Introduction
Four games from the dawn of the Game Boy era--Gradius, Castlevania
Adventure, Konami Racing, Probotector--have all been colorized and collected
into a single cartridge for today's gamers, in the first of a series of game compilations by Konami. Oddly enough,
the Konami GB Collection series isn't released in the U.S.A., but is available in Europe and elsewhere.
Gameplay
Gradius - Also known
as Nemesis, this came out in 1990 for the original Game Boy. It's basically a sidescrolling shooter where you guide
a spaceship through level after level of increasing danger from enemy ships and missile turrets. You start with
a simple set of weapons that eventually grows into an impressive arsenal of awesome firepower, and this is possible
through the use of power-ups.
For the occasional enemy ship or unit you destroy, power-up spheres might remain; touching these will activate
any of 6 successive power-ups at your disposal: S for speed, M for missiles, D for double firepower, L for laser
beam, O for Offensive ghost fighter (a phantom ship--doesn't look like one though--that escorts your ship and fires
at the same time you do; you can have 2 of these at the same time); and F for Force field. These power-ups are
clearly indicated in the power-up bar at the bottom of the screen.
You can combine some of these power-ups together to turn your ship into the ultimate killing machine, and there's
also a Mega-Blaster device that you can pick up that annihilates every enemy on screen. But you have to be careful,
as one hit from an opponent not only makes you lose a life, but you lose all your active power-ups as well.
Castlevania Adventure
- Released in 1989, this marks one of the earliest adventures of Simon Belmont as he goes up against the lord of
the undead, Count Dracula. Armed only with a mystic whip, Simon walks and jumps his way into Dracula's castle filled
with evil creatures, striking anything that moves--well, not really. Hitting the lighted candles could result in
bonuses such as healing, extra lives, temporary shields or power-ups.
Konami Racing - A
straightforward racing game using a top-down view, with a wide selection of race courses. You can customize your
car and choose from three racing options: Test Run, a sort of practice run; Spot Entry, where you do a trial run
of three laps then race against other cars in a single race; and Full Entry, same as Spot Entry but is a series
of races.
Probotector - First
released in 1991, this game was popularly known as Contra or Operation C in some countries. In Europe, however,
it was renamed Probotector and also had some minor sprite alterations, where you go up against humanoid robots
instead of humans. The changes are mostly cosmetic though, as the gameplay remains the same--a nonstop shooting
spree through several levels filled with trigger-happy robots and bug-like aliens.
Probotector offers two views: some levels are viewed in a typical sidescrolling fashion where you travel from left
to right, while other levels use the top-down view where you start from the bottom and work your way upwards. Occasional
power-ups are also available, giving you extra firepower for unleashing massive destruction.
Controls, Graphics, Sound
Gradius - Direction
pad to move the ship, A to shoot and B to activate power-ups. You can reverse the A + B buttons in the configuration
screen, which also contains options to turn auto-fire on or off, select the stages and level, and can give yourself
up to 99 lives, a sure reason for high replay value.
Graphics are superb and highly detailed, from the diverse ship designs to the Easter Island-like firing monoliths.
The sheer number of moving sprites alone should cause slowdowns, but I never noticed it. Sound effects are good
and the same goes for the music, which never becomes grating or irritating.
Castlevania Adventure
- You move Simon by using the Left & Right direction pad, climb ropes using Up and duck with Down. A is used
to jump while the B activates the whip. While the controls are okay, the jump option is a bit off, and is frustrating
to use at some points in the game. Also, you can't use your whip while climbing, meaning that you're at the mercy
of anything that tries to attack you while you're on a rope.
Graphics are okay, but a little too bright and colorful for a gloomy vampire's castle grounds in the early stages.
The sprites are detailed enough with one exception: the lead character, who sluggishly moves along and could be
mistaken for a zombie himself. The music is okay, can best be described as "techno-gothic" and sets the
mood just right, but gets repetitive and tiring later on.
Konami Racing - Steering
is done through the control pad, B accelerates and A shifts gears. Controls are responsive enough but a Reverse
control is sorely lacking, as your car tends to occasionally get stuck once you crash into something.
Graphics are dull with bland colors, making this the least visually appealing of the 4 games in this collection.
Sound is so-so, and the music becomes increasingly annoying later on that it will give anyone a migraine if you
listen to it long enough.
Probotector - Very
responsive controls for this one; move using the direction pad, A to do twirling leaps in sidescrolling levels
and B to fire. You can crouch or dive down by pressing Down and can also fire while moving the direction button
for a scatter effect, hitting everything in sight--very satisfying indeed.
Graphics are great; the lead character and other sprites are highly detailed and animated, and lots of them can
fill the screen at the same time, which is pretty impressive for a game released in 1991. Sound is good, while
the pumped-up techno music matches the fast-paced chaos of the game.
Other Comments
My favorite among the 4 games in this cart is Gradius; it might look difficult at first but once you get
the hang of effectively using the power-ups you can cause untold amounts of death and destruction. And the 99 lives
option will make you want to keep playing this game again and again to get to the next level. This replay factor
is also evident in Probotector,
easily the next best game in this collection. There's plenty of frantic action and relentless mayhem in this one
to keep the player involved.
Unfortunately, despite its acclaim in later incarnations on other consoles, Castlevania Adventure is not really that good for me--the
levels are repetitive and the awkward jump controls will make you grit your teeth in frustration. And finally,
Konami Racing is definitely
the least of my favorites here on account of its blandness. Racing games aren't really my cup of tea on the Game
Boy, on account of its controller limitations.
Overall, this is a worthy collection for any Game Boy fanatic--not all are gems, and there's no save game feature
in any of them, but most will keep gamers occupied for a considerable amount of time. It's perfect for long trips
or waiting periods, and you don't even have to switch cartridges to play the games. You get four classic games
for the price of one, and for sheer value alone that can't be beat. |
