Genre: Mini-Games
Platform: Game Boy Color
I had my eye on this title for a while,
deciding whether to get it or not. I finally decided to get it. Now, I
never
played the previous Game & Watch
Galleries, or even the original Game & Watch Games. However, like Game
& Watch Gallery 1 and 2, they took the original Game & Watch games
and recreated them in full color and also made them a lot more enjoyable.
This games includes both the Classic (original) version and the modern
(revamped, new) version of the games included, except for the secret games,
which only come in Classic. There are a bunch of mini-games in this, and
there is both an Easy and a Hard mode in both Modern and Classic. For every
200 points on your highest score in one of the difficulty levels in one
of the modes, you'll get a star. You can get a maximum of five stars per
mode (that translates to twenty per game). When you get enough stars, you
can unlock the secret games and also some information on other Game &
Watch games.
0-5 stars. What else?
Graphics: ** 1/2
Classic graphics? Some of the worst I've ever seen on a Game Boy title. The Modern ones are an improvement, but I think they could've done a better job. Of course, graphics don't mean everything, but they could have been better.
Sound and Music: ***
A lot of the Modern music was good, such as the Mario Bros music. However, there was no music in Classic whatsoever, just a bunch of beeping noises. Sure, I know that's the way it was supposed to be, but that doesn't necessarily make it good.
Difficulty: ****
The difficulty of the Classic modes are interesting, especially because they go so much slower than Modern. Sometimes they're so hard they'll be frustrating, but many are enjoyable. However, it is VERY difficult to accumulate stars after a certain point.
Controls: *** 1/2
The controls vary so much on each game
that it is difficult to give it a general score, but I believe this is
probably the average of it. Just remember
not to take this score extremely seriously. Most of the games have controls
that are not very difficult, but some are tough to control.
Concept: ****
Well, maybe it's been done before, but
I think it's cool that they're bringing back old titles and making a new,
improved version of them. That makes
it so much different from games like the Super Mario Advance series. True,
the Moderns are very similar to Classic in many cases, but I still count
them as new.
Replayability: ***
Strangely enough, this game doesn't seem to have as much replayability as you might think. Once I got 1000 points on a level, I didn't do it again because I wouldn't get any more stars from it. Yes, you can try to top your score, but it's not so much to keep you going very long after you've accomplished a lot.
Secrets: *
The only real secrets are the secret levels, and they're only available in Classic. Also, it's annoying to have to save up stars so long to get them. A lot of times you'll have to spend a while just to get up to your previous highest score, and that's annoying.
Here I'm going to give individual scores for all of the games within Game & Watch Gallery 3. The FIRST score will be for Classic, the SECOND score will be for Modern. The secret games only have a Classic version, so they will only receive one score. I will briefly describe each mode before explaining the reasons behind my score.
Egg: no stars, *** 1/2
Eat/catch the eggs/food before they fall. Egg Classic? Slow, annoying, frustrating. Egg Modern? Fast, exhilerating, semi-frustrating.
Greenhouse: ***, **** 1/2
Various "pests" are trying to nab your plants, and it's up to Yoshi and Mr. Game & Watch to stop them! Probably the best Classic, though that isn't saying much! However, it is one of my favorite games in Modern.
Turtle Bridge: ** 1/2, ***
You'll be given a package and then have to cross the trescherous "bridge" of turtles/birds. When balloons/fish come up, the birds/turtles will go towards them, and if you're on them while they're doing so, you'll fall. After delivering the "present", you'll have to go back and do it again.
This is probably the one that has the least amount of difference between Modern and Classic. Now, I'm not saying that they are extremely similar, just that I don't think Turtle Bridge in Modern (which doesn't even have turtles) is that big of an improvement over Classic.
Mario Bros.: **, **** 1/2
Mario and Luigi have to move up and down the ladders to make sure that the pies don't fall off the conveyer belts. This ranks up there with Greenhouse in terms of Modern. I dislike the Classic version because, as with seemingly all Classic games, it's too slow. Strangely enough, however (as with seemingly all Classic games) the difficulty seems to be up.
Donkey Kong Jr.: *, ***
Mario has kidnapped Donkey Kong, and it's up to Donkey Kong Jr to save him! You'll have to get the key four times to clear the level. While Classics are all repeats, there are three different levels in Modern.
To be honest, I was rather disappointed by both of these. I was expecting something more like the arcade version of Donkey Kong Jr., and these are quite different.
Flagman: *
There are two modes of this. In one, Mr. Game & Watch will hold up a flag and you need to press the button that corresponds to it (it's slightly harder than it sounds). In the other, he'll hold up one flag and you'll have to put it up. Then he'll hold up that flag, then another, and you'll have to do those in order. Then he'll hold up those two flags, then a third, and you'll have to do those in order, and so on.
Okay, what's up with this? One game
requires you to memorize a ridiculously long string of flags. The only
reason I even managed to get all the
stars on this was because I wrote down which flags he was holding up. Maybe
that's cheap, but it's the only way I managed to do it. Memorize 25 in
a row? Please! The other one is rather lacking, to be honest.
Judge: ***
There are two combatants in this. A random number will be displayed over both. If yours is higher, whack the enemy, but if it's lower, get away from it! You can play this in a two player mode.
This is probably my favorite of the secret games, but that doesn't make it great. I don't know anyone else who has Game & Watch Gallery 3 (not counting people I know online), so I can't hook up with them and get the extra stars. The normal version, however, is fairly interesting.
Lion: 1/2
There will be two lions in a cage, and two "zookeepers" with "chairs". When a lion emerges, make sure the zookeeper is next to it to keep it in the cage. Otherwise, they'll break free!
Boring! I really dislike this game, and got tired of it quickly.
Spitball Sparky: 1/2
You need to hit a ball at various blocks. When it hits a block, the block disappears. When you clear all the blocks, you finish the level.
Does this sound familiar? It probably does. There have been multiple games based on this idea, including this one. Unfortunately, this lacks originality, gameplay, and overall enjoyment.
Donkey Kong II: * 1/2
You'll have to grab a key from the lower section, then climb up to the higher part (while avoiding sparks), then grab a key there, and then climb up to where DK is and release one of the chains binding him. After repeating this three times, you'll release all the chains, and will do it over again.
Like Greenhouse, this has two screens. Using the B button, you can choose which one is the primary screen, that is, which one will be larger and which one smaller. This is a neat touch, but is overall still disappointing. Too much like Donkey Kong Jr., in my opinion.
Gameplay: *** 1/2
Similar to controls, this depends completely on which game we are talking about, so it is very difficult to make a proper score for this. Overall, however, I thought the gameplay was good.
Fun Factor!: *** 1/2
It's fun at first, but gets boring and
repetitive after a while. Let's face it, it's just the same old thing over
and
over and over and over and over and
over and over and over and over and over and over and over... and over.
There simply isn't enough to do in this game.
OVERALL: ***
I don't know how Game & Watch Gallery and Game & Watch Gallery 2 hold up to this, so I can't compare them. The idea behind this game is nifty, but the follow-through isn't that great. It needs more games- I got bored with the few in it.
I'd say this is worth around $15-$20.
If you have time to kill, it's not too bad, but otherwise it's not that
great a
buy.
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