When the Pokémon craze hit the West in 1998, it became clear that it couldn’t be stopped. Two years later, Enix arrived with their own adaptation to the formula: what if you could collect (here called tame) monsters from the Dragon Quest universe? The answer is a black Game Boy Color-enabled cartridge labeled Dragon Warrior Monsters, or Dragon Quest Monsters as known in Japan. Just like the original Pokémon Game Boy games, it took two years to cross the ocean, but when it did, critics lau...| Game Boy Color on Jefklak's Codex
Yet another Sunsoft Looney Tunes-based Game Boy (Color) game? Back in the nineties, when the original Game Boy version of Looney Tunes was released, the label Sunsoft used to mean something. Something promising, something compelling. Something that guaranteed at least a little bit of quality. Sadly, as time passed by, and is the case here, Sunsoft’s steady stream of games started declining in greatness. Speedy Gonzales: Aztec Adventure is not to be mistaken by the 1993 Game Boy title Speedy...| Game Boy Color on Jefklak's Codex
My quest to find a retro handheld Looney Tunes game that doesn’t suck can finally end. Besides the too short Sylvester & Tweety and admirable platformer effort Looney Tunes on the original Game Boy, the Looney Tunes Collector games are actually worth digging into. Yes, that’s right, it’s games—plural. Infogames released two cartridges, one called Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! in June 2000, and another called Looney Tunes: Marvin Strikes Back (or in Europe, Martian Revenge) six months...| Game Boy Color on Jefklak's Codex
Wendy: Every Witch Way - Great but Brief (and Pricey). 2001 was the year of the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube—not the year of the Game Boy Color. Yet, a few developers did push on, including WayForward, who would eventually release the seminal 2D metroidvania-esque platformer Shantae a full year later, well beyond the lifespan of the GBC. Wendy is technically speaking a licensed game, but the license it is based on is not well-known. Even the GBC game itself is probably not well-known, ...| jefklakscodex.com
Why on earth would you want to buy a Sesame Street game that’s clearly aimed towards kids? I can hear you thinking. Because there are surprisingly entertaining and excellent Muppet-alike games out there. Of course I’m talking about The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside—it even contains a DOOM map pack called The Kitchen Of Doom where you as the Swedish chef have to fight off angry vegetables: Elmo in Grouchland is everything Muppets Inside isn’t. It’s not funny, not pleasant to play thr...| Game Boy Color on Jefklak's Codex
Looney Tunes Racing: Not So Daffy After All. Not every Looney game is a Tune—that’s what I learned from playing this 2D Mario Kart arcade racing clone on the Game Boy Color. The fact that it nowaday costs less than €5 should probably raise an alarm bell—if collectors aren’t after it, it usually also means the gameplay isn’t worth chasing after. Good lesson. In my defense: my wife bought this—precisely because of the Looney Tunes text on the box (or cart). They’ve still got it,...| jefklakscodex.com
In 2000, just a year after the release of the black Crazy Castle 3 cart, Kemco put out a fourth Crazy game, this time in a clear cart, forgoing the backwards Game Boy compatibility. You’d think this also signifies a significant gameplay complexity boost. You’d think wrong. Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle 4 is yet another redundant iteration of the original 1989 release. As Bugs’ wooden plaque on the cover aptly states: Yikes! Indeed. The stages morphed into annoyingly long staircases upon st...| Game Boy Color on Jefklak's Codex
Bugs Bunny: Crazy Castle 3 a.k.a Soreyuke!! Kid: Go! Go! Kid?!. The year is 1997—six years have passed since the birth of the ugly bastard called Crazy Castle 2. Will Kemco have learned from their mistakes? Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Wario Land II. Four years after Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Nintendo treats us with another Wario Land Game Boy game, this time flashed onto a neat black color-enhanced cartridge. Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Commander Keen For Game Boy Color. When I saw a Commander Keen cart for sale in last year’s nearby retro game show, I was shocked: how did this early nineties DOS icon make its way to the Game Boy Color? Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Looney Tunes Carrot Crazy: Eh, What's Up Game Boy Color?. In my search for decent Looney Tunes games on the Game Boy (Color) platform, I happen to come across an awful lot of bad games, especially in the year 2000, when Infogames launched their next major Looney Tunes assault called “Games for the next Mil-Looney-Um”, as seen in the following splendid ad: Via Jefklak's Codex| jefklakscodex.com
Sylvester & Tweety: Breakfast on the Run. Licensed games—perhaps especially Looney Tunes games—are known to be mediocre games best left forgotten. For the most part, that statement is correct. But in the case of Sylvester & Tweety (Or Looney Tunes: Twouble! in USA), it could be argued that this isn’t true at all. Judging from the cheap cartridge prices on this one, most people would disagree. Still, it’s perhaps worth it to take a closer look. Should we go on the run or run out to get...| jefklakscodex.com