A Boy and his Blob (Wii) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 668
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EACH of the video games in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, and are not meant to be definitive, in depth reviews; this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey itself. From Mario games to the Halo series, from arcade games to Commodore 64, PC games to the NES and Sega Genesis, Playstation to the Xbox, let's play those classic retro games that we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
A Boy and his Blob
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Boy_and_His_Blob
A Boy and His Blob is a puzzle-platform game developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Majesco Entertainment. It is a re-imagining of the 1989 video game, A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia, which was originally developed by Imagineering for the NES. The game was released for the Wii in North America on October 13 and in Europe on November 6, 2009. A high-definition port of the game developed by Abstraction Games was released on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on January 20, 2016.[13][14][15] A PlayStation 3 version was made available on June 28 of the same year as a cross-purchase with the PS4 and Vita versions.[8][16] Mobile ports for iOS and Android were later released worldwide on November 17 and September 26 of 2017 respectively.[17][9][10] A Nintendo Switch version was released on November 4, 2021.[11][12]
WayForward's director Sean Velasco, a fan of the original NES title, expressed a desire to re-create and update the experience for current generation gamers, streamlining the NES title's gameplay mechanics to create a more "forgiving" experience. A Boy and His Blob's art direction has received widespread critical acclaim and praise, and was utilized by the developers, in addition to a minimalistic story, in order to create a "heartwarming... and friendly game" accessible to a wide audience.
WayForward's director Sean Velasco, a fan of the original NES title, felt the series "had a ton of potential" and was "a title whose time had come to be re-imagined". He felt the title would be a natural fit for WayForward's signature proprietary animation and 2D visuals.[19] The rights to the series originally belonged to Absolute Entertainment, but Majesco Entertainment was able to acquire the rights after Absolute went bankrupt in 1995.[25] WayForward, already having a positive working relationship with Majesco, pitched the "idea of [creating] a very heartwarming Boy and Blob, and having a very friendly game" that both improved upon the usability of the original title and featured 2D hand-drawn animation "reminiscent of animated movies from the '80s".[18] The designer of the NES title and co-founder of Activision, David Crane, was not involved with the Wii title, but the new developers expressed respect for both him and his work when creating the new title.[25]
In terms of faithfulness to the original NES title, producer Robb Alvey explained that "(it's about) the original spirit of the game and creating something for this generation of gamers. If you're familiar with the original game, you'll recognize immediately the homage we pay to its origin. And if you've never played the original, it's not going to feel like anything 'retro'".[25] Sean Velasco similarly expressed that the game is a "re-imagining" of the original title instead of a direct sequel or remake.[19][25] Some changes made to the gameplay include frequent save checkpoints and unlimited jelly beans.[26]
Marc Gomez, as art director, was responsible for most of the game's signature look and feel. He wanted to do something very soft, inspired by the works of filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.[18] The decision to make the boy "much younger and rounder" than his NES counterpart was also Marc's, as was the idea of making the blob "a more faithful companion (similar to) a dog".[18] With the new, younger design for the boy and the blob, Marc "wanted them to have (a) mutual need for each other... One can't progress without the other".[19] Overall, the game has around 4,000 unique frames of animation.