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The 61FPS Review: Game & Watch Collection

Posted by Joe Keiser

Officially, the cost of the Nintendo DS Game & Watch Collection is “free.” Unofficially, it costs:

  • Way too much luxury income
  • A devotion to spending the majority of said income on Nintendo software, specifically the most popular Nintendo software, rather than the best
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder, to be able to click enough times to actually get into the Club Nintendo Website (slogan: “unable to handle traffic volumes since 2008”).


Naturally, I had mine ordered on day one. But was it worth it?

That really depends on your point of view. As a trophy representing my multiple mental disorders, it’s a pretty good one—the US version of the game is still pretty hard to find on Ebay, so the only way to get it is by basically being a lunatic.

As for the game itself, well, it’s just a really high-fidelity recreation of three Game & Watch games. Two of those games, Donkey Kong and Oil Panic (the third game is Green House), are older than I am, and I’m an old man. You’ll probably not be surprised to know that LCD games from the early 80s don’t really hold up today. So it all comes down to nostalgia factor. Unfortunately, these three games are not the ones I enjoyed as a kid—most were probably drawn to the Mario and Zelda games, while I have an affinity for Life Boat and Octopus (the latter of which was wisely sat on for the currently Japan-only sequel).

If the nostalgia factor is there, you’ll be happy to note these things are basically “arcade perfect.” You can even see the shadows of the LCD characters when they’re unlit, and the clock functionality is fully accounted for. That’s kind of tickling, and it’s rare, and you don’t have to spend any actual money (at least, no more than you have already). It does well what it sets out to do. So let’s say a B, then?

Score: B. It’s no Tingle’s Balloon Fight. Hey Club Nintendo, I’m sick of being forced to import my Tingle games!

Related Links:

Club Nintendo Is a Little Greedy
When Tiger Handhelds Ruined Hope and Birthdays
WiiWare: Nintendo, Babe, It Just Isn’t Working Out


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:

This was a pretty nifty Christmas gift I got a couple of years ago.  I wish I could get ahold of some of the Game Boy/Advance Game & Watch Collections, though.

Anyway, I love the charm this has.  If only it weren't a mere three games.  Beyond that, I'd still like to start my own Game & Watch Collection, but man, is that ever a seller's market.

As for Tingle's Balloon Fight, you damn right.  I love that game, and got the maximum score.  The only downside to it is that you're forced to always play Tingle; they remade the original Balloon Fighter, he would have been a nice alternative.

January 15, 2009 12:20 AM

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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