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Hello once again, and welcome back to the Game Boy Game Club. Click here to be taken to what we're all playing at the moment!   Back in 2019, I started the first iteration of the Game Boy Game Club [old thread here]. Inspired by the old Retro Game Masters threads that Shlapintogan ran years and years ago, the idea was to explore some of the lesser known titles of what I feel like is an incredibly underappreciated library for one of my absolute favourite systems. We got through a number of games and then the thread kind of trailed off as I headed off on honeymoon at the start of 2020 and then the last two years happened. With the release of the Analogue Pocket, a couple of folks indicated they'd be down for the thread ressurecting and it seems like a good time for everyone to jump on board and come and experience the weird and wonderful world of Game Boy games.  Each month, we'll play through three games. One will be a GB game, one a GBC game and the final one will be a GBA game. I'm always happy to take suggestions of games you'd like to see, so speak up in the thread if there's something you want to see come up! Once upon a time there were challenges accompanying each game and I was keeping track but this turned out to be a lot of overhead and also making challenges for low-complexity old handheld games is hard. Now we just play the games and talk about them! If you want to make the games potentially more challenging or engaging for yourself take a look at https://retroachievements.org/  If you don't have original hardware, emulators are available on a variety of devices. Emulators/ROMs: The sensible and most affordable option. I recommend BGB for a lightweight and easy to use emulator that can emulate Game Boy games in either original, Color, or Super Game Boy mode. Obviously due to Something Awful’s  rules, I can’t link you to ROMs but if you type ”<game name> ROM” into Google or poke around on Archive.org I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for. Just make sure to delete them within 24 hours, my Uncle works at Nintendo and he is extremely litigious. If you do have original hardware then consider using a flashcart: Flashcart: A hybrid option for those of you who might want to play on original hardware but don’t want to try and track down physical copies of these games, the EverDrive-GB X3/X5/X7 (all at https://krikzz.com/store/) allows you to load ROM files onto an SD card, plug it into the EverDrive cartridge and play the ROM on original hardware – depending on the version of your flashcart it may also have the ability to use otherwise emulator-only features like savestates.  Game Boy - Trax  Game Boy Color - Bomberman Quest  Game Boy Advance - Double Dragon Advance   (Original format, Mode 7 dictatorship) June 2019 - Monster Max July 2019 - Donkey Kong (aka Donkey Kong '94) August 2019 - Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru ("For the Frog the Bell Tolls") September 2019 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening October 2019 - Gargoyle's Quest November 2019 - Trip World December 2019 - Avenging Spirit, Bubble Ghost January 2022 - James Bond 007, Quarth, Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company (Format changed here to splitting picks between me, other folks, and RNG) February 2022 - Mole Mania (Mode 7), Pinball: Revenge of the Gator (bowmore), Cruis'n Exotica (RNG) March 2022 - Legend of the River King 2 (Mode 7), Mr. Driller (leper khan), Mr. Nutz (RNG) April 2022 - Mega Man V (Mode 7), Metal Gear Solid (Froist), Operation C (RNG) May 2022 - Shantae (Mode 7), Great Greed (TheHoosier), Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge (RNG) June 2022 - Wario Land II (Mode 7), Dakatana (pig labeled 3), Marble Madness (RNG) July 2022 - Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Mode 7), Azure Dreams (Detective No. 27), Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder (RNG) (Format changed to 1 GB, 1 GBC, 1 RNG pick - dictatorship with suggestions.) August 2022 - Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (GB), Cannon Fodder (GBC), Miner 2049er (GB) (RNG) September 2022 - Any TMNT GB Game (GB), Mario Tennis (GBC), Hoyle Casino (GBC) (RNG) October 2022 - October Spooktacular! Alien 3 (GB), Resident Evil Gaiden (GBC), Deadeus (GB - Indie) November 2022 - Noobow (GB), Bionic Commando: Elite Forces (GBC), SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula (GBC) (RNG) December 2022 - Final Fantasy Adventure (GB), Wendy: Every Witch Way (GBC), Spirou (GB) (RNG) January 2023 - Mercenary Force (GB), Toki Tori (GBC), Speedy Gonzales (GB) (RNG) February 2023 - Mario's Picross (GB), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (GBC), Monster's Inc (GBC) (Format changed to 1 GB, 1 GBC, 1 GBA) March 2023 - Pocket Bomberman (GB), Mega Man Xtreme 2 (GBC), Astro Boy Omega Factor (GBA) April 2023 - Catrap (GB), Magical Chase GB (GBC), Ninja 5-0/Ninja Cop (GBA) May 2023 - X / Lunar Chase (GB), Dragon's Lair (GBC), V-Rally 3 (GBA) June 2023 - Battle Arena Toshinden (GB), Pokemon Pinball (GBC), Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA) July 2023 - Astro Rabby (GB), The Fish Files (GBC), Drill Dozer (GBA) August 2023 - Zelda: Oracle of Seasons & Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC), Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA) September 2023 - Kirby's Pinball Land (GB), Dragon Warrior III (GBC), F-Zero Climax (GBA) October 2023 - Master Karateka (GB), Warlocked (GBC), Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge (GBA) November 2023 - Ultraman Ball (GB), Elevator Action EX/Dexter's Laboratory (GBC), Kuru Kuru Kururin (GBA) December 2023 - Kid Dracula (GB), Shadowgate Classic (GBC), Creatures (GBA) January 2024 - Trax (GB), Bomberman Quest (GBC), Double Dragon Advance (GBA) Mode 7 fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jan 2, 2024 |
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Dec 31, 2021 04:59
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:02 |
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I might put some general Game Boy info here when I have time!Manky posted:Here's the full cheat sheet for GBC/A palettes, credit in the image: Here's the color palette for the original Game Boy. Four glorious shades of green. 
Mode 7 fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Dec 23, 2022 |
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Dec 31, 2021 04:59
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Okay, so, the games for January 2022! James Bond 007 is a great little top-down Action Adventure game hidden away on the Game Boy, with a puzzle solving feel not too dissimilar to something like Link's Awakening. Travel the world as James Bond and solve puzzles, karate chop goons, and take time to play some baccarat in a casino. I had this as a kid and had very fond memories of it besides at least one bullshit maze that I suspect I will groan at the second I get back to it on a replay. I have this on physical cart and may very well play this on the original cart if the battery holds up! A copy of the manual can be found here: https://www.thegameisafootarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/James-Bond-007-Game-Manual.pdf Quarth is a falling block puzzle game combined with a shmup - blocks will drop from the top of the screen, the player shoots little cubes up from their ship to complete these into square or rectangle shapes to clear them from the screen. If blocks cross the threshold at the bottom of the screen, you lose instantly. A copy of the manual can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w5RWv2xscyj-nup0XrWGrtPvAE6J5XoG/view Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company was my wildcard pick for this round because although I'm loosely aware of Hammerin' Harry as a series, I've never actually played any of them. From hot takes that I've dutifully scoured across the internet, this appears to be widely regarded as a good but hard action platformer. There's also some shmup stages thrown in to break things up, because why not. It also has what I think might be some of the worst box art I've ever seen for a Game Boy release! I haven't found a manual online for it yet, but I suspect nobody is going to need it!
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Dec 31, 2021 05:15
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Hell yeah. Thanks for bringing this back! Just finished up my Oracles playthroughs so this is perfect timing.
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Dec 31, 2021 05:19
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This is excellent, very excellent.
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Dec 31, 2021 05:28
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Oh maaaan Gameboy 007! I forgot I had that, I vaguely remember a maze area that you’re probably talking about. Loading it up.
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Dec 31, 2021 05:29
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Yeah, sure, I'll check these out. Hopefully everdrive bugs get squashed on the analogue pocket soon to make switching games easier.
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Dec 31, 2021 06:17
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I remember borrowing James Bond from a friend as a kid, beating it, and loving it, excited to join in
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Dec 31, 2021 06:36
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I'm down. I just so happen to have a copy of James Bond 007. I'll pop that in this weekend. Maybe take a gander for the other two games at a game shop tomorrow. I have an Everdrive and it totally killed my desire to hunt down physical games. But this thread is a pretty good way to reinvigorate that fervor. But if they don't have Hammering Henry or Quarth, I'll use the Everdrive.
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Dec 31, 2021 07:05
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I do like the idea of the three games. It kinda makes it seem like a PS+ games lineup announcement. Maybe some months in, pending how successful this thread is and how mature the Pocket's firmware ends up being, a GBA game can get thrown in as that month's marquee "PS5" title. So to speak.
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Dec 31, 2021 07:13
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This is cool, we should do high scores for whatever games are appropriate to do that for
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Dec 31, 2021 08:08
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I have vague memories of 007 since me and my friends spent many minutes failing to understand Baccarat on the play field.
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Dec 31, 2021 12:07
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I thought for a moment this game had a button for putting up your dukes to no end. Just like gently caress it, maybe it will intimidate someone. Turns out it is blocking which makes more sense. 
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Dec 31, 2021 17:30
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Made it to the third area of James Bond so far. It's not bad! I just finished 3 Zelda games recently so it just feels like I'm doing another trade sequence quest. It took me a while to find the hammer in the first level. I kept seeing the fish show up on different screens and thought I had to manipulate it so the fisherman could catch it or something.
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Dec 31, 2021 18:18
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Bookmarking and will be following this. Will put all three games on my analogue pocket + ever drive later today.
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Dec 31, 2021 20:45
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Went to my game shop this morning. They don't have Hammering Harry, but it's a $100 game so I'll stick with the Everdrive on that one! No Quarth either.
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Dec 31, 2021 20:56
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Joining in here, I've wanted to dig into the GB library lately and this seems like a great excuse. Started 007 and also got to the third area. It's uh, fine. I don't really have much else to say on it so far aside from wondering how much baccarat I need to win to make this dude care about me.
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Dec 31, 2021 23:01
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Quarth is cool and has a good manual. I miss game manuals.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:58
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I've decided to start with Hammerin Harry. So far, I'm enjoying it a lot! There's definitely a lot of "enemy spawns near you and dives at you" - it's important to stay calm and not flail about, you should always have time to deal with attackers but if you swing and miss, you'll get punished for it. The sprites are big and colourful and cute but the slow walk pace and general low enemy speed makes it feel deliberately paced rather than cramped Some tips: You can hold up to raise your hammer above your head, this blocks things like falling debris. If you force an enemy off-screen, they'll just drop back in suddenly from the top of the screen, make sure you don't get hit.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:05
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Living the real retro game experience here as I just lost my in-progress Quarth game due to the batteries in my modded GBC running out! Game seems cool but the early levels are pretty slow.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:43
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I knocked out what's her name in bond after getting the plans. Enjoying janky 007 zelda, but I'm not sure how combat is supposed to work beyond ramming my face into people and mashing punch then using a med kit.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:45
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Now that I have my Analogue Pocket I am definitely in.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:12
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Random mode in Quarth is up my alley. The level clear goals and bonus round stuff was fine but I just like the endless survival stuff more. Any idea what the different ships do? Unless the dick with wings shoots slower it seems like the obvious choice
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Jan 1, 2022 02:25
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The Postman posted:Random mode in Quarth is up my alley. The level clear goals and bonus round stuff was fine but I just like the endless survival stuff more. Any idea what the different ships do? Unless the dick with wings shoots slower it seems like the obvious choice Theyre all the same. So yeah, flying penis is the most popular
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Jan 1, 2022 03:19
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Man playing Quarth reminds me how good we have it these days. You know this was probably $30 in 1990 money which makes this nearly $60 today. Think about all the amazing games you can buy for that. Its an interesting game but ultimately pretty simple really. But hey dick with wings, let's go
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Jan 1, 2022 03:51
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Ineffiable posted:Man playing Quarth reminds me how good we have it these days. You know this was probably $30 in 1990 money which makes this nearly $60 today. Quarth is up there with magical drop in the list of best puzzle games  The multiplayer modes are pretty fun too
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Jan 1, 2022 04:45
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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p3uG3u___hmwTIgOYGEH07EtOZHUuiWO/view?usp=sharing It looks like Hammerin' Harry was only released in Japan and Germany so here's the German manual. Edit: Oh no I didn't look closely enough, this was an NES manual in the Game Boy Section! As penance, have these screenshots of the manual?     
Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 05:08
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Hammerin' Harry is definitely my least favorite of the three. It looks pretty good though and I was surprised to hear voice clips in a Game Boy game. I looked it up and was surprised to find out a decent number of games actually did the same. Can't wait to hear Game Boy Bart say "eat my shorts"
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Jan 1, 2022 05:37
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Can we suggest games? We should do Looney Tunes Alert next!
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Jan 1, 2022 07:00
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We doing color games? Azure dreams is good.
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Jan 1, 2022 07:13
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnB8b9BkXw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KofGlRWkICI Definitely a neat little game, I wonder if it gets more complex.
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Jan 1, 2022 07:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPeJo7eXfJ8
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Jan 1, 2022 08:16
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If we're suggesting games, a good, simple game is Motocross Maniacs.
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Jan 1, 2022 11:15
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Got a bit hung up on the second level of 007 trying to get out to the courtyard.. in my defense I totally picked up on the hint about the light behind the bar but I thought the idea was I'd have to steal it to light up the cave or something, so kind of disregarded it.
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Jan 1, 2022 18:02
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SmiteOfHand posted:Got a bit hung up on the second level of 007 trying to get out to the courtyard.. It took me a long time to figure that out too.
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Jan 1, 2022 18:10
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Hammerin’ Harry would have killed me as a kid, without save states. I think I’m going to finish it, but I’m definitely saving the state every so often. There’s a part where you can farm 1-ups, but I suspect it’s pretty late in the game. the volcano
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Jan 1, 2022 22:43
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Chinook posted:Hammerin’ Harry would have killed me as a kid, without save states. I think I’m going to finish it, but I’m definitely saving the state every so often. There's a level select code I found when I was reading about the game if you want to use that too.
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Jan 1, 2022 22:52
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Hammerin' Harry is hard as balls holy crap.
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Jan 2, 2022 00:19
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AngryRobotsInc posted:Hammerin' Harry is hard as balls holy crap. Hammerin' Harry? More like Hammerin' deez nutz!
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Jan 2, 2022 02:23
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:02 |
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This James bond game is cute. Are there any other good Zelda clones on the system
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Jan 2, 2022 03:27
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