Jefklaks Codex

Yet another Sunsoft Looney Tunes-based Game Boy (Color) game? Back in the nineties, when the original Game Boy version of Looney Tunes was released, the label Sunsoft used to mean something.

I’ve always been more of a Warner Bros fan than a Hanna Barbera one: Bugs and co. is, to me, a lot more recognizable than say The Flintstones or Scooby-Do.

Why on earth would you want to buy a Sesame Street game that’s clearly aimed towards kids? I can hear you thinking.

As yet another licensed platformer and watered-down port from the Genesis/MegaDrive original, I was a bit skeptic. Even though Looney Tunes was okay, it wasn’t great, and my low expectations turned out to be right: this game downright stinks.

The name of the game, Looney Tunes, might confuse people, since it’s simply named after the popular cartoon show that began its highly successful renaissance in the late eighties.

2001 was the year of the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube—not the year of the Game Boy Color. Yet, a few developers did push on, including WayForward, who would eventually release the seminal 2D metroidvania-esque platformer Shantae a full year later, well beyond the lifespan of the GBC.

Never before have I bashed my head against the (virtual, thankfully) wall before. Celeste came close - very close. But this game… Oh, where to start.

I finally cracked it. I finally know what makes a grand game. It turns out to be astonishingly simple: if it makes me smile.

It’s been over 20 years since I last touched any of the Wario Land games. I vaguely remember them being one of the most exciting platformers I’ve ever played as a kid.

Ah, 2D platformers. This genre disappeared after the DOS era on the PC. Also the consoles liked more the 3D platform games like hundreds of Mario 64 clones.