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Review  Game and Watch Gallery
- By Kevlar Gorilla
Long before GameBoy, SNES, or even the old 8-bit NES, Nintendo's chief moneymakers were little LCD handheld units called Game & Watches. These games featured flawless construction (far superior to the plastic crap Tiger passes off today) and gloriously simple game play. Nintendo's Game & Watch Gallery is a game created with a singular purpose: to pay homage to Nintendo's LCD heritage. This is accoplished superbly.
Gameplay:
Included in the Gallery are four G&W classics: Manhole, Fire, Octopus, and Oil Panic. In Octopus you are a diver who must retrieve treasure while dodging the arms of an irritable octopus. In Fire you must rescue the victims of a skyscraper fire by using a net to bounce them into a waiting ambulance. In Manhole you must use a manhole lid to prevent pedestrians from falling into four open manholes. And lastly, in Oil Panic, a multi-screen game, you are a gas station attendant who must collect drops of oil as they drip from the ceiling and then pass them to your partner waiting outside. Nintendo has included not only a perfect translation of each of these games ("Classic Mode"), but also updated versions of each game ("Modern Mode") which feature cameos by the Nintendo gang (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong Jr., Bowser, Toad, and Princess Toadstool) and enhanced graphics, control, and play options. For example, in the updated version of "Octopus," the octopus' arms are more mobile, you slow down as you try to haul more treasure, and you can fend off the octopus by throwing treasure at it. Think of it as Digital vs. Analog.
Also, the interupt save feature alows you to pause any game, turn off the machine, and continue play any time you wish. Very handy indeed.
Aesthetics:
Nintendo has done a beautiful job of providing faithful visual translations of the LCD originals in the Classic games. I was more impressed, though, with the way in which the Modern versions of the games added visual pizzazz while effectively preserving the original feel. There are dozens of nifty visual touches throughout the game, from Mario furiously playing his Game Boy on the title screen, to the bouncing, flipping, happy menu items, to the tears the octopus sheds when you whap the poor fella with your bag of loot.
Sound:
The music is very well picked for the sort of mayhem you must endure. It slows and speeds up, depending on your situation and greatly adds to the mood of urgency to the game. However, all of the classic versions of the games only exist in beep-land. So, people around you will more than often hear: “Beep-Beep... Beep-Beeep-Beeeep... Beeeeeep. Damn!” The curse of course coming from you, not the game.
Control:
While you are choosing what modes to play the games on, a simple diagram is shown demonstrating what button does what.
Manhole:
D-pad moves, A moves diagonal
Fire:
D-pad moves, B moves left, A moves right
Oil Panic:
D-pad moves, A spins(only in modern)
Octopus:
D-padmoves, A moves forward , B throws your gold (modern only)
The controls are tight. In Manhole, it is plausible to continue forever, just keep to the rhythm and don't get sweaty.
Multiplayer:
No multiplay here, but if there were to be a few Game and Watch games on the GBA, I'm sure some single-pak play will be more than satisfactory.
OVERALL:
Whether you adore Game & Watches or could care less, Game & Watch Gallery is mindless button mashing at its best. It's up there with Tetris and Dr. Mario on my list of "twitch" games. Moreover, reverence for the original G&W line is evident in this pak, which fans will appreciate. Also, Game and Watch 2 and 3 have already been released.
The Lowdown on  Game and Watch Gallery
| Aesthetics: Above Average |
Control: Very Good |
| Gameplay: Above Average |
Multiplayer: |
| Sound: Above Average |
Innovation: 5/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 4/6 |
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Overall: Above Average!
"A Quality Game"
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This game is:
Above Average
The box art
My... he is enjoying himself...
This action in RED HOT! (ha!)
A sample of classic classiness
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Beep-Beep... Beep-Beeep-Beeeep... Beeeeeep. Damn! |
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