As odd as that likely sounds, the end product's actually pretty darn fun. Of course, how could it not be? Not only does it put players in ol' Gorby's shoes, but it tasks them with racing through one Russian factory after another in order to provide the poor with such basic essentials as food, medicine and, er, Game Gears, while avoiding violent soldiers and guards.
Thankfully, the factories you and Gorbechev spend so much time in are far from drab. On the contrary, they're bright and colorful, with red and blue floors giving way to green and purple walls that are topped by orange and yellow minarets.
Ganbare Gorby's gameplay is similarly striking, despite the fact that it often involves stepping onto and off of switches--or moving conveyor belts to and fro--that help deliver the above-mentioned staples to the awaiting masses. (To see what I mean, check out this video. Just make sure your volume is turned down, as the sound quality in this clip is terrible.)
By the way, I can't write a post about this game without mentioning two things. First, it was released outside of Japan (in 1991) as Factory Panic, with Gorbechev being replaced by some random blond brat. (Strangely, everything else remains--including the minarets and the Soviet soldiers.) Second, I have to thank the proprietor of the VGJunk blog for turning me on to Ganbare Gorby!, as I'd never heard of it before reading this post. Afterwards, I traipsed on over to eBay and searched for it on a whim. To my surprise, I discovered an auction for the rather pristine copy you see above and promptly picked it up.
Now I just need to pick up a (refurbished) Game Gear so I can play it the way it's supposed to be experienced (as opposed to doing so via emulation), don't you think?
See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts
16 comments:
Whoa, that really does look like it's in excellent condition! Hopefully it's got a good manual and if it does I'd love to see a post about it. Hope you enjoy it!
How delightfully bizarre!
Haha, awesome, I've never heard of this one but it sounds pretty cool! You're really into the good old GG at the moment, aren't you? ;)
Hey there, VGJUNK! Yes, it's definitely in great condition. In fact, it almost looked new when it arrived. How weird is that?
It does have a rather nice manual, by the way. Not amazing, but still very nice. Anyway, yes, I'll definitely be writing a 'Manual Stimulation' post about it soon :)
Yes, Justin, 'delightfully bizarre' is a good way to describe this game, I think :)
Simon: I am! And this 'GG itch' isn't going away anytime soon, it seems. Oh, well, there are worse things to be obsessed about, right?
I'm surprised you didn't mention that there's another Gorbachev game -- Gorby's Pipeline -- that vgjunk covered in the same post. I've played both. Pipleline was pretty tough and a bit confusing as I remember, but this one was much more manageable. Not a great game, but reasonably entertaining.
I didn't mention it, warp, because it's a Famicom game and because this post is focused on a Game Gear game. Plus, I don't much like that game, to tell you the truth. I like its box art, but the gameplay is ... awkward in my experience. Ganbare Gorby! is much better, if you ask me. Is it great? Not really, but it's fun enough -- and charming enough -- to be worth the price of admission if you're into the Game Gear.
More always more jealous of your beautiful photography than anything else ^^~
Sounds like a completely bonkers game though! I'll have to try to find a copy for myself! :D
Aw, thanks, Kimimi! That's always been the main reason for these 'acquisition' posts, really. They're not about me bragging about my latest purchases, they're about me having a place to share photos of my latest purchases without having to use headlines like, "Um, here are photos of my copy of Ganbare Gorby!"
As for you trying out this game: Yes, I think you should do that. It's a bit mindless when it comes down to it, but it's unique and fun enough to be worth a whirl now and then. Really, though, I bought it because of the awesome box art and because it was just too weird to pass up. (It didn't hurt that this particular copy wasn't all that much money, either.)
Sounds good enough for me! Thank you for bringing this to my (and everyone else's) attention!
You're welcome! BTW, I'll be posting a third photo of this game's box on my Flickr photostream later today or tomorrow -- in case you're interested :)
I really not familiar with all the cool websites you groovy people visit but I see the link's in your sidebar so I'll be sure to pop on over later ^^~
Ha! You'll be able to find the photos here, Kimimi -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/bochalla/ :)
Ah ha! Thank you!
Here's the photo that wasn't included in this post, Kimimi -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/bochalla/7889277458/
And like I said earlier, I'll post a 'Manual Stimulation' devoted to this game soon. Maybe next week?
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