Dr. Franken

"A very fun game!"

Dr. Franken is a very challenging action game for the Gameboy. I don't remember when it was released or by whom. I do know it's a good game though, because I have it. The gameplay is interesting, the controls work and the music is excellent. More on all that later. Well, not really. First, let's look at the...
Gameplay 10-10. You have to work your way through the castle, destroying enemmies and finding pieces of your girlfriend (no, it's not what you're probably thinking). I'll explain more on that when I explain the story.
Control 10-10. It's very simple. Move with the arrows, jump with A and attack with B. Then you can access the inventory by pressing Select. It's about as simple as it's gonna get. If it was gonna be any simpler it'd have to be voice activated, which for Gameboy was unheard of. Speaking of voices and stuff, let's talk about the...
Music/Sound 10-10. There's no speech in the game, which is kinda good, because the Gameboy's audio hardware probably couldn't handle it. There is music however, and there are sound effects, quite a lot of them. There are only two songs, one for the intro and one for actual game play. Fans of classical music would recognize both at once I'm sure. The gameplay song is Moonlight Sonata, but I don't remember the name of the other one. As for the SFX, they're your standard Gameboy fare, but they work. There's a little sound for picking up items, a sound for firing your weapon, and a sound for picking up a key item I.E. one of Bitsy's pieces. The sound that plays when you suffer damage can become annoying, since if you take a lot of damage at one time the sound plays for a longer period of time. Now, let's look at the...
Challenge 10-10. This game will have you jumping to reach high places and searching in just about every room in the castle to reach all the items you'll need. You should also get your password often,since you don't know what's waiting for you in the next room. Now, let's examine the...
Story 10-10. You play the role of Franky, a creation of the late scientist Dr. Von Frankenbone. So basically your a Frankenstein type creature, as is your girlfriend. That would explain the need to find the pieces. Anyway, after Frankenbone died, he left behind not only Bitsy and Franky, but also the spirits of many failed creations. These beings became jealous of Franky's happiness and decided to steal Bitsy. They dismantled her as well as the parts to Frankenbone's life-giving machine, scattering the parts to both throughout the castle. Franky was also reduced from a huge nine-foot giant to a little midget dude. He decided to go on a quest to find his girlfriend and restore her.
Overall 10-10. I'd advise giving this game a try. It might be very interesting. Thus far I haven't managed to complete it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/19/01, Updated 03/01/03