Manual Stimulation: Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle (GameBoy)

Fun fact: Pokémon developer Game Freak had a hand in making the Super Famicom version of this adorable puzzler.

They seemingly had nothing to do with the original GameBoy release, though, which hit Japanese store shelves back in early 1994.



So who made it? Access, a company I'd never heard of before I started researching this post.



Sadly, I can't tell you how the two titles compare to one another. Based on what I've seen of the Super Famicom iteration, its gameplay mirrors what's offered up by the GameBoy cart.



As for what Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle's gameplay is like, imagine your typical match-two puzzler. (Yes, I said "match two" and not "match three" here.) Then alter that image in such a way that you can flip each of the game's pieces to see their backsides.



Sadly, that aspect of Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle isn't as thrilling as it may sound, but it still adds a unique twist to this overdone--at the time, in particular--genre.



With that out of the way, let's focus on the Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle instruction manual.



As you can see, it's very yellow-orange. It also features some nice illustrations of cute animals.



I think it could feature a lot more of the latter, though. I also think it could feature bigger and better illustrations of the game's puzzle pieces.



In the end, the Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle manual is more about explaining how to play the game than it is about forcing oohs and aahs out of readers.



To be honest, I can't blame the designers at Victor Interactive for going this route. Instruction manuals are supposed to educate people, after all.



Still, a little visual pizzazz would've gone a long way here, if you ask me--especially given this game's youthful target audience.

See also: photos of Nontan to Issho Kuru Kuru Puzzle's box and cartridge

It's a cute Japanese puzzler for the GameBoy--so of course I bought a copy!

Those of you who read my last "Shall We Do It?" post may remember that I wrapped it up by chatting about a Japan-only, tile-matching puzzler for the GameBoy called Nontan to Issho: Kuru Kuru Puzzle.

As I suggested there, this Victor Interactive-published title is far from a long-lost treasure. It is cute, though, and it's also a puzzler, which should help explain why I recently hunted down the copy seen in the photos below.

Add in the fact that it's a cute puzzler for the GameBoy and, well, it almost would've been criminal had I not done so.

Anyway, the box art produced for this version of Nontan to Issho: Kuru Kuru Puzzle--another was released for the Super Famicom and was made by the Pokémon devs at Game Freak--is nice enough, if you ask me. 

The sticker remnants in the upper-left corner notwithstanding, of course. (Don't worry, I'm planning to bid them adieu by sending them on a blind date with a bit of Goo Gone soon.)

The cart label's cute, too, of course--although I kind of miss the grinning ant and slug that can be found on the box art. The titular Nontan (the cat) is still grinning like a fool, though, so if that's your thing you probably don't care that the ant and slug have gone AWOL.

As seems to be the case with the packaging produced for most Japanese GameBoy titles, the back of Nontan to Issho's box is pretty barren.

Oh, well, it's not like there's much that can be said about this Puyo Puyo-esque game anyway. "Flip and match cute tiles while controlling cute characters and listening to cute tunes!" Surely that's covered in the smidge of text seen in the photo above?

See also: 'Lucky Monkey? More like lucky me ...'

The Great Gaymathon Review #62: Banana (Famicom)

Game: Banana

Genre: Puzzle

Developer: Victor Interactive Software

Publisher: Victor Interactive Software

System: Famicom

Release date: 1986

I have kind of a funny history (well, it's funny to me anyway) with Banana. For the longest time, I thought it and Takara's rather lackluster-looking platformer, Banana Prince, were one and the same. Then I came across (on Famicomblog) a photo of this game's packaging that made it clear the two titles were unique entities.

As for what prompted me to give this oddly named Famicom game a go: Well, the aforementioned packaging, which features an adorable mole wearing white gloves and what appears to be a pair of blue jeans, certainly got the proverbial ball rolling, but what kept it moving along was this YouTube video.

Admittedly, said video makes Banana look more than a little rough, but that's rarely deterred me in the past. Also, I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes the aesthetics of severely retro games.

Anyway, it wasn't just the colorfully chunky graphics that attracted me to Victor Interactive Software's maiden Famicom release. I also liked the looks of its gameplay, which at first called to mind such classics as Adventures of Lolo, Dig Dug, Magical Puzzle Popils and Wrecking Crew.

In the end, those comparisons aren't completely apt. A better one, I quickly came to learn, would be to compare it to First Star Software's Boulder Dash. That 1984 release is a cakewalk compared to Banana, though, thanks to the latter's devilish, "you'd better make the right moves in the right order--or else!" mentality.

Speaking of which, you'd probably like an explanation of how this pixelated puzzler plays, wouldn't you? The gist: You control the strangely dressed mole I mentioned earlier. He's plopped into each stage for some reason or other (sorry, I don't know the game's backstory--assuming there is one) and is tasked with gathering all of the fruit that's been deposited throughout each level (again, for some reason or another), retrieving the blue-haired lady mole who seems to be his girlfriend or wife and then somehow making it to the exit door.

That's harder than it sounds, of course, thanks in large part to the game's sense of gravity--which means that whenever you dig or fall or otherwise move in a downward direction, the only way you can move up again is to find a ladder and climb it. And if you can't? Hit the reset button and start over, because you basically got yourself stuck.

Oh, and most stages include boulders that, should you walk beneath them (and you will), fall into your path and make life even more challenging for you and your mole-y friends.

The good news among all of this doom and gloom: Banana is a lot of fun despite its sometimes brain-melting difficulty. Partially responsible for that are the game's cheerful (if basic) visuals, although the appealingly blippy background music, which calls to mind both Donkey Kong and Mario Bros., deserves a quite a bit of credit, too.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Manual Stimulation: Banana (Famicom)

I've got two things to say about Banana's instruction manual: 1) I appreciate that its creators made sure it's an appropriate shade of yellow, and 2) it has absolutely nothing on this Famicom game's appealingly kaleidoscopic box art.

That first point is clear right from the start, of course, but it takes a few pages for the second point to sink in. Sadly, Banana's instruction manual is just a few pages long, so by the time you've come to terms with how boring it is, you're already at its end.

All that said, I decided to share these scans of Banana's manual anyway because so little information about this quirky puzzler, produced by the folks at Victor Interactive, can be found on the Internet these days. 

As you can see, Banana's manual begins rather, well, boringly. I have to admit, though, that I'm more than a bit curious as to what's said in the quote that fills the white box on the left-hand page. 

The next few pages of Banana's manual are similarly yawn-inducing. Granted, the huge majority of instruction manuals produced during the early part of the Famicom era were yawn-inducing, so I won't be too hard on the people who made this one.

Even more evidence that I have awesome readers

Two weekends ago, while PAX Prime was in full swing, a Twitter user who calls himself Viceroy Fizzlebottom aimed a tweet at me that said, "I saw boxed copies of Door Door and Banana at the Pink Gorilla PAX booth and thought of you!"

After asking ol' Fizzlebottom (who leaves comments here now and then under the name Kaze) how much the copy of Banana was going for, he replied that it was "around $30" and then rather preciently added, "Would you like me to snag it for you if it's still there tomorrow?"

Because I'm a firm believer that you can't own too many copies of this charming, Famicom-based puzzler, I told Fizzlebottom/Kaze something along the lines of, "Yes, please--if it includes the game's instruction manual and if the whole package is, indeed, $30 or less." (OK, so my actual response was closer to "YES!!!!!")

So, how does this tale end? With me obtaining a complete-in-box copy of Victor Interactive's Banana (which does include its manual, thank you very much) for just $14.99. And, I have to say, what a gorgeous box it is--even if it does show a bit of wear and tear.





I especially like the adorable illustrations that appear on the box's flaps (see the pair of photos below for evidence).





Although I've already thanked Fizzlebottom/Kaze a number times for thinking of me while waltzing through Pink Gorilla's PAX Prime booth, I'm going to do so again here because, well, I think he deserves as much praise as I can heap upon him at the moment.

Thank you, Kaze!

See also: 'Additional proof that I have awesome readers,' 'Additional proof that Kimimi (of Kimimi's Blog) is an awesome chick' and 'Additional proof that Darwin Yamamoto is a pretty awesome dude'

Acquisition #141: Banana (Famicom)

Those of you who've already listened to the second episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever likely heard me mention this game during the "Cheerleading" segment. You also likely heard me say that I recently picked up a copy of this 1986 release, published by Victor Interactive.

Well, our friendly neighborhood mailman delivered the copy in question a few days ago, so I thought I'd snap and share a couple of photos of it (one of which can be seen below) and also strike up a bit of a conversation about this little-known--to non-Japanese audiences, at least--Famicom title.

As I said during the podcast, Banana's closest competitor in terms of gameplay is First Star Software's Boulder Dash, which tasks players with digging through caves, collecting gems and reaching exits while avoiding various dangerous creatures as well as obstacles like falling rocks.



Even that comparison is a bit of a stretch, though, since Boulder Dash is more action-oriented, while Banana is more of a puzzler.

As for why that is: In Banana, players also have to work their way to each level's exit, but here they're often forced to hash out their start-to-finish paths before they ever--or, rather, the game's anthropomorphic mole of a protagonist--take a step due to the sense of gravity that prevents them from moving upward unless they're near a ladder. In addition, a level can't be completed until every scattered piece of food (yes, including bananas) has been gathered and Mr. Mole's busty, bedressed wife has been retrieved and escorted to the aforementioned exit.

Should that description not make a lick of sense to you, take a look at this gameplay video, which, beginning at the 25-second mark, walks through Banana's first six stages.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts