Introduction
The third volume of the Konami Collection series once again compiles four Game Boy games from the early 1990's--Pop 'n Twinbee, Mystical Ninja, Bikers,
and Guttang Gottong--all
colorized and available in a single cartridge. The Konami GB Collection series isn't released in the U.S.A., but
is available in Europe and elsewhere.
Gameplay
Pop 'n Twinbee - Considered
as one of the classic shooters for the SNES system, Pop 'n Twinbee is a cartoony sidescrolling shooter viewed from
an overhead perspective. Twinbee is the mechanoid spacecraft that many will remember in Parodius, but actually
is the star of many Japanese Twinbee games, along with sidekick ship Winbee.
Gameplay can be described as very similar to Parodius but viewed from the top--you guide Twinbee through scrolling
levels, as wave after wave of various flying and ground-based enemies try to shoot you down, leading to a Boss
at the end.
Fortunately, Twinbee's basic weapons can be upgraded by shooting clouds, which in turn releases bells. Successive
shooting of these bells will change it into a different color that activates special power-ups, from three-way
firing to escort ships and force fields.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
- Now this was a surprise; I expected this to be the same Mystical Ninja game previously reviewed here at EAGB--while
it's still an action-adventure, the plot is completely different. The story involves Goemon receiving a letter
that his friend Ebisumaru is being held in the town of Hizen, so off he goes to rescue him. Along the way he'll
also be involved in numerous side-quests by conversing with the various townspeople.
The various towns that Goemon travels through are dangerous, filled with bandits and shady characters--merely bumping
into them will reduce Goemon's hit points, but Goemon can beat them up, earning money to buy armor and food to
replenish his health.
Goemon can also find power-ups to boost his speed and power, and can stay at Inns for the night to recharge. There
is no battery save, but a password consisting of 4 food icons will be given to you each time you safely arrive
in the next town.
Bikers - Released
in 1989 as Motocross Maniacs, this is a sidescrolling motorbike racing game. You either race solo or versus
a computer-controlled opponent, and you can choose from 8 courses and three modes of difficulty. The courses feature
ramps, loops and different terrain like gravel or sand, with power-ups scattered throughout that can boost your
speed.
Guttang Gottong -
I actually remember this game as an old arcade coin-op, along with another very similar game called Loco-Motion.
Resembling a cross between a sliding puzzle and another game called Pipe Dream, your objective here is to
guide a slowly-moving train through the stations located on the outside of a movable track grid. Each section of
the track can be moved by sliding the tiles around, including the tile where the train is located.
You lose a life if your train hits a dead end, or collides with another train on the track, so extra care must
be done by ensuring the train's route is clear as possible with no obstacles. Once you've passed through all the
stations then you proceed to the next level, with a bigger grid, which means more stations and other trains.
Controls, Graphics, Sound
Pop 'n Twinbee
- You use the D-pad to move the ship, and either button B to shoot or A to drop bombs. You can reverse the button
control in the Setup screen, increase the trigger speed, and select the stage to start.
Graphics are basically a stripped-down version of the more delightful SNES port, and while it's nice and cartoony,
the colors tend to make Twinbee hard to spot and disappear in the background, particularly in some levels. Sound
is good, along with the music, which changes accordingly when you get a power-up.
Mystical Ninja - Goemon
moves with the direction pad, button A makes him jump and B activates his punch or kick while the Select button
shows you his items. In later levels there are portions similar to platform games where you're required to make
hops across small islands, and control here was somewhat difficult.
Graphics are done super-deformed style--tiny characters with big heads, and the towns are nicely colored and not
too overwhelming. Sound is good, and the appropriate Japanese music is great, which really sets the tone of the
game.
Bikers - Movement
is limited with the d-pad, which involves only going right or up most of the time. The A button is used to accelerate
while the B button activates the power-ups. I found controlling your racer difficult, and ended up falling most
of the time.
Graphics are a bit bland--your racer is tiny and the courses look dull and uninspired. The sound is okay enough
but the music comes straight from the 80's and can get rather annoying later on.
Guttang Gottong -
Fairly simple controls are used here: the D-pad to slide the tiles and Button A to speed up the train when necessary.
Graphics are plain enough with muted colors, and the game's sound and music is typical for early arcade games,
with a rather "railroady" feel.
Other Comments
Gamers with a fondness for nostalgia and retro-gaming will enjoy the Game
Boy port of Pop 'n Twinbee;
it's a good version that gets a bit challenging later on during the higher levels. Those who prefer something longer
will like Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon; sure, it's no Zelda DX but has an Oriental charm that it can call its own.
Despite its strange-sounding title, Guttang Gottong isn't at all bad; it provides a nice change of pace from the other games on the cart--the
difficulty of the puzzles can be downright frustrating, but I enjoyed solving them. Finally, Bikers is my least favorite game in this
collection; it's boring, repetitive and the courses are too long to sustain any interest.
This 3rd Volume of the Konami GB Collection series is a mixed bag, with three good but not outstanding games and
one dud. Like the two previous collections, there's enough playability here for short gaming times or to take along
on long trips, and getting four out-of-print, colorized games in one cart is a good buy. |
