Five overlooked Sega Game Gear games you need to play as soon as possible

So few titles were made and released for the Sega Game Gear that it's hard to believe any of them could be considered overlooked.

The fact remains, though, that the masses basically ignored this brick-sized "portable" system, so it's probably safe to say they did the same to its meager (compared to its main competitor, Nintendo's GameBoy) games library while the bulky handheld was on the market from the early to mid 1990s.

And not only that, but the masses continue to ignore the system and its catalog. Think your average game fan turns his or her nose up at the GameBoy (and, believe me, they do) these days? At least they've likely heard of Nintendo's first handheld. The same can't be said of the Game Gear or the overlooked "gems" discussed here.

Alien Syndrome--I have a feeling a lot of people pass on this version of Sega's Alien-inspired run-and-gun shooter because they assume it's a turd. In reality, it's better than both the NES and Master System ports of the 1987 arcade game. Sadly, the Game Gear iteration of Alien Syndrome offers platers just four stages, but they're challenging--and fun--enough that most who give it a shot won't care. (Bonus: the Japanese release sports a superb piece of cover art.)

Berlin no Kabe (aka The Berlin Wall)--If you're a fan of single-screen platformers, you'll adore this portable reimagining of Kaneko's oddly named quartermuncher from 1991. Not only is Berlin no Kabe cute as can be, but its gameplay is a breath of fresh air. I mean, what's not to like about creating traps for a colorful cast of baddies by using a hammer to smash holes in the floor beneath their scampering feet?

Bubble Bobble--Here's another Game Gear title many folks likely ignore because they imagine it's not worth their while. Or maybe they think it's just a port of the Master System version of Taito's classic arcade game. Whatever the reason, those who own a Game Gear but have yet to pick up a copy of Bubble Bobble are doing themselves a disservice. This remake (of sorts) features miniaturized stages and full-sized Bub, Bob and enemy sprites, which results in a strangely unique--as well as strangely enjoyable--experience.

Ganbare Gorby! (aka Factory Panic)--Honestly, I'd consider this Sega-made oddity worth buying and playing even if it weren't much fun thanks to the fact that its protagonist resembles former president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Thankfully, it is fun. Although its box cover suggests its a puzzler, a more accurate way to describe it would be to call it an arcade-style action game. (Not enough info for you? You press switches to change the course of a series of conveyor belts, with the goal being to deliver products like bread and meat and medicine to needy citizens.) Ganbare Gorby! isn't groundbreaking, to be sure, but it's also not a bad way to waste a bit of free time.

Magical Puzzle Popils--Made by Fukio Mitsuji, the man who's chiefly responsible for giving the world both Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands, Magical Puzzle Popils (Popils: The Blockbusting Challenge in Europe) is the best Game Gear cart around in the opinion of yours truly. Unlike the aforementioned titles, Popils is a brain-busting puzzle game with eye-pleasing graphics and an ear-pleasing soundtrack.

See also: five overlooked GameBoy, Famicom, PC Engine and PlayStation games you need to play as soon as possible

Did you know that Japanese Game Gear boxes are about the same size as WonderSwan boxes?

Well, you do now--courtesy of the following pair of photos that I recently snapped with my trusty digital camera.

For those who are curious, the games included in these photos are (clockwise from the upper-left): Pokémon Red (GameBoy), Engacho! (WonderSwan), Ganbare Gorby! (Game Gear), Guru Logi Champ (GameBoy Advance), Balloon Kid (GameBoy), Tane wo Maku Tori (WonderSwan), Magical Puzzle Popils (Game Gear), Rhythm Tengoku (GameBoy Advance) and Flash Koibitokun (WonderSwan Color).

I decided to take these photos when I discovered that the boxes that house Game Gear games are nearly the same size as those that house WonderSwan games. Also, I thought some of you might like to see how those boxes compare in size to the boxes of other portable gaming systems, like the GameBoy and the GameBoy Advance.



I'm planning to take more photos like the ones above (and these) in the coming months as I continue to acquire additional 3DS, DS, GameBoy, Game Gear and WonderSwan titles, by the way, so be on the lookout for them if you're curious about that sort of thing.

See also: 'WonderSwan cartridges (and boxes) in context'

Manual Stimulation: Ganbare Gorby! (Game Gear)

You know what I like most about Game Gear instruction manuals? They're small--and not just in size, but in length, too. That's a big deal to me because, well, scanning each and every page of a thick game manual (for use in one of these posts, of course) can be a real pain in the butt.

The only problem I have with short instruction manuals: Sometimes they're stuffed full of delightful illustrations and other details, and sometimes they're as dull as dishwater.

Sadly, the manual produced for Sega's quirky, Mikhail Gorbachev-focused puzzler, Ganbare Gorby!, falls somewhere between those two extremes.

It certainly starts out promising enough, with the game's colorful cover art showing up once again to remind folks what's in store once they press "play." (If this is the first you've heard of Ganbare Gorby!, it means you'll be acting as the aforementioned former president of the Soviet Union as he alters the course of myriad conveyor belts in order to deliver food, medicine and portable game systems to comrades in need.)



Anyway, the manual's first few pages are as bright and bold as its cover. Also, one of them features a completely adorable drawing of good ol' Gorbachev. I wish I could tell you why he isn't also carrying a Game Gear (one of the items he delivers to the poor in this endearingly odd puzzler), but I can't.





After that, Ganbare Gorby's manual becomes a bit boring, to tell you the truth. At least the following pages feature a number of nice screenshots. (Please note the right-most one in the scan below, which shows a citizen grinning from ear to ear after successfully grabbing a piece of meat that wouldn't look out of place in a PC Genjin game.)

Acquisition #142: Ganbare Gorby! (Game Gear)

You probably can't tell by looking at the cover art below, but my latest acquisition, Ganbare Gorby!, is an action-puzzler that stars Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev--aka the guy with the port-wine birthmark who served as president of the Soviet Union between 1988 and 1991.

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