Game:

Jack Bros. (1995)

Duration: 10:27

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Original Air Date: July 11th, 2009

What can really be said about the Virtual Boy? Well, it gets hated on a lot, mostly for good reasons, but I'm not going to get into all of that. What I will say is that it's a very underground system these days and one that could use just a smidge more attention.

There's only about a handful of games for the system... cool. The emulation scene isn't brewing with excitement over the device, which is why you'll find VERY few videos for VB games, because the emulation present is still somewhat lacking. Some were brave enough to take a camera inside of the helmet (including ourselves), which produces simply awful results, cutting what appears to be every other frame from view, creating almost seizure-inducing flickering. On the other hand, VB emulators have sound and graphic problems from time to time and can't properly replicate the depth perception of the unit. Basically, there's no good way to introduce the darn thing.

We will attempt to improvise. We'll be uploading videos of VB games we own with decent audio/video (as close to the original as possible) as well as with some sample tracks from the games ripped straight from a real VB. The catch? We can only rip what is possible, so not everything will be converted (for example, games without a sound test and with sounds forced at points during the music). This way, you can see VB games in a good fashion and hear samples of what the games are really supposed to sound like.

Jack Bros. is one of the better Virtual Boy games, but it's also one of the rarest VB games in the U.S. This game is a very rare novelty because it is the first game in the U.S. to incorporate characters from an at-the-time Japan-only RPG series, Shin Megami Tensei. Being made in 1995, it predates games like Persona, but it is a spin-off. The game introduced U.S. gamers to a few "Jack" characters, most notably Atlus' mascot, Jack Frost. The others are Jack Lantern (Pyro Jack) and Jack Skelton (Jack the Ripper in Japan). The game involves the three main characters having to get home to Fairyland before midnight on Halloween, otherwise they will lose their powers and disappear forever. They are each aided by a kind Pixie, who gives them useful advice.

This game is a race against the clock through numerous dungeon floors littered with enemies and traps, each with a boss at the end who will try to give you a hard time. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, as well as a special ability. Frost is weak but can freeze enemies (he is sorta the hardest to use). Pyro has average abilities and can burn enemies. Skelton is fast and powerful and can kill all enemies with his special, but he has a slow attack speed. The game is challenging and delivers a simple start and finish. This game wouldn't have sold the system even if it wasn't rare, but it's a great novelty for Atlus fans and collectors. Enjoy.

Notes: Music sounds good, but it sounds like it's missing something, like a sound channel.

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