Sweet, I'll have to pic this up an some point, been keeping my eye on it for some time. Won't be till next year untill I've gotten through my current games though.
Though, hopefull will pick it up before it dissapears off shop shelves.
By Adam Riley 30.11.2009
15
2009 is the 20th anniversary of A Boy and His Blob, a cute little platform game with a heap of puzzle goodness mixed in for good measure. The original was released on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System and quickly garnered a cult following, one clearly large enough to warrant WayForward Technologies stepping up and teaming with Majesco Entertainment to remake the game for Wii. But has the original game’s charm been successfully transferred across to a new format and has WayForward managed to have the same magic touch it had with Shantae on GBC and Contra 4 on DS?
The world of Blobonia has been attacked by an evil Emperor, leaving the extremely cute Blob protagonist to retreat from its home land and escape to planet Earth in search of help. Interestingly enough, rather than enlisting the aid of the armed forces, Blob ends up befriending none other than a young boy...hence the ‘does what it says on the tin’ title of ‘A Boy and his Blob’! The unlikely duo make one heck of a devastating team, though, with any deficiencies in the boy’s repertoire of moves more than compensated by the range of abilities the blob has up its figurative sleeve. You see this may appear to be a run-of-the-mill platform romp, but in reality what has been crafted is a finely balanced mix of traditional running-and-jumping, with a wide range of clever puzzles.
The titular blob just loves its jellybeans and the boy conveniently has a seemingly endless supply of them, in all sorts of different flavours. Since all the boy can do is slowly trot along, jump short distances and cry out for the blob’s help, it is quite fortunate that each variety of jellybean not only keeps the round, white alien happy, but also has the ability to transform it into useful objects to ensure the boy can progress through the forty main levels on offer. The stages are spread equally across four separate locations, each stunningly hand-drawn and bursting with style and charisma. The game’s charm comes not only from the aesthetically pleasing background setting, but also the main characters themselves, with the little boy voiced by the son of one of the developers, while motion capture is used to mimic the child-like movements exactly.
In terms of how a standard level works, the boy will generally wander along and come across a particular obstacle, with the key to overcoming it being the appropriate use of jellybean / blob ability. At the start of the game it comes down a simple case of turning the blob into a ladder to climb up to platforms above or below that cannot be reached, or making it into a trampoline to bounce upwards to scale even larger heights. However, further down the line it becomes a case of knowing how to use a mixture of manoeuvres to figure out situations - for instance, having to make a hole in the ground so a large monster can drop to your level and charge at the stones blocking your path. Then a trampoline needs to be quickly despatched so the boy can jump over the on-coming beast. The blob can also become an anvil, to weigh switches down or kill beasties, a parachute for gliding down / across large gaps and chasms, or even a small ball that can be thrown through tight gaps or swallowed by some enemies, only then to burst through their stomachs. There are fifteen abilities in total and playing around with the moves on offer in a particular stage is enjoyable in general, but there are normally a few different ways to reach the golden jellybean at the end of a stage (which turns blob into an exit door), which only adds to the fun factor.
Many developers try their hardest to strike a decent balance between making their game appeal to a wider audience, whilst not completely alienating that dedicated core base of gamers that are likely to come back for future releases no matter what. Sadly, though, achieving such an equilibrium state is easier said than done, and more often than not, games will heavily slew one way or the other. WayForward, however, has done an absolutely superb job of hitting the target in this respect. Working through the standard courses is not exactly an overwhelming challenge, thanks to the numerous check-points across a stage and the fact that there are infinite lives for the boy. However, there is added incentive for veteran gamers to take the time to slowly scour the surroundings to find the three hidden treasure chests per level. That incentive? Well, for each three collected, a special challenge stage opens up, some of which can be agonisingly tough. Then, if that was not enough, as a reward for being so painstakingly diligent, knuckling down and grinding through, there is a great selection of extras, such as concept art and development video clips. It is very difficult to find any flaws with A Boy and his Blob. Sure, it would have been nice to have some IR and motion controls in places (such as pointer control for throwing beans, or tilting the Wii remote whilst on its side when gliding with the parachute), but the omission of such features hardly warrants any major negativity toward the game. To overlook this would be an extremely foolhardy act!
WayForward has pulled off what Good Feel was unable to with Wario Land: The Shake Dimension - they've crafted a 2D platform title that looks stunning, keeps the gamer hooked throughout thanks to its perfectly executed gameplay and clever mix of puzzles, as well as offering a wealth of extras to unlock along the way. A Boy and His Blob is in the upper echelon of Wii titles in terms of quality and is a must buy for anyone looking for a fantastic gaming experience. An unforgettable experience.
9/10
9/10
(7 Votes)
Sweet, I'll have to pic this up an some point, been keeping my eye on it for some time. Won't be till next year untill I've gotten through my current games though.
Though, hopefull will pick it up before it dissapears off shop shelves.
I've had an eye on this title for a while, the graphics are really gorgeous indeed.
However, I wasn't sure that this would be worth the full price as a Wii game. After reading this review though I do have to admit I found WarioLand worth the price (moreso than NSMBW even...)
So my interest in this game just shot up from "Intriguing" to "I'll probably get this soon!!". Great review guys!
It's a shame this probably won't sell too well. It's probably better than New Super Mario Bros Wii. It certainly looks better, to me.
SuperLink said:
...I do have to admit I found WarioLand worth the price...
(By the way Marzy, Echoes and Stulaw, Jorge will email you at some point soon about helping with the news )
This came out of nowhere for me, but I just looked at the trailer and another gameplay vid and yes it does look great!
One to remember. *programs memory*
I wish this was episodic/wiiware.
I just have too many full games I haven't started yet to contemplate buying another.
this is a nice surprise to me... I might check it out later
I'm glad to see people are seriously considering picking this up after reading this review! The game definitely needs more sales
It really is a brilliant game. for me it's up there with the charm of Mario Galaxy.
I certainly hope that it sells well enough to warrant a sequel. From the answers to an interview I just did with WayForward, it's clear that they want to do another game featuring Blobette...It all depends on how well this one does first, though.
I was surprised to see two copies of this in GAME in Warrington last week, yet no copies of Muramasa. At least it's being stocked at the big retailers then!
Have any C3'ers picked it up yet?
jesusraz said:
I was surprised to see two copies of this in GAME in Warrington last week, yet no copies of Muramasa. At least it's being stocked at the big retailers then!
Have any C3'ers picked it up yet?
SuperLink said:
I think GAME chose to not stock Muramasa because it was a new niche IP. HMV and other indie shops have been selling Muramasa though. I got it in HMV quite easily.
I might be getting it for my birthday, so I'll let you know how I find it if I do
Well I did get it for my birthday afterall as some of you may know. I've been stuck on Muramasa but today I thought I'd take a break from fast paced katana action and play some of this.
So far it's a little slow paced, but it's incredibly charming and has great music and graphics. Some of the puzzles have had me grinning already. Thanks for the recommendation C3.
Oh yeah, very slow-paced. I liked how there was no major pressure. I think if there had been pressure, it may well have turned into quite a frustrating experience overall.
I'm sad to see it didn't set the charts on fire, but at least the people who have given it a go are enjoying it. Glad you're pleased with the recommendation
Anyone else decided to pick this up yet?
Oh God this is amazing.