Game & Watch Gallery Double Header: Game Boy/Advance

Game: Game Boy Gallery

Console: Nintendo Game Boy

Developer: TOSE

Release Date: 27th April 1995

The first game in the Gallery series, but not officially titled "Game and Watch" Gallery, Game Boy Gallery offers players a choice of 5 classic Game and Watch games, with A and B modes and classic/updated sounds for each. While fairly basic, it's a nice way to check out some of the games from the Game and Watch series of handhelds without having to get hold of them. Since all of the games are based on the LCD handhelds, gameplay is fairly simple and limited to the directional buttons in many cases. 

Ball

Ball is a very simple Game and Watch title, and in fact the very first one to be released in April 1980. Players use the left and right buttons to direct a juggler's arms between 3 set on screen positions as he juggles balls in consistent arcs. The ball nearest to the juggler moves faster than the one in the middle, with the one on the outside moving the slowest of the three. This means that players must consider which ball will need to be caught and thrown back up first.

Both game A and B are fairly easy to manage with speed increases being of little challenge overall. The music featured as the updated soundtrack is fairly interesting, with the original sound effects only being triggered each time a ball is caught. The game ends when a ball is dropped and any high scores are registered. 

Vermin

The third Game and Watch handheld to be released was Vermin, which challenged players to move left and right, positioning their hammer over holes where moles are about to pop up, and giving them a whack once they do. On Game A there are 4 spots where the moles can appear and gameplay is fairly slow to start with, and on Game B there are 5 spots where the moles can appear, with an increased gameplay pace. 

While it's nothing technologically spectacular, this feels more like a brain training/multitasking type of game, keeping an eye on the upcoming moles whilst whacking the most recent one to surface. It's more fun than Ball, and has a fun updated soundtrack, with basic sounds if the original soundtrack is selected. 

Flagman

Flagman was the second Game and Watch handheld to be released and is a fairly simple electronic version of Dimmo/Simon Says. In Game A, a pirate holds up 4 different flags relating to the 4 directions of the d-pad. Each time the player gets the sequence correct, a move is added to the end of the sequence. In Game B, there's a fifth and sixth flag that can be added, courtesy of other characters onscreen. 

Unlike Ball and Vermin, this is an example of an electronic game that can easily be played elsewhere, and could had been even at the original time of release in 1980. It's pretty fair to say that this is a less specialised version of that game, and as such the only real addition is the music added in the updated soundtrack.

Manhole

Manhole was the sixth Game and Watch game to be released as a handheld, and challenges players to aid pedestrians in walking over four gaps by bridging them at the correct time. As the game continues, multitasking becomes important, with three or four pedestrians on screen at the same time, requiring a huge amount of multitasking as each pedestrian requires 2 instances of being helped by the player.

Game A is a slower and less complex version, and Game B is faster and more difficult. The updated music for this particular game isn't great, and I much preferred the simple sound effects of the original game. In terms of gameplay, Manhole is pretty fun for a Game and Watch title, but none of the early games show a huge amount of replayability beyond high score chasing.

Cement Factory

Cement Factory is a later Game and Watch title, which features more complex gameplay than any of the previously mentioned titles and better resembles a video game on the whole. Players move between platforms using the lift, being careful not to fall and lose a life, and pull levers to release cement to a lower level of the factory and ultimately into trucks. If the cement levels builds up too much in any of the four storage tanks, then a life is lost. 

Game B is a faster version of Game A, and compared to the other games on this collection, Cement Factory is the most fun and challenging. It requires players to multitask and pick the correct moment and sequence in which to do tasks. Once three lives are lost, the game is over. 

Overall Game Boy Gallery isn't a particularly technically impressive game, but that's almost to be expected for a collection showcasing technology that was already 15 years old at the time of release and is now approaching 35 years of age. It gives players the chance to play Game & Watch handhelds without having to own the consoles themselves, which can be costly thesedays, and the updated sounds and visual borders (if used with a Super Gameboy on the SNES) are a nice addition.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D

Game: Game & Watch Gallery Advance
Console: Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Developer: TOSE
Release Date: 28th October 2002

The fourth in the Game and Watch Gallery series, and the first on the Game Boy Advance, Game & Watch Gallery Advance showcases 6 classic Game & Watch titles, each with a classic and modern version, as well as a 2 player or Hard Mode of each. Alongside the games there's a Gallery/Museum option which allows players to unlock and play some other classic Game & Watch titles with the stars they've earned in the main game.

Boxing

Classic Boxing features 2 fighters, with their health bars at the top of the screen and a number representing their total health. Each time a bar is knocked from a fighter's health the total health goes down by one. Each time the bars are depleted, 3 points are knocked from the fighter's health and they're pushed back by one step. If a fighter's health bars are fully depleted whilst against the ropes, then 6 points are taken from his total health. Once the total health reaches 0, the fighter must be knocked down whilst against the ropes for an opponent victory.

While this sounds very technical, the reality of gameplay is literally hammering the punch button. Players needn't even pay attention to the screen to win matches. I managed to fight my way to 20 knock outs without even really trying at all. Whilst the difficulty increases incrementally, 20 KO's is enough to earn 5 stars on the main menu, and isn't a challenge at all.

In modern mode, Boxing features fights against 3 opponents, Wiggler, Boo and Waluigi. Players control Luigi and attempt to land a hit on their opponent and take one of the hearts from their health meter at the top of the screen. Once all 5 hearts are gone, the player whose meter has been depleted falls back against the ropes, and both players meters are refilled. Play resumes and if the player against the ropes loses all their hearts again, they are defeated. If they manage to beat the other boxer then play moves back to the centre of the ring.

Unfortunately, being based on the Game and Watch version, there are only two punches which can be thrown, a high and a low hit. Button mashing seems to be the easiest way to land punches, although different moves seem to work differently depending on the opponent. There's very little challenge to this minigame, and the modernised update only really adds better graphics and different fighters to the mix.

Fire

Fire was the 4th Game & Watch handheld released, and like those before it only featured the right and left directional buttons for input. Players were challenged to save escapees of a building fire and bounce them to an ambulance on stretchers. As the game continues more and more escapees tumble out of the building at an ever increasing rate, meaning that players must multitask and keep their attention on which patient needs bouncing to the ambulance next.

A little challenge is added by the fact that the patients bounce slightly less high on their second ascent, so the timings aren't symmetrical. Game B is a faster and more advanced version of Game A, but other than this there's no real difference. As a game, Fire works well with its simple concept, but can easily become monotonous.

The updated version of Fire features different characters from the Mario series in addition to the different bounce heights of the previous version. Toad is lighter than Yoshi, who is in turn lighter than Donkey Kong Jr. There are also power-up eggs which contain either a score bonus or a bomb, the latter of which must be dropped before it blows up the carriage, waiting to save the escapees of the fire.

Just like the original version, Mode B starts players off with a more complex set of patients to transport. The updated version is one of the more difficult games on the collection, due to the amount of multitasking and judgement needed with the different types of character to be transported. Annoyingly, even with a High Score of 251, the game rated my performance as 1 star out of 5, which I thought was a bit of an insult.

Rain Shower

Rain Shower was a Game and Watch handheld released in August 1983 at a time when Nintendo were releasing one new Game and Watch console a week, While this didn't last long, it's interesting to consider how many things the company must have had their minds on at once during this time frame. The objective of Rain Shower is to stop laundry on the washing line from getting wet by adjusting four separate lines left and right as rain drops fall. In terms of control, players use the d-pad to navigate the onscreen character into place before pressing the action button to swap the position of the laundry, between two presets.

While Rain Shower is a fairly complex game when compared to some of the others, the multitasking feels less enjoyable as its easy to miss a single raindrop headed for the laundry and lose a life, while distracted by another drop. Game B worsens this by starting at a higher difficulty level. I can't honestly say I'm a big fan of this particular Game and Watch as it uses the basic concept of some other Game and Watches (mainly Helmet) in a new setting.

The updated version of Rain Shower doesn't even really fit the name; Bowser throws items down towards characters on swings below, and its Mario's job to move the ropes and protect them from being hit from above. The game suffers the same multitasking issue as the original and if anything is more difficult to keep track of due to the coloured visuals. As time progresses more characters come and sit on a swing, giving Mario an even more complex task to do. The music provided with the updated version is bearable, but the game is less so.

Mario's Cement Factory

Essentially the same as Cement Factory, featured earlier in this review, on the Game Boy Gallery, the classic version of this game plays and feels very similar with slightly updated colour graphics for the industrial setting and equipment.

The updated version of Cement Factory plays very differently to the older versions. While the main concept is the same, Mario is allowed to fall between platforms without consequence as long as he doesn't touch the top or bottom of the screen. This makes the game far easier on the whole, and allows players to focus more on their movements and keeping track of which containers are filling up. As a concept this is probably one of the best games on this cartridge, as there's far more complexity than anything featured so far. Strangely there's no background music featured in either version of the game, which is disappointing even if this does make it easier to hear the "full" sound effect for the containers.

Donkey Kong Jr. 

The original version of Donkey Kong Jr. (which may have been better as an actual Game & Watch handheld) seems to me to be borderline unplayable. With so many outlines for Donkey Kong Jr's positions, it's hard to tell which is the next to progress to, and what options are available. Add this to some difficult obstacles, and you've got a frustrating and confusing game which really needn't be. This seems to be an example of technology holding back the playability of the game, except that as it's been remade on Game Boy Advance, they could clearly have toned the multiple Donkey Kong Jr.'s down a little, and made the route more obvious.

The updated version of Donkey Kong Jr. is far better and allows players to rescue Donkey Kong over a variety of levels (at least 3), with a slowly increasing difficulty curve and a much simpler movement interface whilst retaining the positional movement of the Game and Watch original. The music is also fairly enjoyable, which adds a sense of the experience being much closer to a real video game rather than just an LCD handheld.

Donkey Kong 3

Donkey Kong 3 (at least the Game and Watch version) features Mario and Donkey Kong facing off by filling tanks of water and shooting bubbles at each other, which send what appear to be mice towards the other player. Being hit by a bubble doesn't affect the player, but if one of the mice reaches their side of the screen, then a life is lost. Sucessfully getting a mouse to Donkey Kong's side of the screen results in a points bonus and the positions resetting.

Much like Donkey Kong Jr., the sheer amount of outlines on the screen mean that making sense of what's happening is difficult. The mice also swap around what level they're on constantly, making it anyone's guess where they're going next, and consequently where to shoot.

The updated version of the game fares much better in terms of being able to see what's happening. The mice have been replaced with a fireball and a Boo. Unfortunately these two also move around quite a bit, and the best strategy seems to be completely refilling the water tank and then shooting it all at the middle, assuming one of the two items are in that lane. Overall this one's some fun, though it could definitely have been better.

With all the main games reviewed, I should also mention the fact that there are 9 bonus original Game and Watch games to play. These are unlocked by gaining stars in each of the featured Game and watch games, though it's often difficult to earn any stars due to the high boundaries set by the game. Since you'll need 80 stars to even play the first unlockable bonus Game and Watch, there's little point including them as a feature, since it's fairly obvious that their inclusion is simply to give players a reason to continue playing what appear to be fairly boring choices and revamps from the Game and Watch catalogue.

On the whole, Game and Watch Gallery Advance doesn't seem to have even one title that's completely worth playing; classic or updated. While it's a nice throwback to the handheld consoles, and the updated versions often do improve on the originals, there's no real need to return to what appear to be fairly bland and simple games.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D