CiB Game Boy Theater - Penguin Wars and Primal Rage (Episode 90)
2The Original Game Boy is one of the biggest 'game changers' in the history of video games, and essentially ushered in the popularity of handheld games. There are many games that will be classic forever. There are, however, a much, much higher number of simply awful, forgettable, or downright weird games. CiB Game Boy Theater shows you some of the games you might not (and shouldn't be...) familiar with.
Penguin Wars was released in July 1990 for the Game Boy, after being put on every home computer humanly possible. It was developed by Magical Company Ltd. (almost everything they worked on seems to be Japan release only) and published by NEXOFT (CastleQuest and Gun-Nac - lol what). This is what I expect from an early-release Game Boy game: a simple but addictive game that can occupy 15-30 minutes at a time. I love the presentation, I love the simplicity, and I can recommend Penguin Wars if you want a simple and fun time on Game Boy.
Primal Rage was released in 1994 on the Game Boy after being ported to every other console humanly possible. It was developed by Atari Games (Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, Gauntlet Legends), and published by Time Warner Interactive (Dick Vitale's "Awesome Baby!!" College Hoops).
I know I said I don't like Primal Rage, then went on to beat the entire game --- it's not lost on me. This isn't a -good- game, but it is one that I was able to button-mash through easily enough. Unlike all the Mortal Kombat or Killer Instinct Game Boy ports, this one is actually playable, and has a framerate that is acceptable, and a difficulty curve that doesn't make you quit in 5 minutes. I still don't like Primal Rage on any system, but it was nice to be able to actually beat a game for once. Thanks for watching!