Beat every Game Boy game - 2021 - 154/497

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Took most of a bloody day, but Solitaire Funpak is done.  I even did a round of Poker just for the hell of it.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

And a much easier game of New Chessmaster later, and that one's off the list as well.  Too bad I don't have the regular one or I'd knock that off too.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Spot: The Video Game is done.

[Splain | 2,560]

14 hours ago, the_wizard_666 said:

Took most of a bloody day, but Solitaire Funpak is done.  I even did a round of Poker just for the hell of it.

That Aces Up game is a BEAST. Takes so many tries.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

4 hours ago, Splain said:

That Aces Up game is a BEAST. Takes so many tries.

I had to look up how the game was played.  It was the only one that didn't make sense to me.  For some reason I had a pain in the arse beating Scorpion, which is usually one of the gimmes when I play it.  For whatever reason it didn't want to give me a win.  I spent a solid 6 hours off and on trying to get it.

[Tantalus | 452]

Decided to revisit Super Mario Land 2 for the first time in a few years. I think I appreciate this game a little bit more each time I replay it. I like it's predecessor as well, but it is quite amazing the improvements they were able to make between the two games.

[wiedo | 1]

It’s a short one but it’s a start:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
 

[bronzeshield | 293]

Beat Shaq-Fu:

First I beat Normal, losing 1-2 rounds (but no matches) along the way. Then I beat Hard, without losing a single round.

But I don't think I've ever played this portable version before today: ergo, the Game Boy release is pathetic. Unlike the Genesis and SNES versions -- which will tear you apart on Expert if you try it -- you really can beat this one with just crouching punches and kicks.

[bronzeshield | 293]

And now I get another basketball-related game with "Victory" on the win screen, as Double Dribble: 5 on 5 is done:

Beaten on Level 2 as the Dallas Mustangs, 62-60 over the Boston Frogs, with 5 minute quarters. I've started working on Level 3 for my own benefit.

EDIT: Beat Level 3 by a wide margin, something like 83-61. Victory screen is the same. Dunking everything, passing a lot, and stealing as much as possible was the key.

Edited May 6, 2021 by bronzeshield

[bronzeshield | 293]

I also took out Monster Truck, a Japan-only release (product code DMG-MTA). Key gameplay tactics: slow down to 40kph when you approach an obstacle, and when an opponent gets in your lane, tuck your nose underneath them to flip them off (so to speak) to parts unknown.

Edited May 7, 2021 by bronzeshield
added product code

[bronzeshield | 293]

Completed Un Indien dans la Ville:

Played on the Super Game Boy 2 (with SNES), hence the colorful border.

Not a bad little platformer, though it's one of those "easy-hard" Euro platformers where the game throws a ton of extra lives at you to make up for obscure level design and occasional cheap hits. But, you can look around by holding Select, which is a huge boon and minimizes leaps of faith.

[koifish | 555]

I'm not dead, just busy. Haven't had a lot of GB time lately, but I did make it to the Face Shrine earlier in Zelda. Should be done with it by summer at this rate :Y
 

It's also baseball season, so I think I have to come back to Frank Thomas after I finish Zelda. I'm one game up over the Twins for the Playoffs IIRC.

 

 

[Floating Platforms | 713]

Same here. Past couple months, I've been consumed with 1) trying to get my house more organized and doing random clean-up things and 2) working on a movie review podcast I launched with my wife.  That's been taking about 8-10 hours a week and I need to rebalance my free time so I can find more Game Boy time.  I should be able to get back to things pretty soon.

[koifish | 555]

13 hours ago, Floating Platforms said:

Same here. Past couple months, I've been consumed with 1) trying to get my house more organized and doing random clean-up things and 2) working on a movie review podcast I launched with my wife.  That's been taking about 8-10 hours a week and I need to rebalance my free time so I can find more Game Boy time.  I should be able to get back to things pretty soon.

Time to include "Game Boy Wrap-Up" in your reviews then

I have considered writing about GB games, I don't know how many sources actually do it. Beyond Game Boy Works, I can't say that I'm too familiar with any outlets focusing on the big grey brick.

[Floating Platforms | 713]

8 hours ago, koifish said:

Time to include "Game Boy Wrap-Up" in your reviews then

I have considered writing about GB games, I don't know how many sources actually do it. Beyond Game Boy Works, I can't say that I'm too familiar with any outlets focusing on the big grey brick.

I do get to sprinkle in a little video game talk here and there. I don't want to overstep and forum rules about promotions or whatever, but it's all about 1991 movies and we cover pop culture from the movie release date as well.

Doing GB writing has crossed my mind several times, but I know that I wouldn't be able to keep it up without having the pressure from other people (even if it's just a mental thing of not wanting to let them down). Otherwise, I'll do what I do now and bounce around from hobby to hobby to project.  So, I doubt I'd get the motivation to start anything up, but I'd certainly consider contributing if offered the chance.  I do think that another outlet would be worthwhile. I don't think Game Boy Works will be back for a while. Based on the recent videos, he's playing catchup on Famicom and Sega to prep for the next NES run.

[bronzeshield | 293]

Beat The Smurfs' Nightmare, admittedly on Easy difficulty (I'll do Hard for my own purposes later):

Oh, good! So glad Al is OK.

This was...a European-developed game? You don't say.

It's quite decent, actually, except for the lack of lookaround (Un Indien dans la Ville spoiled me), and the stupidity of making you play up to 5 levels in a row to get a password.

 

[bronzeshield | 293]

And now Double Dragon III: The Arcade Game is done:

Reasonable port of an awful game.

I'm not sure if anyone has properly articulated how this game seems to work: for most enemies, there's a timer after they get knocked down, and if you attack before that timer runs out, you will not succeed. The trick is to hit and run, over and over again, and to use the environment to your advantage by forcing enemies to walk around a corner, and into your attack, in order to engage you. The front or side edges of ledges will sometimes work too.

If all this sounds tedious in the extreme, that's because it is! What a betrayal of the Double Dragon franchise this game was, in that it totally torpedoed things like "fun" and "flow" in favor of a weird quarter-eating tactic.

Edited May 25, 2021 by bronzeshield
corner, not cornet!

[bronzeshield | 293]

Next to fall is Snoopy's Magic Show!

About to clear the final stage.

Last stage clear! I originally made it through the first 40 stages without continuing, but by the time I got near the end it was definitely 1-2 stages at a time.

This game got panned by a certain well-known Game Boy reviewer, but I don't think it's so bad at all. Sure, it can be frustrating as hell, but usually it's just a case of playing better, or smarter. That said, a few later levels can only be won when RNG smiles on you.

[Floating Platforms | 713]

After a 2 month break, I'm back and NFL Football is done.

Yeah, this is not good. No options at all. Really no reason to have the license since you have no player names and no prominent team names.  The movement is slow and clunky. There's no real ability for any sort of fun, break-away runs or long hail mary passes. In fact, don't pass, because it's intercepted every time. I ran the whole way, but when I got to the last 10 yards, their defense changed and stopped me. I was able to win through hitting 2 of 3 field goals, despite the horrendous fast moving arrow system they have set up that makes it incredibly easy to miss. Thankfully, I was able to hold them scoreless and intercepted enough times to get that 6-0 win on my third try overall. I hear some of the Madden games are bad, but at least those will have legitimate running plays, so I imagine this is the worst football game on the system.

Next up for me is "The Simpsons: Bart & the Beanstalk."  I have no experience with this at all, so 50/50 chance, I'll get it done this week.

[koifish | 555]

NFL Football is a real turd. Just be glad it's done in one game and that it doesn't have a season mode or something

[Floating Platforms | 713]

So, I have the day off from work and I was going through to upload some stream archives to my YouTube channel that needed editing.  Logging in to my email for that account, there was a comment on my Caesar's Palace video (that apparently is no longer there even though I didn't touch it) that reads:

I think there's a better ending than this, at least according to VGMaps.com. If you get $5,963,776 or more, you get the limo with a banner that says "NEW OWNER," implying that you now own Caesars Palace.

I checked the VGMaps site and there is definitely a graphic for this banner.  No idea if there's a way to tell if it exists in the final version or if it's an unused asset.  Has anyone else heard of this, perhaps on the NES side? Considering the "best ending" typically used is to get $140,000, this seems like an impossible feat for a game that has no saves.  When I was trying this on GB a couple years back, I couldn't get the roulette patterns found in the NES version to work, so I don't know if it can be cheesed at all.  Still, maybe something worth exploring more through emulation.

[Floating Platforms | 713]

27 minutes ago, koifish said:

NFL Football is a real turd. Just be glad it's done in one game and that it doesn't have a season mode or something

Oh, absolutely.  It's not a "broken" game, but it clearly wasn't given any effort or refinement. The Sports Illustrated game was a much better game, but taken down a few notches because the playoffs were an unbelievable drag & time sink.  It's a shame that most of the sports titles I've played have been so bad. I heard terrible things about the Madden ports too, so football really got a raw deal.

[JVOSS | 1,762]

Mouse Trap Hotel DONE the one and only time...

 

[JVOSS | 1,762]

Mole Mania done little slow after first but had to work from last to first and the ending was a repeat

[JVOSS | 1,762]

Baby T-Rex done.