2014/5/31: Game Boy: Arcade Classic 4: Defender/Joust, Lion King, The, Marble Madness

[VideoGameCritic]

Starting to build up my collection of Game Boy reviews!
Let me know what you think!

[Greisha1]

Does the Game Boy Marble Madness have the same stages as the NES / Arcade iterations?

[Rev1]

Good reviews, your game boy section will be filled up in no time!

[Captain_Crunch1]

Critic, I was just wondering: do you play all those Game Boy games on the Super Game Boy, or also on other hardware (GBA, GameCube Game Boy Player or original Game Boy)?

[VideoGameCritic]

I review them mainly on the Super Game Boy, but will also try them out on my Game Boy SP so I can get the hand-held experience as well.

[TheLastNightmare1]

You're a masochist, critic. Also, a sadist. Only you would hit The Lion King, before the Super Mario Land series. 

Half of me wants to compliment you for giving us a reason to keep coming back, half of me worries, and wants to have you committed.

But thank you for reviewing the old arcade classics, most would overlook - too many of them are lazy ports, which really don't belong on the hardware, but some, like Joust, Donkey Kong, Q-Bert, Mr. Do, Asteroids, and Dig Dug - are unique variants, with at least a graphical overhaul to recommend them. In terms of speed and detail, the Gameboy is really underrated hardware.

Just in case you didn't already know, the 3DS E-Shop provides some of the better Gameboy titles, for only $3-6. The emulation is flawless, minus the lack of SuperGameBoy features, and more intense color than originally intended for the GBC titles, due to the addition of backlighting.

You should at least try out the Shantae series (GBC and DSiware), which are sequels to the Master System's Dragon's Trap in all but name. I'm not their biggest fan (ditto for the game they reference), but others swear they're criminally underrated. They've been compared to some of the best 2d games ever made.

[Vexer1]

You also get to use restore points in the 3DS game boy titles, which comes in really handy for some of the harder games like Castlevania: The Adventure.

[goldenband1]

[QUOTE=Greisha]Does the Game Boy Marble Madness have the same stages as the NES / Arcade iterations?[/QUOTE]

To belatedly answer this question, it's missing the last stage. In fact, it just loops back to the Beginner race (Level 2) after the Silly stage (Level 5), so there's no ending. I even looped the game 3-4x once to make sure.

Making matters worse, there's so much missing content -- you can't crush monsters in the Silly stage, for instance -- and the physics are horrendous. The ball flies all over the place and is nearly impossible to control.

Quite honestly, I have no idea why the Critic gave this game a C, as it should've gotten a D at best, and I'd personally give it an F. It's a horrible port whose only redeeming value comes from what little residue is left of the original's excellence. The Game Boy could've pulled off a much better rendition of Marble Madness.

[Captain_Crunch1]

Why review so many mediocre Game Boy games, while there are so many great ones? (Well okay, I admit the mediocre titles are more present). If you really want to like the system, try:

- Zelda: Link's Awakaning
- Kirby's Blockball
- Super Mario Land 1&2
- Tetris

[goldenband1]

[QUOTE=Captain_Crunch]Why review so many mediocre Game Boy games, while there are so many great ones?[/QUOTE]

I think the VGC does us (and the world) much more of a service by reviewing the lesser-known titles than by rehashing the greatest hits that every single review site has already covered!

That said, if he wants to fall in love with the system, then yeah, playing the acclaimed games definitely could help. But personally I find it's hard to predict what titles I enjoy the most. I hardly touch the AAA titles on the Genesis, for instance, and tend to prefer weird or off-beat stuff. And so far my favorite N64 games are Pilotwings and Gauntlet Legends, neither of which are go-to games for most Top 10 lists.

I'd have to think about which Game Boy titles have really grabbed me. Catrap was one -- really nice puzzle game -- and I actually liked the True Lies adaptation a fair bit. But as you noted, a lot of the library is kind of meh.