Game: A Boy and His Blob: Retro Collection
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle, Platformer
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows), PS4 & Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: Limited Run Games | Ziggurat
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone
Price: US $9.99 | UK £8.50 | EU € 9,99
Release Date: October 17th, 2023
Review code provided with many thanks to Uber Strategist.
Back From the Past
A Boy and His Blob: Retro Collection sees two classic 8-bit titles brought back from the vaults of retro gaming in one neat package to be enjoyed by gamers on modern systems. My first experience with this franchise was playing the Game Boy version way back in the day. This was another title that made its way to me after my older brothers got fed up with the GameBoy, and for the time, I had absolutely no idea how to play this platform puzzler. Furthermore, I really like the AI blob character that followed you around, an uncommon feature at the time. I would revisit the IP several years later on the Wii of all consoles when developer Wayforward remade the game.
I particularly liked this one since it featured a cuddle button, where the boy would hug the blob in one of the most adorable displays of affection I’d seen in gaming. Still gives me the feels today. This remake would be ported to multiple systems, including the Nintendo Switch. Now, you can enjoy the entire series on Switch. While it’s great to see another retro series make its way to modern systems, I’m not sure time has been kind to this one.
Blob to the Rescue
The retro collection features the NES and GameBoy versions of the game, both of which have their own separate stories but similar gameplay. The NES version sees a boy team up with an alien called Blobert, or just Blob, who’s having a little trouble on his home planet, Blobolona. An evil Emperor has taken over, and he needs to be put out of action.
In order to do this, you need to explore a large level, including caverns, and collect treasure before travelling to the planet Blobona to take on the Emperor. In the GameBoy iteration, you are on a quest to save the princess Blobette. Unlike the NES game, here you explore a castle instead. How do you go about saving the day? Well, you feed your blob pal jelly beans, transforming him into various objects in order to solve a variety of puzzles.
Even today, this game has quite the original idea. I only really discovered the story by looking up the description on the eShop. In the original games, you likely discovered the plot by reading the manual, which is sadly absent from this retro collection. Both games present with vintage 8-bit pixel designs. The Game Boy iteration only in that warm monochrome design, which has been made significantly easier to see, unlike struggling to find the correct lighting with the old GameBoy screen. Both games include their original chiptune soundtracks, which I have to say is pretty catchy even today.
Trial
Since this is an old retro game, don’t expect any handholding. When you begin each game, you’re left to figure things out through exploration. You take control of the boy. You can’t jump; you can only feed the blob jelly beans and whistle to get him to return to your side. When you feed the blob a jelly bean, you need to ensure you’re in range, or that small pellet will fall to the floor, and you lose it for good. In fact, having blob stand in the correct position is often quite the challenge when solving puzzles.
Error
If you’re going into the game blind, you’re only given the flavours of the jelly beans and not their purpose. You only figure out their effect on the blob by feeding him one and seeing what happens. You get some vague hints from the flavours; punch means he’ll turn into a hole, cola turns him into a bubble that you can enter to breathe underwater, and coconut literally turns him into a coconut. But many are not as obvious. If you want to go old school, get the notepad out, but you can also head online to get the full list. From there, the game is really about using the beans in the right place to solve puzzles and collect treasure. It can be a frustrating trial-and-error process, depending on your tolerance levels.
For me, using the punch bean to create a hole would either lead to nowhere or a pit of death. The boy will die if hit once by an enemy, which is rare, or falling from a great height, which is how I often perished. If you can put up with this stop-start gameplay, you will find it quite a rewarding experience. And you’ll feel like quite the clever clogs. If you go in blind, it will take you hours to figure out the solution to each game, but once you win, you can easily run through both games in under 30 minutes. It is original, but I don’t feel the formula has held up as well as the remake.
Modern Features
As for modern features, the package feels a touch light. You have save states but, strangely, no rewind feature, which would have been handy for some of the more tricky puzzles for convenience. The collection features the American and Japanese versions of both games, though the Japanese version is presented in the Japanese language only, making it hard to tell what jelly beans you are using.
The only difference between the two seems to be the boy’s sprite, with him appearing much more like a young king with a cool hat in the Japanese version. All games have various graphical filters to use to get a smooth or more retro look. You can also listen to the entire soundtrack if you want to enjoy the game’s groovy chip tune beats whilst you make dinner.
The other handy feature is you can look at the entire map of both games, which does help you get your bearings and even offers hints of the forms blob needs to take to solve some puzzles. It’s all ok but feels a bit minimal. It would have been nice to feature some history on the games, the manuals and even a sheet going through what each jelly bean does.
Conclusion: Good Blob
A Boy and His Blob: Retro Collection is a good collection of two original games from a long past retro era. It’s presented in its original retro form, warts and all, with minimal features which may not work for everyone. For the price of entry, though, this is a very good gaming deal.
For me, I found the best way to enjoy this game is just to dig in, make mistakes and learn from them the old-fashioned way. A bot-like life, I guess. I even got the notepad out to make notes along the way. If you love your retro, this is well worth picking up. If you’re looking for something totally different and can put up with its often frustrating trial-and-error gameplay, this should make for some satisfying gaming sessions.
Final Verdict: I Like it
