Manual Stimulation: Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank (GameBoy)

I knew going in that Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's instruction manual would have a hard time topping its delightfully colorful cover art.

Did that slight lowering of expectations prompt me to like this Japanese GameBoy game's manual more than I would have otherwise? Perhaps.

I'm pretty sure I would have come around to loving it eventually, though, given the number of cute illustrations that are tucked inside of it.



Before we get to those, let's focus our attention on this manual's cover. Its three-tone aesthetic is nice, don't you think?

I also like that it offers up an expanded view of the art that graces the front side of Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's outer box.



As for the cute illustrations I mentioned earlier, one example (the best of the bunch, really) can be seen in the above.

I don't know about you, but that clown tank (at least I think it's supposed to be a tank) on the left reminds me of Tumblepop's Japanese cover art.



Another adorable drawing appears on the second page of Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's instruction booklet. Though small, it depicts the titular vehicle wearing a bow tie.

That would surprise me--if I didn't know the folks at HAL Laboratory made this GameBoy title.



Yes, the same company that's given the world the Adventures of Lolo, BoxBoy! and Kirby series also produced this short-lived gem. (It only has four levels.)



Don't take Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's brevity as a sign that it or its North American counterpart (published here by now-defunct Electro Brain), Trax, should be avoided.

On the contrary, its snappy gameplay more than makes up for its lack of stages--or at least that's my personal opinion on the matter.



Do its outer box and instruction booklet also make up for this game's lack of content? I'd say so, but I'd also say it depends on how much you have to pay to obtain them (by buying a complete copy).

Have any of you played Trax or Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank? If so, what do you think of the game? And what do you think of its Japanese manual?

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Bubble Bobble Junior, BurgerTime Deluxe, Ghostbusters 2 and Snow Bros. Jr.

Anyone up for a few more photos of Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's box, manual and cartridge?

I know I just published a post about this fantastic (if disappointingly succinct) GameBoy title on Friday, but that write-up didn't feature enough photos of its fabulous box, instruction manual or cartridge for my liking.



So, I took a few additional snapshots of all three of those elements over the weekend, and the results of that hard work (not really) can be seen above and below.

I especially like the piece of art that's featured on the cover of Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's instruction manual, although I'd kill to see it in full color à la the front of game's box.

The illustration that graces the instruction manual's first page (below) is similarly grin-inducing, if you ask me.

Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank's manual features a few more illustrations that impress, so I'll be sure to scan the whole she-bang sometime this week and showcase it in an upcoming installment of my on-again-off-again "Manual Stimulation" series.



As for the photo above, well, I took it--and I'm sharing it here--simply because I was surprised that it depicts the game's name in romanized Japanese (aka romaji).

See also: Another Year of the GameBoy: Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank

Another Year of the GameBoy: Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank (aka Trax)

With HAL Laboratory--purveyor of such fine video-game products as the Adventures of Lolo series, the Kirby series and the Mother series--back in the headlines the world over thanks to its recently released 3DS puzzler-platformer, BOXBOY!, I thought now would be the perfect time to chat about this little-known, HAL-made gem from 1991, which was re-named Trax when it was localized for the North American market.

If you've never heard of this particular GameBoy cart, let alone actually played it, here's a breviloquent rundown of what it has to offer: it's a four-stage, top-down, free-scrolling shmup that plops players into the driver's seat of an adorable, bouncy-looking tank.

Controlling said tank is accomplished using the GameBoy's directional pad--which allows the spherical vehicle to scoot about each level with surprising ease--as well as its A and B buttons. Pressing the former rotates (in a clockwise fashion) the tank's turret, uh, whatever half of 45 degrees is, while pressing the latter launches some sort of bomb, bullet or shell at anything and anyone in your path.

Sure, the distinct lack of playfields included in this portable title is a terrible disappointment, but in the same breath, I have to admit the experience doesn't suffer due to that limitation as substantially as you may think.

In fact, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank is a lot like the aforementioned Kirby games in that it's hardly the deepest of experiences, but it's such a blast to play that you probably won't waste much time whining about that fact after blowing through the content that's on offer.

On a related note, the only piece of criticism I feel like leveling at Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank at the moment is that the designers and developers at HAL Laboratory were perhaps a bit too buttoned-up when they conjured up this cartridge's visuals. Don't get me wrong, the graphics here are nice and clean, but where's the whimsy? I would've killed for a stage that, say, dropped players into the middle a carnival or forced them to climb Mt. Fuji.

Oh, well, even in its current, semi-conservative--for the makers of the Kirby and Mother series, especially--state, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank is a joy to behold. Plus, at least its packaging displays a bit of playfulness. Take a gander at the illustration (pulled from the game's instruction manual) of the bow-tied tank in the photo above for just one example.

Have any of you spent time with this fine (in the opinion of yours truly, of course) GameBoy title? If so, what do you think of it? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section that follows.

See also: previous 'Another Year of the GameBoy' posts