boy will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first gaming device I've bought and basically started my love for videogames. Out of a feeling of nostalgia and curiousity I digged out my old machine a few months ago, basically to see if the games are still holding up today and I was pleasently surprised that they do just that. Most of the old classics are still a blast to play and I find it even more impressive now, how much charm and fun could be cramped into those little cartridges back then, especially when you're taking into account the limitations of the hardware (for example the simple color sheme with only four shades of grey).
I've even bought a new game for my 14 year old handheld recently (which is still working, besides missing some pixel lines on the right and left side of the screen^^') and I was beginning to wonder what I may have been missing, as there just have to be some rather unknown and/or underapreciated little games (besides the well known bestsellers ala Mario, Tetris and Pokemon) that slipped under my radar.
What's this thread all about?
It's a place where you could and should name those little games that may haven't gotten the attention they deserved. Drop a name or maybe post some screens or write a few words. A place where you can show your appreciation and where you may even find some monochrome gems that you've never heard of before.
So let's dig out those old grey boxes and let us enjoy some nostalgic feelings and goold old monochrome fun.
It doesn't hurt if you're old Game Boy is broken (okay, maybe it hurts your feelings) or if you don't have a handheld capable of playing original GameBoy cartridges at all, cause although with Nintendos newest handhelds (GB Micro, DS, DS Lite) the backwards compatibility has been dropped, it's still possible to play those old games on your new Nintendo hardware through the wonders of emulation, which works quite well, mainly cause of the brighter screens of the newer devices (and other emulation related things ala Real Time Saves, which can get handy, when the original cartridge doesn't offer Battery Save or Passwords).
So, enough rambling already, I'll start this thread with the game I bought recently, it's called "Catrap" ("Pit Man" in Japan) and is a cute little puzzlegame similar to the NES classic Fire 'N Ice.
Catrap
What's this game about?
The title is composed of the words "cat" and "trap" (and is therefore pronounced "ca-trap" and not "cat-rap", sorry hip hop fans).
It becomes pretty clear that the title is fitting, cause basically you're playing some anthropomorphic cats (a boy and a girl) that have been sent to an underground labyrinth by an angry monster, which they've accidently awakened during its "daytime beauty slumber". The Labyrinth consists of the 100 levels of the game, in which you have to kill all the enemies and avoid being trapped.
The story doesn't make much sense at all, so after you've read the whopping five sentences, don't be surprised if you'll find yourself scratching your head, which isn't a bad introduction to the game, cause you'll get accustomed to that real soon.
Don't let this little cute game trick you into thinking it's childs play, cause this one is a real brainteaser.
Of course it starts out slow and easy, the learning curve is quite decent actually, but it will get tough.
How does it play?
It's quite simple, really. You can choose one of the two kitties (doesn't make a difference, they're playing the same) and then you can choose one of 99 levels. Yes, you better believe! You can freely choose any of the levels except the last one (which has to be opened up by clearing all the others). That's pretty neat when you're stuck in one of the levels, as you can just try aother one instead.
The levels themselves consist of stationary blocks (which can be pushed around) and monsters. You move around the level from tile to tile and you basically have to knock out all the monsters, which is simply a matter of walking into them.
Sounds easy , but there are some obstacles on the way, in the form of the blocks I mentioned. Those can be pushed around (by running into them, as usual). Furthermore there are ladders to reach higher platforms (cause you can't just jump or climb up blocks) and sometimes there's soil, which you can dig (move) through.
And that's it basically. A simple concept at heart, that only needs the digipad for controlling your cat, utilized to build some mindboggling puzzles.
it starts out nice and easy
but of course it will get harder
So yeah, what do the A and B buttons do?
They're keeping you sane! As it does get quite tough in the later levels it's nice that the developers gave you the option to correct stupid mistakes. A rewinds and B forwards your past actions.
There are also little nuances here and there to keep things fresh over the course of the game, for example there are different types of enemies or some levels even give you the possibility to play with both of the cats at the same time.
there are some nice tagteam puzzles
Completing all the levels takes its time, and sadly, there's no battery save. There is an excellent password system though, which keeps track exactely of all the individual levels you've finished.
There's also a nice edit mode, where you can create your on levels. These are interchangebale, cause you can get a password for your creation and give it to a friend, who can then challenge your puzzles on his own cartridge, something that wouldn't be possible with only a battery save function. There are even some bonus levels in the form of passwords printed in the manual.
What does it sound and look like?
Graphic wise it's nothing groundbreaking. The characters are charming and the animations passable, but the nonchanging level grafics get a little old after a while.
The sound isn't overwhelming either and there's also little to no variety, as the same song is heard in every level.
Final thoughts
But all these audiovisual nitpicks pale in comparison to the charm and playability of this little gem. Its easy pick up and play mentality and the myriad of features, which are quite astonishing for such an early GB title, are the reason why this game hasn't aged one bit. It's friendly enough for beginners and offers a real challenge for puzzle pros in the later stages. The Rewind and Password functions ensure that it's never getting frustrating and the edit mode gives it longterm appeal, even after all the levels have been solved.
So what we have here is one of the best puzzlers on any handheld console and if you're into those games, you've just've no excuse not to check this out. Although afaik it hasn't been released in europe (which is quite a shame really), the US version can be found cheap and rather easily on fleabay.
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