Game & Watch Gallery Review

By Mathgrant

 
Scoring note: This Review is on a scale of 7, since I can't think of a better number.

This Review is part of a series of Reviews for old games. Last time we were here a puzzle game called Yoshi was being reviewed. This time around, though, the game's not being reviewed out of the public's neglect for the game, but because of their bad Reviews for it. I've read Reviews for this game that call it bad because of the oldish graphics in Classic Mode. These people just won't understand that a game doesn't need great graphics to be fun. Here it is, my Review for. . . Game & Watch Gallery!

Game & Watch was started in 1980 by Nintendo with Ball, a juggling game. It involved LCD graphics and even a clock that showed the time when you weren't playing the game. Later games had alarms that you could set to go off at times. The series ended in 1991 with Mario the Juggler, which was similar to Ball. Then, in 1997, they released a collection of four of these games (Manhole, Fire, Octopus, and Oil Panic) on Game Boy, which will be the subject of this Review.

Storyline: ???

This is rather hard to rate. I could give it a 0 because it has no storyline. However, I could also give it a high number, like 5, because having no preset storyline lets you invent your own. You could say, for example that the reason Mario must get the treasure in Octopus is because Peach needs money to build herself a castle (Bowser tore her old one down). You could also say that Mario's doing it because Peach needs a new
necklace, and thinks that one made of pearls would look very good on her. It's your choice: give it a zero or give it a five, but give it something, because I can't!

Gameplay: 5

It depends on the game you play. Classic Fire and Modern Manhole, for example, have wonderful gameplay. Others like Classic Octopus and any version of Oil Panic aren't exactly as great. But they're all fun, in their own way.

Graphics: 6

This category seems to get the lowest score on many Reviews, especially in Classic Mode. Think of it this way, however: they could've been much worse. Given that they were from the 80's, these graphics are
pretty good. In Modern Mode they're made even better with Mario and his friends (as well as his enemies). But no matter what game or mode, you've got to admit the graphics aren't too bad.

Secrets: 7

What's a Mario game without secrets? Each games has its own secrets to discover if you want a high score. For example, feed Yoshi six drops in Oil Panic and he'll make a block appear. Make four blocks on the
left side and he'll defeat Bowser and you'll get 15 bonus points. The way he defeats Bowser depends on how many times he's done so. One time, I beat him for the fourth time, and Yoshi shot Bowser with a Super Scope... it was pretty funny to see! If you get a high enough score in a game, you'll get a new title in the Viewing Gallery. The titles there range from well known games like Manhole and Octopus (well duh, those were in the game) to lesser known games like Fire Attack and Mario's Cement Factory. This makes the game
more than just a retro-compilation and actually turns it into a history lesson.

Overall: 5

Game & Watch Gallery may never win any awards, but it certainly deserves one. I mean, with FOUR classic games, how could you possibly go wrong?

Recommendation:

If all you care about is excellent gameplay and don't mind bad graphics, then Game & Watch Gallery is definitely worth the effort that it takes to find it. If FOUR games isn't enough for you, then look for one of it's two sequels, which have SIX and TEN games, respectively. Each game is also a good way to learn history by viewing the Gallery. If you want info on Game & Watch, then do a search on the Internet. But if you want to play the games too, then Game & Watch Gallery is a good buy.
 

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