Console: Famicom (NES)
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 21st November 1992
I recently aquired a Famiclone console which allows me to play Famicom (Japanese NES) games. To test it I decided to buy the cheapest decent looking game on eBay which turned out to be this. Yoshi's Cookie is a puzzle game where players can move columns up or down, and rows left or right to match cookies. Once a whole row or column is filled with the same type of cookie, it will disappear. The aim of the game is to get rid of all of the cookies on screen before the new ones that are added by the computer reach the edge.
The game bears a few similarities to titles such as Tetris and Columns, but has the added advantage of essentially being able to move any tile anywhere, as long as the player has the time to do so. There are 10 rounds of 10 levels included in the game, with a cutscene between each round. The speed of incoming cookies increases as time passes in each level, which makes getting a good start critical to completing levels.
Graphically Yoshi's Cookie is simple, but still fairly impressive for the console. Mario is well animated and detailed in the top corner, and the cutscenes and cookies themselves are nicely defined. While there's not much story contained in the cutscenes, it's nice to have a short break from gameplay and it gives the game a little more depth. There's a choice of 3 pieces of music to accompany gameplay, all of which are moderately enjoyable but definitely suited to gameplay.
Overall the game is a good puzzler with a slow but steady difficulty curve which ensures players of all standards can enjoy the game. With multiplayer and level select options, there's a good amount of replayability even with its lack of story or variation to the core gameplay. The fact that I found it hard to tear myself away from the game to review it should be a good indicator of how well it performs despite being basic.
Rating: 55/100
Grade: D
Game: Twin Bee
Console: Famicom
Developer: Konami
Release Date: 4th January 1986
Bearing many similarities to Fantasy Zone by Sega and released at a similar time both in arcades and on home consoles, Twinbee is a shoot 'em up in which the player controls a ship armed with bombs and bullets. There are several powerups which can be acquired through collecting differently coloured bells which appear onscreen once a cloud has been shot. There are 5 stages which will loop once completed and increase in difficulty.
The powerups included are differentiated by the colour of the bell collected; Yellow gives a score bonus, Blue increases ship speed, White gives a double-shot, Red gives a shield around the player and Green makes mirror ships around the player which are also able to shoot. Bells must be shot and juggled to make them change from yellow to any of the other colours. If the player is hit in the middle of the ship, they will lose a life, but if the sides are hit only a bomb throwing arm will be lost. Once both arms are lost, bombs cannot be thrown until an ambulance is met and collected.
Graphically the game is colourful and includes many cutesy and surreal enemies to shoot. Most items are clearly defined and there's only very slight flickering in later levels. For a shoot 'em up, it's fairly easy to see what's happening onscreen. The music is simple but appropriate for the game, with the only real complaint being that it pauses to play a tune whenever a powerup is collected, leading to a disjointed feel occasionally.
Overall when compared to its closest rival, Fantasy Zone it seems to have a little less character, quirky charm and replayability, despite being a fun game. The powerup collecting dynamic is interesting and adds to gameplay, forcing players to juggle their bells to collect their desired effect. With just 5 levels, it's fairly easy to beat with a little practice, but remains a good starting point for the series.
Rating: 73/100
Grade: C
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