Lucky Monkey? More like lucky me ...

You the saying, "never judge a book by its cover"? Well, in the case of this game, I wish I would've heeded a slight twist on that oft-used cliché ("never judge a game based on random screenshots") long before now.

Oh, well, at least I pulled my head out of my keister eventually, right?

And, really, it's at least somewhat understandable that I would've ignored Natsume's Lucky Monkey--released elsewhere as Spanky's Quest--for a certain period of time, as it's hardly the most attractive (in terms of graphics) GameBoy title out there.

Not helping matters was the fact that Natsume published a second game called Spanky's Quest in the West--this time for the SNES--which long led me to believe the GameBoy iteration was little more than a second-string bastardization of its 16-bit big brother.

So, what prompted me to change my mind about this oddly compelling (in the end) portable title? Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it was the Japanese version's box art:

Actually, its cart-label art is even better:

Lucky Monkey's Arabic-leaning logo (see the first photo, above, for the best view of it) also is pretty cool, if you ask me--as is the curvy, English version of the same logo that's plastered across the side of its box.



Thankfully, this GameBoy game's packaging isn't all that's attractive about it. Its gameplay--which basically involves clearing each stage of fruity (literally) baddies by bouncing bubbles on the titular monkey's head before tossing them at the aforementioned adversaries--is pretty great, too, once you get a hang of it.

Lucky Monkey is a game that can be enjoyed no matter which language(s) you understand, by the way, so feel free to pick up the Japanese version, the North American version (called Spanky's Quest) or any other version of the game you come across in your pursuit of portable, ball-bouncing, fruit-flaying action.

Do you know of any other GameBoy "gems" I should add to my collection? If so, let me know about them in the comments section below.

See also: 'Who you gonna call? HAL Laboratory's Ghostbusters 2 for GameBoy'

Who you gonna call? HAL Laboratory's Ghostbusters 2 for GameBoy

I can't say I've ever been much of a fan of the second Ghostbusters film--which of course was given the imaginative title of Ghostbusters 2--despite the fact that I've long loved the original.

The (Japanese) game version of that 1989 comedy, though, is a completely different story. Granted, it was made by the always able folks at HAL Laboratory--you know, the ones responsible for the Adventures of Lolo series, most of Nintendo's Kirby games and a bunch of other intriguing titles--so that really shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

HAL's involvement wasn't what originally drew me to this pixelated take on the Ghostbusters 2 story, though. That honor goes to the adorable sprites the company's designers and programmers created for the Famicom (known as New Ghostbusters 2, oddly enough) and GameBoy titles they released in the early 1990s.

A couple of the sprites in question can be seen in the photo that follows the one below--although, honestly, these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this game's spritework. (I'm especially fond of the enemy that looks like a Dragon Quest slime, of course.)

Don't worry, the gameplay in Ghostbusters 2 is nice, too. I'm not sure what I would compare it to, though. The only game that's coming to mind at the moment is Gauntlet and, believe me, that's pretty darn far off the mark. 

That said, the two games--HAL's Ghostbusters 2 (not to be confused with Activision's Ghostbusters 2--and Gauntlet--do share a few similarities. Both are viewed from a top-down, overhead perspective. Also, both task players with removing a slew of enemies from a particular stage before they can advance to the next one. 

In Gauntlet, though, players aren't required to kill a certain, specific number of baddies before the door they can be whisked off to the next level, whereas that is the case in Ghostbusters 2. Also, there are far fewer baddies to be found in each Ghostbusters 2 level than there are in a corresponding Gauntlet level.

And then, of course, there's the way in which players dispose of said enemies. In Gauntlet, you control a single character and shoot them using various weapons and implements, while in Ghostbusters 2, you control a pair of characters--one of whom zaps them with a proton pack and one of whom catches them with a trap.

The latter action is a bit awkward, I have to admit, but it's not so awkward as to be off-putting--or at least it hasn't proven to be in my case. 

One thing that has been proven to be a bit off-putting is learning that the GameBoy version of Ghostbusters 2 contains just three stages compared to the Famicom version's six. (Not that I've seen all of the ones that are featured in either version, mind you.)

Even with that shortcoming, though, I think both of HAL's Ghostbusters 2 releases are worth checking out if you're into cute 8-bit titles with somewhat-unique gameplay.

Neither of them is going to amaze you like some of the other gems that were created for Nintendo's first console and handheld, respectively, but they're interesting and fun enough that you hopefully won't regret spending time with them should you decide to do so. (Especially if you spend time with them via an emulator and a ROM.)

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' posts

Yep, Super Time Force still exists (and here's a new trailer for it)

Is it me, or have we been waiting for Cabybara Games' Super Time Force for an eternity?

OK, so that's a bit of an overstatement. Still, we've been waiting for it for a long time--or at least I have.



Anyway, here (er, above) the latest trailer for this curious-looking--due to the time-bending element--XBLA title:

Sadly, the game still is without a release date--well, other than "before the year is out."

Not-So-Mega Man

Those of you who regularly troll (I mean that in a good way here, I swear) this blog's comments sections may have come across the username "gsilverfish" once in a while.

Well, it appears that gsilverfish is more than just your average blog commenter--he's also a really talented developer of games (including the XBLIG title, Astroman) who goes by the real-life name of Michael Stearns.

Speaking of Michael and his games, he's currently working on getting a rather awesome looking game called Tiny Barbarian DX off the ground via Kickstarter.

Rather than blather on about Tiny Barbarian DX and what it will offer gamers should they succeed in backing the project (which ends in 16 days), I thought I'd just point you to its Kickstarter page and also share this gameplay trailer:



Looks cool, right? I especially like the looks of the game's combo/juggling system, which for various reasons makes me think of a few of Treasure's classics (like Gunstar Heroes and Guardian Heroes). Oh, and of course I just like its looks, too.

Anyway, should you also like the looks (in all manners of speaking) of Tiny Barbarian DX, may I suggest heading over to the game's Kickstarter page sometime between now and 11:30 am EST on Dec. 19?

If you need to hear a bit more about Michael and his in-the-works game before deciding to financially back it, you may also want to check out this recent--and rather interesting, if I do say so myself--interview over at the Erratic Gamer blog.

'What an awesome crotch'

A few days ago, I happened across the following illustration thanks to Tumblr user dizzybone (proprietor of the tumblog known as the laboratory).

The drawing caught my attention for two reasons: 1) it features the flame-haired protagonist of a rather awesome Mega CD/PC Engine/Super Famicom action-adventure game called Popful Mail, and 2) when the aforementioned tumblogger re-blogged it, he/she added the comment, "What an awesome crotch."

Which, of course, made me chuckle.

As for who is responsible for creating this lovely drawing: I don't know his/her exact name, sadly, but I can direct you to his/her Tumblr, SssHannah-Man.

Shinobi x Ninja Gaiden x Strider, you say?

I know retro-tinged indie games are a dime a dozen these days, but I can't help but be attracted to some of them.

Take the focus of this post, for instance--which calls to mind such 8-bit standbys as Shinobi, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden and Strider. You'd have to have a heart of stone--or have started playing games after the 16-bit era--to not find JoyMasher's Oniken at least somewhat appealing, in my opinion.



Does this mean I've already picked up--for $4.99, via Desura--and spent some quality time with this colorful side-scroller? Not yet, but that's not due to a lack of interest on my part. Rather, it's because my backlog is already too full of un-played games (check out some of my recent "Acquisition #123" posts for a few examples) for me to start another one.

That said, don't be too surprised if you see me update the "Now Playing" section of this blog to include Oniken in the coming weeks.

Oh, look, another reason to buy a Wii U

I don't know about you, but my "Reasons I Want a Wii U" list already is chock-full of "launch window" releases--like New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3 and Wii Fit U. (Yes, I actually want Wii Fit U.)

Well, another first-party, launch-window game was not only added to that list but placed atop it over the weekend after watching the following video of the Pikmin-meets-Viewtiful Joe Wii U title that's currently known as Project P-100.



Although I first learned about this Platinum Games-developed title shortly after Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference ended early last week, I only paid attention to screenshots of it at that time. Those screenshots were nice enough, of course, but I'd be hard pressed to say they did much to pique my interest in the game.

The video above, though, did that and then some--as did this video, which shows what happens when you take your hoard of heroes insides one of Project P-100's many buildings, and this one, which features Nintendo's Bill Trinen.

Anyway, as strange as it may sound, Project P-100, or whatever it ends up being called, is now at the top of my Wii U wish list. Here's hoping it's either released alongside Nintendo's next console or shortly afterwards, as I'm extremely eager to give it a go.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Tokyo Jungle's box art will be altered to feature a Rottweiler or Doberman if the game's actually brought to North America, won't it?

As much as the possibility mentioned in the header above depresses me, I may be able to forgive the graphic designers at SCEA that are sure to be responsible for such a travesty if they alter the title placement on said box art (to the right), too.

In case you've never heard of Tokyo Jungle, here's the scoop: It's a "survival action" game set in a deserted, futuristic Japan that's been transformed into a "vicious wildlife wasteland." Also, it was developed by the folks at PlayStation C.A.M.P. and Crispy's (nice name for the development studio, no?) and will be published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Oh, and it will be released--in Japan only, for the time being--both digitally (via PSN) and physically on June 7.

Should Tokyo Jungle (here's a trailer for it, by the way) actually see the light of day in North America, I'll add it to my ever-growing list of awesome games I need to pick up once I finally get around to buying a PS3.

I don't suppose this Pomeranian-focused title appeals to any of you fine folks, does it?

(Via andriasang.com and neogaf.com)

The Great Gaymathon Review #41: Balloon Fight (Famicom)

Game: Balloon Fight

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

System: Famicom

Release date: 1985

What a difference a decade makes. I distinctly remember renting the North American version of this game, one of the first released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, on a few occasions as a teen, and each time I did so I turned it off after about 15 minutes wondering, "Why in the hell did I rent this again?" For some reason, the Joust-esque gameplay of its main campaign bored me back then. To tell you the truth, it still bores me today. That's not to suggest there's something wrong with that mode, mind you--it ably apes (i.e., rips off) the feel of the aforementioned Williams Entertainment arcade classic while covering up its apocalyptic aesthetic with such cheery adornments as balloons, bird masks (well, that's what they look like to me) and, uh, a big, grinning fish--but it's just not my cup of tea. What is my cup of tea, at least these days, is the game's "Balloon Trip" mode. For those of you who have never played this mode, it places players in a forced-scrolling (from left to right) stage and tasks them with avoiding sparks and collecting balloons for as long as possible. It's completely maddening, of course, but it's also completely addicting--in that "I'll just play one more round" kind of way. Another aspect of Balloon Fight that's sure to bring you back again and again: Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka's cheery, chunky, propulsive soundtrack.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts