Game Boy Players League - October 2018

Hello and welcome to another thrilling month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s October so let’s grab our crucifixes and bottles of holy water and take on our next challenge and for this month we’ll be battling the undead in Castlevania: The Adventure.

In this horrifically tricky Konami classic you’ll need to take the role of infamous vampire killer Christopher Belmont as he sets off to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. 

The game’s four stages are teeming with undead horrors, and devilish traps that are hell bent on protecting the Prince of Darkness. Armed only with a whip you’ll have to face your fears head on to have any hope of reaching Dracula, so good luck!

Scoring
Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game.

Bonus Points
1 point will be awarded to first player to complete the game.
1 point will be awarded to any player who manages to achieve a score of 20,000 points or over.
1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who posts the highest score.

How to Enter
To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.
To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game
.
That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in our September, Operation C/Probotector challenge! Despite a good effort from myself, An Vermieren and Jay Loco the game went unbeaten. An posted the highest score of the month (113200) and so picks up the relevant bonus point.
If you didn't get around to entering then fear not as you'll still be able to get some points retrospectively. If you submit a ‘Probotector/Operation C’, ‘Double Dragon’, ‘Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs’ Big Break’, ‘Batman’, ‘F1 Race’, ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

There'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

Game Boy Players League - September 2018

Hello and welcome to another exciting month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s September so let’s lock and load and take on our next challenge and for this month we’ll be running and gunning in Operation C (or Probotector as it’s known in Europe).
In this action packed Konami classic you’ll need to take the role of a lone soldier who must single handedly gun down an entire enemy force. 

The game’s five stages are filled to the brim with enemy soldiers, vehicles, turrets and bosses that all need to be taken out. Fortunately there is a near endless array of weapon upgrades scattered around each stage to make the job easier. One hit from an enemy bullet however will cost you a life so be careful and good luck!

Scoring
Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game.

Bonus Points
1 point will be awarded to first player to complete the game.

1 point will be awarded to any player who manages to achieve a score of 100,000 points or over.

1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who posts the highest score.

How to Enter
To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.
To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game.

That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

Also a big thank you to everyone who participated in our August, Double Dragon challenge! Jay Loco managed to beat everyone to the punch by completing the game first and so picks up the relevant bonus point. In the end my own high score of 61970 went unchallenged and so I take the final point. I guess those 25 years of practice finally paid off!

If you didn't get around to entering then fear not as you'll still be able to get some points retrospectively. If you submit a ‘Double Dragon’, ‘Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs’ Big Break’, ‘Batman’, ‘F1 Race’, ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

There'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

Hello and welcome to another electrifying month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s July so let’s enjoy the sunshine and take on our next challenge and for this month we’ll be trying to hit the big time in Tiny Toons Adventures: Babs’ Big Break.

In this classic Konami platformer you’ll need to take the role of Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck and Hamton J. Pig as they try and prevent Montana Max from thwarting Babs Bunny’s dream of becoming a star. 

The game’s four stages are filled collectables and mini-games and a few special helpers that must be found to progress. Don’t let the cute characters fool you though as this is a tricky title that requires precise platforming and fast reflexes and with only two continues to fall back on you’ll need to give it your all to reach the final boss so good luck!

Scoring
Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game.

Bonus Points
1 point will be awarded to first player to complete the game.

1 point will be awarded to any player who manages to buy the theatre from Montana Max for 500 gems. 

1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who finishes the game with the highest score.

How to Enter
To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.
To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game.
That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

Also a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our June challenge! Batman proved to be a tough challenge with a huge difficulty spike at the end and a tough final boss fight.  Nevertheless An Vermeiren and Michael Evans-Taylor IV rose to the challenge with both managing to finish the tricky title. Michael also picks up the bonus point for being the first to finish and An picks up the bonus point for posting the highest score and they each picked up a bonus point for getting to stage 2 with the fewest points so very well done to them both! 

If you didn't get around to entering then fear not as you'll still be able to get some points retrospectively. If you submit a ‘Batman’, ‘F1 Race’, ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

They'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

Game Boy Players League - June 2018

Hello and welcome to another exhilarating month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s June and that means it’s time for us to don our capes and take on another challenge and for this month we’ll be dispensing vigilante justice in Sunsoft’s Batman.

In this excellent action-platformer you’ll need to fight your way through hordes of the henchman before finally taking on Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker!

As the caped crusader you’ll need to traverse the treacherous streets, gothic cathedrals, toxic factories and even the polluted skies above Gotham City before reaching the final showdown.

Along the way you’ll need to find weapon upgrades and other useful items to help you survive the crime ridden city. Even with infinite continues on offer this is a tricky title that requires a heroic effort to beat so good luck!

Scoring

Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game.

Bonus Points

1 point will be awarded to first player to complete the game.

1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who reaches the Joker with the highest score. (Pause the game during the boss fight as I don't believe the game shows the final score after the credits).

Due to Batman’s reluctance to kill criminals in the comics, 1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who manages to reach the second stage (2-1) with the lowest score (without using a continue).

How to Enter

To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.

To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game.

That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

P.S A huge thank you to everyone who participated in our May challenge! F1 Race proved just a tough in 2018 as it was when it released 28 years ago defeating many good players.  A big congratulations to Scotty Magoo though who takes a clean sweep of bonus points for being the first finish the game and for completing the first four tracks in the fewest number of attempts. Beating Portugal on the first attempt is no mean feat so very well done! 

If you didn't get around to entering then fear not as you'll still be able to get some points retrospectively. If you submit a ‘F1 Race’, ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

They'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

How to Beat: F1 Race (Game Boy)

F1 Race, released in 1990 in Japan and then the following year in Europe and North America, has bested many a good player over the years due to its tricky course layouts and brutal A.I. opponents. In this guide I'm going to give you the tools you need to fight your way to the front of the pack.

Being a skill based game there’s no easy answers or shortcuts on offer here but I’ve broken down what I think are the essential skills needed to finish each of the 9 courses in first place. 

So without further ado here are some essential tips to help you beat the game.


Controls

Up - Hold to Boost
Left/Right – Steer
A - Accelerate
B - Brake

Pick the Right Car for the Right Track

Before each course you are given a choice to race as one of two cars, simply labelled as Type A and Type B. The Type A car has a natural top speed of 280km/h and a boost speed of 360km/h, while the Type B car has a top speed of 320km/h and a boost speed of 350km/h. Simply put the Type A car is slightly faster when boosting but is significantly slower when not. 

On paper it might seem wise to always go with Type B as it seems to have the better stats overall but in reality this isn’t always the case. Firstly Type A’s slower top speed makes it possible to take on most bends without braking whereas the Type B car may need to slow down mid corner to avoid drifting off the track. Secondly each car has a unique fuel capacity. This is the stat measured in litres and it denotes how long the car can boost for in each course before running empty and it varies from course to course. In most instances the Type A car has the larger capacity of the two but there a couple of exceptions, namely Portugal and India. 

To get to the point, the right car varies from track to track and probably to a small extent from person to person. Generally speaking though I find Type A to be the better of the two in most of the game's 9 courses. Boosting is hugely important in this game and in most cases Type A boosts faster and for longer making it the superior choice in tracks where there are several long straights. This makes it perfect for Australia, Canada, USA, Brazil, USSR, India and Egypt. 

The two tracks where I find Type B to be the significantly better option is in Portugal and Japan. In Japan the curvy nature of the track makes the Type B’s top speed come into it’s own even if it does mean having to wrestle the steering wheel to keep the car on the track. Type A’s better boost speed and capacity is nigh on impossible to capitalise on in the turns and so ends up being the slower option as a result. In Portugal the Type A car’s smaller boost capacity makes winning pretty much unfeasible as you will likely run out of fuel long before the end of the race. 

Boost Wherever and Whenever You Can

I can’t emphasise this one enough, if your wheels are pointing forward then you should be boosting and if you end the race with more than a quarter of your fuel left then you haven’t been boosting anywhere near enough. This on the face of may seem pretty straightforward but there are also some minor things you can do to improve your efficiency that will make a huge difference in the race. 

Firstly learn to start boosting at the end of the turns rather than at the beginning of the straights. This might sound like a trivial thing and it is quite subtle but try it out you’ll see how much quicker you catch up to cars in front. To do this look ahead at the track layout of the turn and wait until you see the bend beginning to straighten out, as soon as you see this press up to boost and you'll find the car will stay planted to the track even though the angle makes it looks like it’s still turning. The other cars are generally much slower off the mark and so making them vulnerable on the start of the straights. It goes without saying of course that you should keep boosting until the very end of the straights only stopping when you’re ready to turn in. 

Generally speaking boosting in the middle of a turn is a quick way to send the car crashing into a billboard but that doesn’t mean that you should only be looking to boost on the straights. In most tracks you can find short spaces between corners that give you an opportunity fire a short burst and gain vital ground on the cars in front. Make sure to find and exploit these as it can make the difference between success and failure. 

Get Through Chicanes Without Crashing

The chicanes are the tight, double right hand bends that first appear in the USA course and are most prevalent in the Portugal course. They are by far the biggest hurdle to overcome in the game and though they may seem impossible to deal with when you first encounter them but they can, with practice, be cleared consistently. It took me a long time before I could deal with them comfortably but I will do my best to give you an insight into how to tackle these hellish turns.

The first thing to is to know when a chicane is coming so be sure to keep an eye on the map of each course and get ready when you know one is approaching. 

I approach the corner at top speed and from the outside line. I then throw the car hard into the corner trying to hit the apex, I immediately tap the brake and let go of the accelerator and throw the car in the opposite direction. Once the car is alongside the final billboard of the turn I hit the accelerator along with the boost.

This all happens in a very short space of time so it’s difficult to convey everything in fine detail but the key points to take away are to enter the turn fast, turn in hard, brake quickly and stop accelerating, turn the opposite direction hard whilst coasting, accelerate and boost out of the turn.  As long as you make sure to slow down between the first and last billboard you should be able to make the turn without crashing and once you get that down you are well on your way to beating the game. 

Avoid Getting Stuck Behind Traffic

In an ideal world you’d be hitting the apex of every corner and boosting down the middle of every straight but in F1 Race there are 9 other cars on the track and their sole purpose is to get in your way. As you’ll be starting from the back of the grid each time you’re going to need to deal with each of the cars as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to make your way to the front. 

The A.I. cars will hog the inside line on corners so you’ll often find the only way to overtake on a bend is on the outside. It’s rarely worth jostling for position on the track as collisions slow you down and rarely end up in your favour so it's always best to pick the path of least resistance even if it means having to take a slower line. 

Occasionally this means backing off entirely, perhaps in a tricky turn, and waiting for straight to boost past and take the place. 

Of course if you do find yourself unavoidably trading paint with another car then a subtle push into the nearest billboard can be an effective way of getting past quickly, but you didn’t hear that from me. 

The Single Most Important Thing

Don’t give up! Games from the eighties and nineties were designed to keep the player entertained for a decent length of time and with limitations in cartridge memory size the only real way to achieve this was by making them as tough as nails. Of course this can often make them frustrating but it’s also what makes them so great and memorable. F1 Race is a perfect example of this as it forces the player to improve through a tough but fair challenge and overcoming it feels like a huge accomplishment. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, F1 Race won’t be completed on your first try but with unlimited continues and battery save you just need to stick with it and I guarantee that you’ll get there in the end! Good Luck!

How to Beat: The Amazing Spider-Man (Game Boy)

Longplay video with walkthrough commentary.

Game Boy Players League - May 2018

Hello and welcome to another thrilling month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s May and that means it’s time for us to launch ourselves into another challenge and for this month we’ll be putting the pedal to the metal in Nintendo’s F1 Race.

In this classic 8-Bit racer you’ll need to master the layouts of each of the nine international racing circuits to become the F1 Champion!

You’ll need finish in first place in each races to progress and as you’ll be starting from the back of the field that won’t be easy. You’ll need to pick the right car for the track and learn how to make the most of your turbo jets to have any hope of leaving your opponents behind. Tight corners and tricky chicanes will push the car and your driving skills to their limit too so good luck!

Scoring

Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game.

Bonus Points

1 point will be awarded to first player to complete the game.

1 point will be awarded to any player who manages to complete *each* of the first 4 stages in less than 10 attempts. (Press select on circuit map screen to see previous race results).

1 point will be awarded at the end of the month to the player who was able to complete the first 4 stages in the fewest attempts. (X counts as 10).

How to Enter

To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post or email to timelessgaminguk@gmail.com) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.

To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game. Full list of rules can be found here.

That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

P.S: If you didn't get around to entering last month then fear not as you'll still be able to get some points retrospectively. If you submit a ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

They'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

Game Boy Players League - April 2018

Hello and welcome to another exciting month in the Game Boy Players League!

It’s April and that means it’s time for us to foolishly throw ourselves into another challenge and for this month we’ll be sucking it up in HAL Laboratory’s franchise spawning ‘Kirby’s Dream Land’.

Under the cover of darkness, King Dedede and his minions have stolen all of the food and stars in Dream Land and so it’s up to Kirby to get them back.

In his debut game the loveable pink hero must run, jump, float and suck his way through the game’s five stages, defeating minions and bosses along the way before finally taking on the gluttonous King Dedede.

Scoring
Players will receive 1 point for playing the game with an additional 2 points on offer for anyone who manages to finish the game by beating the final boss.

Bonus Points
1 point will be awarded to any player who manages to complete the game’s EXTRA mode which is unlocked after completing the main game. (Take a picture of the final screen)

1 point will be awarded to the first player to complete the game’s EXTRA mode.

At the end of the month 1 point will be awarded to the player who posted the highest score in EXTRA mode. The score should be taken on the final stage just *before* entering King Dedede’s room.

How to Enter
To enter simply post a photo (as a reply to this post) clearly showing your in game achievement along with a hand written note containing your name and the current month and year.
To ensure fair play all entries should be made using a genuine cartridge of the game (from any region) played on a genuine Game Boy (any model). Cheat codes may not be used and level select passwords should only be used once the player has earned them in game.

That’s all there is to it so stretch your thumbs, charge your batteries and game on! Good luck!

P.S: If you submit a 'The Amazing Spider-Man' or 'Wario Blast' entry from now on you'll receive 1 point for playing the game and 1 extra point if you manage to complete it.

They'll be some great prizes for the top players at the end of the year so every point counts!

A Tale of Two Game Boys - A Restoration and Modding Project Log - Part #3

Fresh off of my successful restoration project I was feeling confident and ready to take on my first ever Game Boy mod. I began by watching a few video tutorials and found myself wincing a little when it came to certain stages of the backlighting process. There would be no turning back after this, the mod would either be successful or the Game Boy would be killed in the process. Nevertheless I was determined to see it though and so undeterred I started shopping for parts.

A Tale of Two Game Boys - A Restoration and Modding Project Log - Part #2

My goal was clear in my mind and I was totally focused on achieving it. I knew nothing else would distract me over the next few days and so my mission to restore a broken Game Boy to its former glory and all out mod another was ready to begin...

A Tale of Two Game Boys - A Restoration and Modding Project Log - Part #1

The Game Boy modding scene has always been something that’s intrigued and concerned me in equal parts. Whilst I love the creative and colourful designs that new custom buttons, shells and backlights can provide, I can’t help but feel that with each mod a small piece of gaming history is forever lost. Yes, I know there are likely millions upon millions of unaltered Game Boys out there in garages and attics, and I know that the number of people who still see value in them is fairly small in the grand scheme of things. However I also know that over the years many others will have ended up in landfill, never to be seen again. More to the point; Nintendo aren’t making any more of them. Whatever we have now is all there will ever be, and that number can only ever get smaller. 

But does it really matter? Should we be preserving and restoring Game Boys to keep them as original as possible ‘warts and all’, or should we embrace the new ways of keeping our outdated handhelds relevant in this age of smart phones and tablets? To find out once and for all where I truly stand on the matter I decided I would take the plunge and try my hand at both restoring and modding an original dot-matrix Game Boy.

Quest for Camelot - Game Boy Color - Review

In 1998 Warner Brothers released their feature-length animation ‘Quest for Camelot’. The film set in Arthurian England, was reportedly plagued with internal conflicts during its production and was met with widely negative reviews upon its release. The troubled film failed to make a splash in the box office too going on to lose a whopping 40 million dollars for the studio. I guess it turned out to be less of a Quest for Camelot and more of a Quest to lose-a-lot then? (Sorry.) Despite this, later that year a video game adaptation was released for the Game Boy Color courtesy of French developer, Titus (yes, the ‘oh, no, not Titus,’ Titus). 

Alien Vs Predator: The Last of his Clan - Game Boy - Review

It seems strange looking back now but in the early nineties it wasn’t uncommon for 18 certificate films to be blatantly marketed at children. As long as it had a cool sci-fi setting or a badass looking monster then it was considered fair game to turn into a toy line, comic series, video game and maybe even a spin-off cartoon. 

Oddworld Adventures II - Game Boy Color - Review

Recently I reviewed Oddworld Adventures for the Game Boy, and as a big fan of the Oddworld series I was left fairly underwhelmed.  Whilst I enjoyed the gameplay and puzzles I found the graphics, and longevity to be somewhat lacking. The Game Boy port of Abe’s Oddysee had been scaled back to one small section of the original game, and as a result I was left with a feeling that it could have been so much more. Thankfully, Abe’s adventures on the Game Boy didn’t end there and so now it’s time for me to turn my attention to the game’s sequel; Oddworld Adventures II. 

Don't want to mod your Game Boy/Pocket/Color/Advance? Here's how I made an external light that actually works!

Nintendo's Game Boy line is something very close to my heart. Over the course of my life, I've owned and enjoyed every iteration of the plucky handheld, from DMG to Color to Micro, and everything inbetween. As anyone who grew up with the earlier versions of the Game Boy will atest to however, the complete lack of an internal light was always, to put it politely, something of a hindrance. Various third-party companies tried to step in with numerous solutions, and these ranged from the bulky, battery-powered add-ons produced for the DMG to the small, flexible worm-lights that everyone with a Game Boy Color seemed to own.They all had one thing on common though; none of them really worked. Whether it was due to the light being, so small and focused that it merely illuminated one tenth of the screen, or because the light was so dim that it could give Paris Hilton a run for her money. The struggle for 90's kids was real.

Oddworld Adventures - Game Boy - Review

I’ll never forget my first experience with an Oddworld game. Soon after the release of Abe’s Oddysee in 1997, I found myself sat, huddled around an old PC monitor with a friend as we watched the opening cut-scene, open-mouthed. FMV cutscenes in video games were still fairly new at the time (at least to a console gamer like myself) and I was completely transfixed by the richly, detailed world and cinematic quality storytelling. 

Legend of the River King – Game Boy Color – Review

In the late nineties the world was gripped with Pokemon fever. The game had already found huge success in its native Japan with the release Pocket Monsters Green & Red, before taking the rest of the world by storm with the release of Pokemon Red and Blue. Those of us in the UK however had to wait until 1999 before we could get our hands on the games but by then we had already been initiated from afar thanks to increasingly tantalising reports from the gaming mags of the time. Game Freak’s light hearted JRPG had well and truly struck a chord with younger gamers and its fiendishly addictive premise of catching, trading and battling the titular creatures became an obsession for school-kids everywhere. Of course it didn’t take long for other developers to begin frantically trying to tap into the craze by creating their own rival games.

Double Dragon - Game Boy - Review

Aah, Double Dragon for the Game Boy. It was one of the first games I ever owned and I guess that means I’ve been enjoying it for over a quarter of century now. In all those years though, I could never beat it. In fact I could never even make it past the third stage. Still that didn’t stop me enjoying it the hell out of it, and over the years I must have played those first three missions a hundred times. 

So where to begin with this iconic game?

Wizards & Warriors X - Fortress of Fear - Game Boy - Review

Fortress of Fear was released for the original Game Boy back in 1990 and was the first and only handheld game in the somewhat obscure Wizards & Warriors series. Though published by Acclaim, the series was actually developed by Rare Ltd. The same Rare who would go on to become one of the most revered developers in the industry, with their catalogue of critically and commercially successful releases throughout the nineties and early 2000’s, before being bought out and subsequently ruined by Microsoft.