Another Year of the GameBoy: Astro Rabby

A couple of weeks ago, I included a few paragraphs about this weird, Japan-only GameBoy release in my latest "Shall We Do It?" post.

Those of you who read that write-up probably got the feeling that I'm sort of "on the fence" when it comes to Astro Rabby, which was developed by a company called Cyclone System and published by another known as IGS.

Actually, that's not completely accurate, as I definitely like Astro Rabby more than I hate it. In fact, the only part of this overhead action game is its between-worlds bonus rounds, which are hair-pullingly confounding.

Other than those few misfires, though, Astro Rabby's actually pretty fun--although I'm sure some will find it a bit archaic.

That I mostly enjoy this Jumping Flash-esque effort is a very good thing, of course, as if I didn't, I probably wouldn't own a copy of it--which would be a crying shame, as its outer box (pictured above) is pretty darn great, don't you think?

(Full disclosure: I actually bought Astro Rabby before I played it for even a single moment--and mainly because of its awesome box art.)

The rest of Astro Rabby's packaging is worth noting, too, if you ask me. OK, so its cartridge label (above) is only so-so, but its instruction manual more than makes up for it, as you'll see in a second.

Don't worry, the cover of Astro Rabby's manual isn't its high point--although I personally think its use of dark gray, white and various shades of pink is surprisingly appealing.

Now we're getting somewhere, right? Yes, the back of Astro Rabby's instruction booklet definitely is a looker--or at least the illustration that's featured on it is one.

The inside pages of this manual are no different, with a number of nice drawings included throughout (some of which are highlighted in the "Story" page photo above).

I'll scan the entirety of this sucker soon and share all of them in an upcoming installment of my long-lived "Manual Stimulation" series. In the meantime, though, have any of you played Astro Rabby--even via emulation? If so, what do you think of it?

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

Calling all gamers who know of box art featuring toys or figures instead of drawings or renders

Yesterday morning, game developer Hayden Scott-Baron (he's had a hand in Lostwinds, Tumbledrop and Zoo Tycoon, among other titles) asked me on Twitter if I could recommend any game box art that uses photos of toys or figures instead of drawings or renders.

An example of what he was looking for, he said in a later Tweet, was the cover made for the packaging of Monster World IV, a rather lovely action RPG that was released for Sega's Mega Drive back in 1994.

Sadly, that prompt didn't help a whole lot--at least at first. In fact, the only piece of cover art I could think of was the one that was produced for the Japanese version of Advance Wars: Dual Strike, which was known as Famicom Wars DS in that territory.



Later, though, a few others came to mind, such as Teketeke! Asmik-kun World (aka Boomer's Adventures in Asmik World) for the GameBoy and HAL Laboratory's Eggerland (part of the series that later became known as Adventures of Lolo) for the Famicom Disk System.

The Eggerland box art (below) is among the most delicious things you've ever laid eyes on, right? Don't be shy--admit it.

The only other example I've been able to think of, by the way, is Atlus' Totsugeki! Valetions (see it here), which also is a Japanese GameBoy title. (Its name was changed to Spud's Adventure when it was brought to North America in 1991.)

I don't suppose any of you can think of examples of game cover art that showcases toys or figures instead of drawing or renders? If you can, please let me know about them in the comments section of this post.

The Great Gaymathon Review #71: Hoshi no Kirby (GameBoy)

Game: Hoshi no Kirby

Genre: Platformer

Developer: HAL Laboratory

Publisher: Nintendo

System: GameBoy

Release date: 1992

It may be hard to believe given my current love of cute games, but my first experience with a Kirby game didn't come until I eagerly picked up a copy of the DS-based spin-off known in my neck of the woods as Canvas Curse.

Which means, of course, that I was about 13 years late to that pink, puffy party. (The title we're chatting about here, which was Kirby's maiden voyage--or whatever the gaming equivalent of that ages-old phrase may be--first hit store shelves back in 1992.)

Why did I ignore Hoshi no Kirby (aka Kirby's Dream Land) for so darn long? I owned a GameBoy system and a whole slew of GB games at the time this cart was released in my region, after all, so adding it to my collection shouldn't have been out of the question. Sadly, the only answer I can come up with at the moment is that it looked a tad too easy for my liking.

Even then, it seems, I couldn't understand the point of a cakewalk platformer. I mean, really, who wants to stroll through a side-scrolling action game that refuses to put up an adequate fight? Not me, that's for sure.

And so I turned my nose up at Hoshi no Kirby--until I played and loved Canvas Curse. Actually, it took longer than that for me to give this portable effort a chance, as I didn't dive into it until after Kirby's Epic Yarn extracted its flannel-tipped claws from the depths of my soul sometime in 2010 or 2011.

At any rate, I eventually acquired a copy of Hoshi no Kirby--and quickly fell in love with it, too. Which is a good thing, as this particular Kirby adventure doesn't last very long. In fact, its five or so worlds and their respective bosses can be toppled in about 25 minutes if you can keep yourself from dillydallying.

Strangely, coming face to face with that truth didn't bother as much as I thought it would, and my only explanation for that is Hoshi no Kirby is so damn cute, and its titular protagonist is such a joy to control, that it's hard not to put aside your usual prejudices and instead focus on having fun when you pop its cartridge into your trusty GameBoy.

Does that mean I consider this initial iteration of the Kirby formula--which is what I imagine Super Mario Bros. would be like if it had been made by kids, what with its cartoonish, dream-like focus on manipulating Kirby's gaping maw to inhale baddies and float above the earth--to be portable perfection in black and white? Not hardly.

A case in point: although Hoshi no Kirby is a total, grin-inducing hoot to play through, there's no denying its brevity--even when a second, slightly more difficult adventure is offered up on a pixelated platter at the tail end of the first. Also, there's no question that this Kirby escapade feels a bit "bare bones" when compared to pretty much every other game that stars this pink puffball.

That's not enough for me to give this game whatever my version of a "thumbs down" would be, though, especially considering both physical and digital copies of it can be picked up for less than $10 these days. Back when it was a new release and cost a couple of times that amount? Sure, why not. But here in 2015, the only reason I can come up with that would prompt me to recommend someone not buy this gem of a platformer is if they already own it in some form or fashion.

See also: previous 'Great Gaymathon' reviews

Nice Package! (Ore no Shikabane, PlayStation)

Truth be told, I completely ignored the Japanese PlayStation game known as Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke for a good couple of years after I first became aware of it due to its cover art, which I found oddly creepy.



Eventually, I learned more about this Alfa System-developed game, and what I learned prompted me to have a change of heart about it.

Specifically, I learned that Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke (Over My Dead Body in English) is an RPG with a really cool art style and an intriguing premise that revolves around the son of a legendary warrior who has been cursed--along with any and all offspring--to age much faster than usual. The only way to get rid of said curse is to kill the demon who put it on you, so that's exactly what you and your spawn are tasked with doing throughout the course of this game (or so I've been told).



Which I guess helps explain why both the box cover and manual cover produced for Ore no Shikabane--or, Oreshika, as it's known in Japan--feature close-up shots of children's faces.



Speaking of Oreshika's manual, it's a real doozy--as in, it's almost biblical compared to your typical, run-of-the-mill PlayStation instruction booklet.

Although most of its many pages are rather boring and are filled with a ton of text (such as the example showcased in the photo above), a choice few feature gorgeous illustrations like the one that can be seen below.

Here's another pretty good example, I think. Plus, the art in the snapshot below includes a bit of beefcake, which is never a bad thing, if you ask me. 

Please accept my apologies for not chronicling via a photo or two the CD that contains all of Oreshika's surely convoluted code. If memory serves, I passed on doing so because the disc in question is of the mirrored-surface-bearing-a-not-entirely-appealing-design variety.



Anyway, I know I say this all the time, but I really am going to do my best to pop this game into my adorable Japanese PSone sometime soon and at least try to stumble my way through its first few hours. After I do that, I'll return here and share my thoughts in some form or fashion.

In the meantime, have any of you played either this game or its Vita-based sequel, which was released in the West earlier this year?

#ADecadeofDS: Penguin no Mondai Saikyou Penguin Densetsu!

Amount of time devoted to this game since I started playing it just over a month ago--Two hours and 56 minutes.

Most recent boss toppled, location reached or milestone achieved--Sadly, I was basically barreling through this comical and colorful Metroidvania until I came across what I believe to be its second major boss encounter. After trying my darndest to beat that Dragon Quest golem lookalike (I took him on a handful of times), I gave up--and haven't returned to the game since.

Overall comments on the experience so far--Given what I just said about this pint-sized platformer, I'm sure you can guess that I have somewhat mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, I love its overt quirkiness, which brings to mind one of my favorite PC Engine platformers, Obocchama-kun. Like that game, Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! is unabashedly wacky--a fact that's especially noticeable when you consider its colorful (which is putting it mildly) cast of characters, the highlight of which is what appears to be a penguin-faced pile of poo. Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! recalls the aforementioned Pack-in-Video-developed HuCard in another way, too, with that being its oddly appealing shabbiness. (Some of its graphics are admirably well drawn, while others are the definition of sloppy.)

On the other hand, like many Metroidvanias (I guess--I honestly haven't played a ton of them so far), this one can be annoyingly convoluted at times. Admittedly, it may seem less so to folks who can understand all of the text it throws at players, but I obviously can't comment on how true or false that assumption may be.

Still, despite the fact that I was embarrassingly tripped up just as I was about to start my fourth hour of this penguin-centric adventure, I enjoyed the seconds and minutes I put into it before that ill-timed fumble. That's because this Penguin no Mondai title (which is one of three that were released for the DS in Japan) has a lot going for it--and that includes components that are completely separate from the positives I pointed out a couple of paragraphs ago.

A few noteworthy cases in point: the deeper-than-they-initially-appear battle controls, the more-fabulous-than-they-have-any-right-to-be mini-bosses (all of which are penguins, too) and the guffaw-worthy gear the just-mentioned baddies give up after they've been defeated.

Will I continue to play this game in the coming days, weeks and maybe even months?--I think so. I'd be a lot more confident of that if an English walkthrough of this game could be found somewhere on the Interwebs, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Do I recommend it to others?--If you're an adventurous sort, yes. Even complete-in-box copies can be obtained for about $10 via eBay these days, so even if you wind up getting stuck like I have, you shouldn't feel as though you foolishly wasted your money on it.

Next up--Hotel Dusk

See also: previous #ADecadeofDS posts