HOMEBREW TIME! Today we have „Power Ball: Monster’s Quest“ by
@_rubenretro_ on the table!
The gameplay follows in the tradition of classics like Super Breakout or Alleyway, with the difference that there’s a lot more going on here. You control a ball, Pong-style, and bounce it against a variety of blocks that break upon impact. If you miss the ball and it hits the ground, you lose a life. Simple as that.
However, the twist here is that you also encounter enemies that attack you. With a few well-placed hits, you can take them out quickly.
If you manage to hit and destroy several blocks in a row, power-ups will appear for you to collect. But be careful—not all of them are beneficial…
Once a certain percentage of the blocks have been destroyed (about 80–90%), a door opens on the other side of the screen. Through this door, you can exit and complete the level. In contrast, the goal in the aforementioned classics was to eliminate all blocks to finish a level, which can be very nerve-wracking.
Last but not least, after each level you complete, you can improve your stats: either give your balls more hitting power to break blocks faster, or increase the number of lives (or missed balls). You should definitely increase your lives first, as you start the game with only one “life.” Luckily, any lost balls are replenished after each level.
Unfortunately, I also have a small critique: It often happens that the ball flies right through the blocks without hitting them (see video in the slides). You get used to it happening, and I suspect GB Studio may be reaching its technical limits here(?)
That said, I can still highly recommend Power Ball as a fun, casual pastime!
The physical release matches the usual
@bitmap_soft standard with the unlabeled cartridges. I do hope Bitmapsoft eventually manages to source cartridges with at least a basic “Game” label on them.
btw: I‘m planning to review a Homebrew game every two weeks. Let‘s see how that works 😅
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#gameboy #gameboyadvance #gameboycolor #gameboypocket #analoguepocket #modretro #chromatic #homebrewgames #powerball #bitmapsoft
