Revenge of the 'Gator

"..darn gator got my last ball again!"

Revenge of The Gator has to be one of the most misleading names for a video game, or at least as far as pinball games go. This is basically the Game Boy version of the NES Classic “Pinball” featuring Mario; instead this has an alligator theme, is laid out and plays a bit differently but shares the same fantasy mechanics. Hal is much better known for their Kirby franchise so this game never got any recognition, it was released in 1990 so it's full of that old early Game Boy charm so if you're a fan of pinball then you have no reason to not check this charming little game out.

The Pinball board is three screens tall and has two bonus stages up above the top screen that has different ways to be accessed. The standard pinball physics are all here minus the tilt feature. The game also supports alternating multiplayer plus head to head with a link cable though I can't comment on that much since I don't know anyone who also own a copy of this game. Aside from that, there's the standard high scores at the end.

If you let the title screen go then it will show three gators dancing though there isn't any attract mode present. The gators have a cartoony look to them and all the animations are amazingly well drawn, everything is smooth and uses some great shading to add to the graphics. When you lose your ball a little baby alligator swallows it at the bottom of the screen. Everything about this game is great and I'd go as far as to say that it's a sleeper in the Game Boy library. I found myself wanting to hum along to the great tunes that were playing in the background, If you like quality games or pinball games in general you need to get this game and it won't cost much either.

Hal did the best with what they had and for an early title on the console it's a great start. They would later borrow ideas from this game for their Kirby themed pinball game so you know it had to have something going for it. It's not my favorite pinball game (that award goes to Midnight Magic or Arcade Pinball for the Atari 2600) but it won me over at least as being a quick diversion to kill some time with. I'd recommend adding it to your collection since it's such a well balanced game overall.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/09

Game Release: Revenge of the 'Gator (US, March 1990)