Game Reviews For the GB and GBC

	GAME BOY COLOR
	A
	B

	GAME BOY
	The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening - GB This would be a wonderful game to play no matter how old it is. I love all the Zelda games so I am partial to giving perfect scores to this series. This was the first Zelda game I had ever played and I was caught from the first time I turned it on and went down to the shore to get my sword and start my adventure into the world of Zelda. The world is large with lots of fun areas to explore and a fun side quest that has you walking all over the world, but wanting what was at the end. I made lots of notes and ended up making a guide for it. This is a timeless game that will endear you as well.
	Final Fantasy Legends III - GB With each new Legends game, it just gets better and better. I remember really enjoying this game. The graphics are remarkably more in detail then the previous Legend games. Role-playing games have something in common which is you need a pen and paper to write down stuff people say to you.  I don’t remember writing a lot but you see a cave you cannot get to yet, then you would want to write down the grid; the number of squares across and down.  Therefore, if you do that then you will not have to worry about it so much. I remember walking around sometimes going “where do I go” but here again if you look back at what people have said to you then you will be pointed in the right direction. I liked the game, for me the frustration level was rare.  If you like older games then this will be a fun one for you.
	Final Fantasy Legends II - GB Same great play and the graphics are just a tad better. I liked playing this game as much as the previous legend game. I remember that with each game I was pleasantly surprised that the graphic was getting subtlety better. I really like role-playing games so graphics is not everything to me as long as I do not have to make something up myself to continue the play. Hum, was that water I crossed? No, I do not want to do that; and you don’t in this game. Seeing the beginnings of a series you really like can be a cherished experience and in turn a wonderful memory. Therefore, if you do not mind simple graphics, and like role-playing games you will like this game.
	Final Fantasy Legends I - GB You do not need fancy graphics to enjoy a good game. I remember this game being pretty simple graphics wise if a bit less than Final Fantasy Adventure was, but still you didn't have to pretend the blue was water and the green was land; like Nobunaga's Ambition. You have to remember the age of this game so you can forgive the graphics. I played the Final Fantasy Legend games one after the other in 2001 and enjoyed the experience. For nostalgia it was great but if you haven’t played or do not like older games you would not like this one.
	Final Fantasy Adventure - GB Simple graphics and yet lots of fun. I have really enjoyed playing a series beginnings and this game is no exception. I first thought years ago that this was a Final Fantasy game but instead it is a Mana game like Secret of Mana. I remember playing this game and really liking it. It has a story and the graphics are not so sparse that you do not have to pretend the blue is water and the green is land, but rather when you go onto land, there is texture like trees drawn and a cave opening. If you need color graphics then this and other games of this age will not be your cup of tea. I on the other hand had a great time playing it.
	Donkey Kong - GB One of my first games and a first in this type of game. When I played this game, it was embarrassing how many times I died.  I new I could do it so I kept trying. I am so glad I did, because even though with a new stage I might die, I died less and less as time went by and I felt really happy about finishing it. I liked the perky music and that you had three places to save your game. The look of the game was crisp and clean looking. What I really liked about this game was after I finished a section I would be anticipating what would be next and hoping I could do it.  I liked how the stages were laid out and that the game wasn’t so hard you couldn’t eventually succeed. You entered a section and you new by Donkey Kong jumping up and down and leaving that there is your objective, so you always new where to go. I bought all the other Donkey Kong games thinking they would be the same sort of game play but they are not, I am sad to say.  A game similar to this one would be Super Mario Land, needless to say I was a happy camper to be able to continue such a fun type of game. If you like games where you jump and dodge (but not too hard) with a bit of puzzle thrown in then you would like this game. The age of the game will not lessen the fun factor at all. I bought Mario vs. Donkey Kong specifically because it reminded me of this great game. It is a fond memory for me and if you haven’t played it you are missing a fun experience.
	Wario Land II - GB Another wonderful experience! I liked how Wario played a bit different then the Mario series. It was tweaked enough to give Wario his own style but kept the type of game play that it is, which I wasn’t disappointed with at all.  Wario is just a ruff tuff dude! I do have a problem lumping Wario Land and Mario Land games together so many years after I have played them. I remember enjoying all of them so much it is hard to describe the big smile on my face when I would have another one to play. They all just became better and better as time went by and here we are with Wario Land II with the same great style of play that many people including myself enjoy to the hilt. I feel like a broken record reviewing these games because any of my descriptions could be interchangeable. I don’t think anyone reading this would not know anything about this sort of game. Maybe it is presumptuous but it is what I think. Going through sections in the game that might be tuff to do the first time through, but achieving it in the end is a great feeling; nothing like it really. The game is challenging but not over the top where the fun factor leaves you with only frustration.  The age of the game shouldn’t deter you from this game, it is timeless.

	GAME BOY
	Mario Picross - GB Age doesn’t matter when you are talking about a fun puzzle games. I played this game 10 or so years ago and still remember the huge amount of fun I had playing it. You can save your progress in one of three sections. It even has a “how to play” section if you need it along with Easy Picross and Picross to choose from. The next screen has three choices and they are Kinoko with a picture of a Mushroom if you click this one it brings you to all the problems for this section. What is nice is that as it runs from 1-8 and A through H it also keeps track of your first time, how many times you have done the problem, and your best time. The second section you can pick is Star with naturally a star with just as large section to do and the same saved stats as the Mushroom section. The last choice to pick from is called  the Time Trial and if you beat the times listed you can add your name. Now to try and describe this game. First of all there is a grid of 15 squares by 15 squares and within these squares they are divided by 3. This helps so with a thicker black line it is easier to count by 5’s.  Each line whether it is diagonally or horizontally will be numbers like 3, 2 which tells you how many boxes you need to chisel in that particular direction. So 3 mean a grouping of 3 and 2 means another grouping of 2 that should not be there. As you progress through the game the puzzles naturally get harder and larger. The numbers can eventually look like this, 2, 5, 1, 4, 2, 1. You can see that it can get complicated but it is so much fun. I would just turn off the music, but it is up to personal taste on how much tinkling you can take. Other fun puzzle games of this age are Boxxle and Kwirk.
	Dr. Mario - GB Old graphics but the fun factor is high I remember playing this game trying to get as far as I could, as fast as I could, while watching TV. It is the perfect game to play on the run, or just to pick up and play, because you do not have to remember anything prior to the last time you played. You pick your level, and how fast you want the pills to drop, start playing, and have fun. The graphics are Game Boy graphics but the fun factor is what I am basing my review on. I remember it being so fun I am thinking about buying the new Dr. Mario/Puzzle League that is out now.
	Alleyway - GB An old game that would be good to play on the go. What is good about the game is that you can pick it up, and shut it off at any given point and not feel bad.  There is nothing to remember from one time of playing it to the next time in playing it, not like RPG’s etc. I personally was not good at playing the game for some reason. I think anyone that plays Tetris well, and Tennis games well would have a chance at playing this well also. Because you have to move quickly from right to left and you have to perceive where the ball is going to fall.  If you do not mind the simple look that GB games have, and want a challenge then this would not be a bad game to check out. .
	Bubble Bobble 2 - GB The name of the game doesn’t represent the challenge this game can have. Believe it or not this game goes for $15.00 to $20.00 on eBay for the cart only. So if you can get it for less you are getting it for a great price.  The game naturally increases in difficulty as you go through the game. I have not finished the game but it wasn’t because I didn’t like it, but just was busy and I do not always have a chance to play when traveling. I hadn’t realized how large the game was until I saw a faq on the game at gamefaqs.  I like having games I can just pick up at any given point and just play, so I keep it in my collection and will most likely give it a go again sometime; I remember it being fun.  You know how side scrolling games are? Well, this game goes from top to bottom. You are always trying to get through maze like areas, and get to the bottom, to reach the next stage. You need to deal with spikes etc. along with things that try to get you.   As long as you have a bit of paper to write the password to the stage you just finished, you can stop the game any time you want without redoing it.
	Kwirk - GB This game is perfect for on the go. First off you need to like puzzle games so if you don’t then do not go looking for this game. Secondly, I had a lot of fun playing this game. I did play this game at least 10 years ago and I still have good memories about liking it.  There are three ways to play the game and they are called going up; which has 3 levels to choose from which are easy, average and hard and 10 floors to choose from. From there you choose the diagonal view or the bird’s-eye view.  The second is called heading out with the level choice like before and then you check how many rooms you want in your course up to 99 rooms after this you pick the view you want. Then the last mode is vs mode. I must say that I didn’t see a second player after I finished a room so I am not sure about that part. I just now started up the game to refresh my memory and my memory serves me correct that I loved this game. The rooms get progressively harder but not so hard that it becomes frustrating. If you want to start the room again just hit the A button to restart. The game is a gameboy game and the different hues of green are fine, it doesn’t leave you with wanting something more.. If they made another one, I would play that one too.  Like I have said before with games like this, this type of game is great to play and put down and it is there to play no matter how much time passes by. Because it isn’t an RPG that you have to remember the layout of the world type of game. A game that is similar in game play would be Boxxle, which I have had lots of fun playing too.  The music is a happy little jingle that you can turn off if you wish.  Bottom line this is a fun game to pass the time.
	Qix - GB I bet you have never played any game like this one. It just doesn’t matter how old this game is, the fun factor never leaves this game. I just turned the game on to remind myself about the game I played so long ago. The tension/concentration resumed the second I turned it on. Besides having this wave like thing (Qix) moving all over the screen there are two blinking things, called Sparx that start at the top and one goes to the right and one goes to the left.  If that is not enough at the bottom is this ever-shrinking meter and at some point, another Sparx will join the mix.  You need to know what you are doing when making a square because if you pause for to long a fuse will appear and run down your line to you. I remember getting so far that two Qix were on the screen and then you have to separate them.  The top 5 scores are saved so if you beat yourself it will be automatically saved. The music just adds stress to an already tense situation; I personally turn it off or down. You can link up with another GB and the first person starting it will be Mario and the second will be called Luigi. There are lots of options in two player mode, such as Qix speed from 1-5 and the same for the Sparx speed There is a survival mode, and you can set your markers’ speed to fast or slow which you can do in the single player just by pressing the appropriate button.  Mario will give you a performance at the end depending on your score. This game is hard don’t get me wrong, but there is something about this game that makes you want to try again and again. Oh, you do get three lives which helps.
	Gear Works - GB Give me another puzzle game please! I did play this a long time ago so I have put the game back into my Gba sp to make sure I am remembering correctly. When you first start up you have the choice to turn the music off or on and put in the password code.  Straight from the manual here, (because I can’t paraphrase it any better than they say it) you start out with three lives and will loose a life each time you fail to complete a level within the time limit, or if the temperature gauge reaches the boiling point before you complete the gear chain. At the bottom of the screen you will be able to see your Score, Engine Temperature, Gear Type, Gun Sight, Bomb Count, and Oil Count. There are 12 different world monuments to create, and within the monuments are at least six sections that is shown in the beginning of your game, so the game is a decent length. To the left of the screen is a pump that will be your source of power and you have to select different size gears and put the opposite turning gear with it counterpart so that your new gear will start turning too.  Eventually you will get to the loan gear at the opposite side of the screen and have all your gears working. You have Poffins and they are pesky gremlin-like creatures that will rust out your gears, so you need to pay attention to them. Once they attack a gear, you need to oil the said gear so it can keep turning.   I remember not worrying about scoring as much as being able to have all my gears working and completing the monuments. There is definitely replay value in this game if you want to beat your last score.  I do not think there is any way of memorizing how you did the last puzzle. The game is hard to describe and yet when you see the screen everything is laid out neatly and it isn’t confusing at all. If you like puzzle games, and you want a game you can just pick up at any given moment; but with some time to finish the section, then this is a perfect game to play. The look of the game is fine it is different shades of green with black for the gears, not different shades of grey so the game looks good. The music is a perky tune that I just turned off. I put 0-30 minutes for the learning curve but it might take a tad longer to get your timing down.
	B oxxle - GB Puzzle Fun You can play this game in the car, watching TV, or when you are tired but want to do a little something; this is the game to play.  This is an old game on the Game Boy so do not get upset over the graphics, but it does the job so you can enjoy this great puzzle game. What you do is move the boxes around the room so you can get out the other side. This sounds simple but as you progress through the game, the difficulty level naturally rises. I like having games around that I can pick up and play at will, without having to remember a world or story line. Play it one month, and pick up two months later it just doesn’t matter.