New Recreation Boy Video games? In 2024? You greatest consider it.
If you happen to’ve learn my hands-on preview and interview of the Chromatic, you in all probability know that I’m very excited concerning the potential of a brand new Recreation Boy gadget that goals to ship essentially the most genuine and fashionable expertise. Nevertheless, I didn’t get round to speaking a lot concerning the new video games that ModRetro is publishing, in bodily kind no much less, for the Chromatic. What’s particularly cool about these cartridges is that they’re suitable with virtually all Recreation Boy fashions. So even if you’re not eager about getting the gadget your self, you may nonetheless exit and get a few of these video games. Chromatic was variety sufficient to offer me with demo’s for his or her launch lineup that I’ve been taking part in alone units. As these are brief video games I determine this preview might offer you some higher perception into the number of their lineup. Lastly this preview just isn’t ranked, however in alphabetical order.
Chantey – Developed by Gortyn Code. Suitable with all Recreation Boy units.
Chantey is a really basic pirate story. As a stowaway you survive a horrible assault by an unlimited beast, although fortunately you’re picked up by an notorious pirate captain. He needs to put declare to his grandfather’s pirate treasure that went down with him whereas combating a monster from the deep sea. The writing could be very charming and instantly locations you in a really particular time and setting. As the sport is open-world you may discover a piece of island together with your ship as you fulfill quests and set out in your pirate journey. Whereas it seems like a fairly regular open-world exploration sport, the “fight” was instantly stunning. See on this world there are chanteymen, singers that battle not with swords however the energy of music. As such, the sport typically shifts to a rhythm sport that’s clearly impressed by Guitar Hero. Your objective is to finish the track with sufficient hype from the group to assist win the battle. I discovered the songs to be fairly difficult, though there are solely notes approaching 4 tracks. There are nonetheless noticeable bugs and glitches, corresponding to character portraits popping in and the timing of notes being pretty difficult. However that mentioned, I had a good time taking part in Chantey. There are only a few rhythm video games on the Recreation Boy, so seeing one that mixes theme and elegance into one bundle is trying very promising certainly.
You possibly can attempt a prologue of the sport on PC through Itch.
Editor’s notice: Chantey will likely be launching in Q1 of 2025 and isn’t a part of the launch lineup.
Dragonyhm – Developed by Spacebot Interactive. Suitable with all Recreation Boy units.
What instantly struck me about Dragonyhm is its visible identification. At first I virtually mistook it for Hyperlink’s Awakening. It has clear and clear pixel-art and it actually helps with how animated the world and characters really feel. The story needs to come back throughout as epic, although for this brief demo I may get a way of the way it performs out. You might be Kris, the son of a legendary hero, in a world the place dragons have been sealed away. However as your dad goes lacking, it’s as much as Kris to not solely discover him, however work out why the dragons are all of a sudden reawakening. Fairly customary affair for a fantasy pixel-art journey sport. What isn’t so customary is that the sport combines this with a turn-based battle system that may be simple to study however onerous to grasp. After all there’s attacking and defending, however each spells and expertise add some good selection to the gameplay. I used to be particularly stunned by how polished the sport already feels. You can simply mistake this for a type of legendary misplaced or uncommon Recreation Boy video games, however the quantity of content material and high quality of life options actually present how a lot is packed into this cartridge. So for these seeking to dig their tooth right into a prolonged RPG, with loads of side-activities and characters to find, Dragonyhm is shaping as much as be one of many necessities in my Recreation Boy assortment.
You possibly can play a free demo of Dragonyhm via Itch on PC.
Within the Darkish 2 – Developed by Pearacidic and Gumpy Operate. Suitable with all Recreation Boy units.
By taking a look at screenshots of Within the Darkish 2 you would possibly mistake it for a Sci-Fi RPG, however truly it’s a 2D Puzzle sport with a big deal with narrative. Now I’ve not performed the primary In The Darkish, however this sport is a fairly easy puzzle sport. In every puzzle you’re tasked by turning off the lights on the board. Every mild switches state when chosen and likewise turns off the encompassing lights and vice versa. It’s a quite simple puzzle sport in that sense, although you’re challenged by making an attempt to finish the boards in as few turns as doable. So simple as this may occasionally sound, Within the Darkish 2 units itself aside by the unbelievable manufacturing worth. Cutscenes are gorgeously lit and have some really gorgeous art work. Whereas it may have been a easy menu to pick out your puzzle, you truly management a major character whereas exploring the planets who present perception into why you’re fixing these puzzles. The backgrounds, the character animation and the writing is absolutely gorgeous and jogged my memory of video games like Alone within the Darkish on Recreation Boy Colour. Accompanied by an excellent soundtrack, I used to be actually hooked on In The Darkish 2 and suppose it goes past simply being a easy pick-up-and-play puzzle sport. The builders appear to be hinting at plenty of selection on the earth you’ll go to in your area journey, so for these die-hard puzzlers on the market that is one to look ahead to. Particularly in order for you one thing that appears to have a bit extra engagement than straight ahead puzzling.
There’s a free demo accessible of In The Darkish 2 that could be a nice vertical slice of the gameplay. You possibly can play it in-browser on Itch or through PC.
Patchy Matchy Puzzle Browsing – Developed by Tom Sutton. Suitable with all Recreation Boy Gadgets.
Talking of full on puzzle video games, Patchy Matchy is a brilliant easy, however extremely participating puzzle sport. It feels most much like one thing like Bejeweled or Sweet Crush. On a grid of 6 x 8 you are attempting to match sea creatures in rows of 4 or larger to take away them from the board. The upper the combo, the upper your rating. It has a fairly boppin’ soundtrack that you’ll get accustomed to as you combine and match the items on the grid. A few of these grid puzzlers, like Bejeweled, can really feel a bit stagnant as you’re solely in a position to transfer items in the event that they turn out to be a part of the combo. I like that in Patchy Matchy you may transfer any piece to any spot on the grid. So you may already arrange bigger combos earlier than the items fall onto the board. It makes for a sport the place you’re at all times trying round for the following combo to make, making it really feel like a pure match for Recreation Boy. When it comes to selection, there are a couple of tweaks to mess around with, however the sport principally encourages you to finish achievements for replayability. It’s as easy because it comes on Recreation Boy, however I believe that provides Patchy Matchy a kind of common appeal to be performed by anybody. Undoubtedly value a shot to show your Recreation Boy right into a continuous pick-up-puzzler!
Tales Of Monsterland DX – Developed by Joel Jarman, Works solely on Recreation Boy Colour suitable units.
Tales Of Monsterland DX is completely designed for Recreation Boy Colour, although you could overlook that at the beginning look. The sport sees you taking part in as a child who wakes up in an odd land. It’s not lengthy earlier than you encounter the weird inhabitants of this world and set out on a quest to avoid wasting the land from the monsters which have pushed down tourism. Structurally this sport jogged my memory instantly of Wario Land 3 and that could be a excellent factor. The overworld consists of a number of interconnected ranges which you can traverse between as soon as you discover sure upgrades, treasures or different secrets and techniques that will help you in your quest. There may be plenty of fast appeal to the sport, from the way in which the characters are designed and the style by which they communicate, to the way you work together with the world. I particularly cherished how one can ignore directions like getting a sword and simply set out by yourself. The sport feels rather more fashionable than conventional platforming motion video games in that regard. However the spotlight is unquestionably the good soundtrack, that makes use of all the Recreation Boy Colour’s capabilities to ship some incredible environment. Tales Of Monsterland DX actually nails that feeling of choosing up a platforming journey and getting misplaced on the earth. The controls are easy and the soar feels nice, so I can’t wait to see what the complete sport brings.
You possibly can play a free demo of the sport on PC in-browser through Itch.
Tetris – Developed by Chromatic and licensed by The Tetris Firm. Works solely on Recreation Boy Colour suitable units..
Editor’s Observe: An earlier model of this text claimed that this model of Tetris is suitable with unique Recreation Boy (DMG) units. We have since been knowledgeable that this ModRetro model of Tetris goes to be solely suitable with Recreation Boy Colour suitable units, as taking part in it on an unique Recreation Boy (DMG) will trigger graphical points. This text has been adjusted to mirror this data.
Now okay, sure. We’ve all performed Tetris on Recreation Boy. In truth, the sport is at present solely accessible as a pack-in title for the launch of the Chromatic. So I might be pretty easy about this one. It’s Tetris as you already know it. Though there are some slight tweaks that Tetris die-hards, me included, will recognize. To start with, sure, the Tetris theme A remains to be right here. It’s barely adjusted, however don’t fear, you’ll get all the fuzzy emotions. Secondly, I actually like that this model of Tetris permits each ghost items in addition to having the ability to see additional prematurely which items are arising. It simply helps to streamline the expertise and convey it line with choices that we’re so accustomed to with fashionable variations of the sport. These choices are all in reality non-obligatory, so for the purists on the market, you may simply allow a retro mode that makes the sport play precisely as you keep in mind. On Recreation Boy Colour the sport appears beautiful with all the coloured items and extra animations that add a bit visible streak when you’re onerous dropping a chunk onto the board. Lastly there are additionally a couple of modes like limitless, dash and extremely. After all you may nonetheless play multiplayer through a hyperlink cable with somebody that additionally owns a replica of this model of Tetris. So yeah, it’s nonetheless Tetris. However guess what? Tetris remains to be nice and this simply would possibly find yourself being the definitive model of Tetris for the Recreation Boy Colour.
Toki Tori: Final Version – Developed by Two Tribes. Works solely on Recreation Boy Colour suitable units.
Disclaimer: For my day job I’ve labored with the crew from Two Tribes on archiving their video games on the Netherlands Institute of Sound & Imaginative and prescient. I’ve no direct connection to the event or launch of this model of the sport on Chromatic, however as it’s a part of the launch line-up I’ll cowl this sport as a part of this preview.
The unique launch of Toki Tori got here extremely late within the life cycle of the Recreation Boy Colour. Not solely that, however the print run was extraordinarily restricted when Capcom revealed the sport in 2001. In flip this actually helped to show Toki Tori into one thing of a cult basic on the Recreation Boy Colour, showcasing it’s wonderful animations in addition to some actual intelligent puzzle design. These days, Toki Tori is just about playable on each fashionable system, because it has been re-released, remastered and even obtained a sequel within the final fifteen years. However what’s fascinating about Toki Tori: Final Version is that the builders of the sport went again to the unique model to make changes and enhancements. It could’ve been really easy to re-release the sport and provides folks an opportunity so as to add this basic to their libraries, however this model really seems like an final model of Toki Tori. The motion pace is what really sells it and has been multiplied by the builders. This makes Toki Tori run round so much quicker, however doesn’t influence the puzzles within the slightest. You might be after all nonetheless accumulating the eggs in each stage and avoiding fight, however this transformation makes such a distinction to the circulate of the sport. The place making a mistake within the unique model felt tedious since you had been losing plenty of time backwards and forwards, now it seems like making a mistake is a part of studying the sport’s design and I for one obtained to understand it much more. The timer has additionally been eliminated and you’ll even auto-jump over brief gaps. Toki Tori remains to be a tremendous showcase on Recreation Boy. Whereas the trendy variations of the sport added 3D fashions, there’s a timelessness to the unique animations and sprites. It’s such a easy expertise after practically 25 years and with the harshest edges now rounded off, there isn’t a higher time than to choose it up. Particularly contemplating that this model is lower than half of what the unique prices on eBay.
Traumatarium: Penitent – Developed by Eligos Video games. Suitable with all Recreation Boy units.
This sport is a bit more summary than the others I obtained to play for the Chromatic. See, the unique Traumatarium was developed as a showcase to actually push the graphical limits of the unique Recreation Boy. It had intensive visible key artwork that appears absurdly spectacular on the Recreation Boy’s 160×144 display screen. From its cutscenes to the way in which you discover cities, darkish woods and work together with enemies, its sequel retains that beautiful artwork model. Sadly the gameplay is kind of onerous to know, because the fantasy lore of the world could be very intensive and the demo actually dropped me with no clue as to what I needed to do or what was occurring. In a way the sport jogged my memory of a very old-school first-person RPG. On every display screen you may study totally different objects, speak to folks or might encounter an enemy. Fight takes place in turns as you employ the D-pad to pick out attacking, defending, utilizing objects or fleeing. What makes the sport fairly a problem is that apart from HP you additionally must hold monitor of your vitality, which isn’t actually defined all that effectively. As your vitality runs out, as a consequence of an absence of meals for instance, your HP will drop. It was solely after the fourth time after I dropped lifeless in the midst of the city sq. with none enemies in sight that I began to comprehend what I used to be doing improper. Each display screen you discover drains vitality, so navigating your means via these huge maps is not only a matter of surviving the creatures that hang-out the cities, but in addition planning out when to eat meals, drink a potion or save your power by fleeing battles. It makes for a reasonably unorthodox RPG to play and I’m nonetheless not fairly certain if I like this design. For sure, the visuals do plenty of the heavy lifting and as a graphical showcase it nonetheless appears gorgeous. That is one for these curious to transcend the consolation zone of the Recreation Boy and seeking to see how far the event scene of the Recreation Boy has come.
You possibly can play a free demo of Traumatarium: Penitent through PC in-browser on Itch.
And that’s all of the ModRetro releases I obtained my arms on. ModRetro is aiming to launch extra titles for the Chromatic, together with some video games that by no means obtained their time to shine again on the unique system. So I’ll make sure you hold a watch out for future bodily releases that they’re planning to launch. Through the writing of this preview it was introduced that ModRetro is releasing Child T-Rex, developed by Bleem, so it appears that evidently there are nonetheless surprises awaiting for these seeking to increase their Recreation Boy and Chromatic libraries.
And in case you missed the unique Palms-on Preview for the Chromatic, you watch the video and interview above!