Villordsutch reviews Into the Blue…
Back in 2016 Jonas Fischback released for the Nintendo Game Boy – possibly one of the greatest handheld consoles ever to arrive on this planet to date – a rather excellent Breakout-clone titled Retroid. Incorporating elements of the arcade classic Arkanoid and also bringing the tunes of Jean Michel Jarre to his 8-bit release, it was certainly something to add to your collection. Now two years on Jonas is back with another Game Boy release, this time it’s a fast paced puzzler titled Into the Blue.
You’d think that with a console that the ended its production back in the early days of the 2000’s, releases for this cartridge-powered machine would be non-existent. However, as with all “Homebrew Scenes”, people like Jonas Fischback are keeping this platform very much alive and with the addition of a GB Everdrive or A N Other Game Boy flashdrive you can play these latest releases on an actual physical Game Boy.
Loading up Into the Blue it will instantly take all Game Boy gamers back to the glory days of this compact, but powerful machine. From the excellent music (you’re given a choice of three tunes) to the sheer perfect look of the graphics, Jonas has just captured the essence (perfectly) of a classic Nintendo game. Playing it you almost feel like you’re loading up an old favourite as you watch the blocks vanish upon the screen, whilst listening to the cheerful music ‘plink-plonking’ away in the background; but it isn’t an old favourite (remind yourself) – it’s a totally new release.
It’s an eye for detail and a love for the classics that can only deliver a game like this on the Game Boy. Into the Blue honestly deserves the official Nintendo seal of quality and – if it were possible – a physical release. I cannot speak highly enough of this game, nor tell you how much I’ve been loading this up since it dropped into my inbox. That doesn’t unfortunately mean I’m an expert at it mind you, far from it, but like games that have come before it – Tetris Attack and Megapanel (two named by Jonas) – with each play not only do you have fun, you find yourself whispering, “One more go!” to nobody in the room.
Into the Blue is available to download for free right now here. It can be played on a Game Boy if you have a GB Everdrive or A N Other suitable Game Boy Flashdrive. However, if you have neither we’d recommend downloading the extremely easy to use Visual Boy Advance.
