Marble Madness

"Marble Madness, all right, but it's the bad kind of madness"

I received a copy of the Game Boy Original version of Marble Madness on a Christams a couple of years ago. When I had first laid my eyes on the box, I was joyful. I could not wait to pop it in my Game Boy and play it until I had mastered it, like I mastered the NES version.

Only a few months later, I had mastered it to the point that it wasn't fun anymore. No, I mean ''until it wasn't fun anymore''. The NES version was good, as was the Genesis (albeit inferior to the 8-bit). Yet, the Game Boy version just never cut it with me.

The graphics were pretty good for the GB. Without the color, the game still looks pretty much like the NES version. Much of the animation has been kept intact, such as those Slinky-like marble munchers and the acid puddles. The sound is another good feature, mainly because it sound just like Marble Madness should (comparable to Rare's excellent music on the NES).

The GB version was a respectable version in those respects. Yet, upon further play, the game was missing certain things. Certain things that I would like to have had in the game. Here is where ''until it wasn't fun anymore'' into play.

The Game Boy version of Marble Madness is slipshod mess. OK, so the game looks like Marble Madness (in black and white) and plays like Marble Madness, but it just wasn't as fun as Marble Madness.

My first initial gripe about this game is that certain rewards given for certain events are gone. You remember receiving that 1,000pt bonus for destroying that steel ball? It's gone, you are really fighting for pride and nothing more. You remember that magic wand that appeared randomly and awarded ten extra seconds? Gone, too. With exception to the level layouts, almost everything else has been ditched. Thus, the Game Boy Marble Madness lacks soul.

What I found really irked me to the point of no return is that you really are given no ultimate goal. The classic ''Ultimate Race''-- the one that moved by itself-- is gone. Only five of the six levels survived. And, after completing the fifth, the immortal ''Silly Race''-- the upside-down one-- you just go back to the second. Clear the Silly Race again, and all you do is return to the second. It just loops and loops and loops, and would have been an acceptable occurrence, 'cept that your time limit never becomes stricter (not that it would have helped). Too bad.

I have played three versions of Marble Madness-- the NES and Genesis are the other two-- and the Game Boy Original version is easily the worst. My suggestion is that, well, I'd go with the NES version of Marble Madness, because this Game Boy version simply lacks whatever soul the game had (and is a whole lot better). Should you happen across this version, I would strictly advise the saying, ''let the buyer beware''. Don't be surprised to see this one get flung into the bin marked ''sell'' within the day you buy it (and I have no regrets for getting rid of it). That said, Marble Madness for the Game Boy is one to avoid entirely.

MY SCORE: 3.5

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/01, Updated 10/26/01