As someone who is obsessed with gameboy games this is absolutely amazing! It's a really solid demo with fun, cute characters, fun to explore maze-like areas, and solid controls and physics! Would definitely recommend a health meter and maybe a sort of mini map to know where I have been already. Really great game and I really cannot wait to see how it goes!!!! :)
Thanks so much! We'll definitely add some kind of map, and the health is something we're thinking about (difficult to block paths with multiple hit-points, so may use checkpoints or some other solution).
Hola soy de Latinoamérica y tengo 19 y jugué la demo completa en la versión packed. Me encantó todo el diseño del juego, lo compraría cuando tenga dinero y el arte esta asombroso. Nomás que en un momento se bugeó el emulador nada más.
I'd love to hear more details on how you put together the "packed emulator" build of the game (I'd like to do something similar for my own NES games). Did you do a custom build? What were the steps involved?
I am also curious if you have looked into whether or not this "packed" build is something that Steam and other platforms would accept.
Hey! To make the 'packed' version we followed the steps to build RetroArch from source using MSYS2. For many reasons we'd have preferred to use a standalone GBA emulator, but they're all missing dynamic rate control which is crucial for a smooth 60fps experience.
The goal was then to get it as small as possible (RA is usually hundreds of MB). Looking at the available ./configure options there's a ton of features that can be disabled. We also changed the app icon and removed any theme assets that weren't needed.
RA likes to create folders and update config on the fly, so I'd recommend to commit the whole tree to a git repo before running, so you can easily see what's changed and remove the junk before zipping it up.
Finally, the launcher is just a simple Win32 program made with wnim, which copies the correct ROM for your language and launches the game like so:
With regards to Steam, I'm aware of other emulated titles being sold (e.g. Iridion II), so I'd be surprised if a game running in RetroArch was rejected, but couldn't say for certain.
For Goodboy we're using our own stuff in the Nim programming language, but the easiest way to get started with GBA dev nowadays is the Butano engine (requires some modern C++ skills).
Check out gbadev.net for a full list of resources!
What a great game, though! It's very beautiful and (for the most part) fun to play. My only difficulty was the shield-less area, although that might just be a personal preference issue. Good luck with the game and the kickstarter! :)
this is a lot of fun! maybe a minimap or something would be nice, because sometimes its hard (at least for me) to tell if ive been somewhere before. I really love how you can experience the same place completely differently with just a single key difference (like, as shown, jump height or absence of your gun). looking forard to playing the full release!
Liked the demo. I needed a little bit to get used to the maze-like construction of the world but after that it's been smooth exploring, interrupted only a few times by deaths.
Great work with the Kickstarter too, & there are still 20 days left. We're going to need more stretch goals. :)
The demo is pretty fun! I have to say though i am not a fan of all the instant death stuff like being smushed by the boss or the acid you got to platform across.
Like if you want it to be challenging I feel, for at least a first area, anything killing you after your shield goes down is already enough. The first boss being able to just instantly reset the fight if you dont doge fast enough feels harsh.
That's just my personal taste there, even with my gripes with that, the demo was still real fun! The art and music are amazing! You got the start of somethin great.
WHERE IS THE PUG CARACTER!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Congrats, the game is great and really fun. This is not really a a complain but something that puzzle me a bit. The game has disclaimers about the quality of the final product and the quality of the demo. In my opinion the demo is really top notch at the moment. I liked the demo so much that the disclaimer made me think that the final product could have lesser "quality".
Haha! Thank you! The demo didn't have as much QA as the full release will, so there was a few bugs (I think we've fixed them all now!) And there's a few things missing in the demo (like a map screen).
Oh I see. Yes, there are some quality of life improvments that would've been nice like a map, an inventory, an in-game language selection options and audio controls. But I think the gameplay is top notch just like art (music and visuals). Usually when I read "quality" I think of gameplay and art.
FYI, I did got the "jtiles" bug, but after reloading the webpage I could keep playing. It is a good thing you could replicate it and fix it. It was just a softblock, but visually was ugly-looking. I totally can understand how a user might be thrown off after seeing it. However, I think it's a lesser bug compared to the ones you can find in some real GBA games. For instance, in the PAL version of "Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cup" you have unavoidable bug that prevents you from getting the last bomb upgrade. It is explained in this video:
(The bug I mention appears at around 11:33) If nintendo got away with it, you should also get et away with it ;).
Two last things:
1. I think it would've been nice if you could replay the boss, but that's not here nor there.
2. There is a bit of a exploit, since you can reload the webpage and make gems respawn. This exploit can be used for 99 gems item. I don't consider it a bug because maybe that was intended, but it is an exploit for speedruns and such.
Good work, it will be more great if I can buy and play this game on my Nintendo DS. Have you plan about porting game on Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi systems?
Just heard about the game on youtube and played through the demo, ignore my finish time I was taking breaks in between. DS lite is a great way to play as has a backlight. Plays just fine on the DS lite with flash cart. I liked the game so much I have pledged on kickstarter to get the physical cart to play. I probably won't play on my original GBA as it does not have a backlight. I like old school but some things you just can't go back to and DS lite is probably the cheapest way to do it rather than modding a GBA to have a backlight (I might mod it someday).
Found the Orange Island easter egg, (Btw great job on the visuals you guys nailed the feeling of Orange Island) but I was a little upset when the only payoff was the crown at the end. The first boss is okay in terms of difficulty but could be just a little faster. Also, the music. You guys nailed the music. It's a sound I've never even heard on the GBA. Very Steven Speilberg kind of vibes. It's been a pleasure to play the demo overall, can't wait!
The payoff was Azure's friend card, and the crown is for finding every item+friend (well done!!) If you have ideas on rewarding players better please let us know!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and fair feedback!
I'd just say for little side quests like that you just give cosmetics. Whether it be just a color swap or letting the player play as Bones, (I really like Bones, he's my favorite! Was sad he didn't have a spot in the demo ): ) Like there, you could've given Maxwell an Orange spacesuit, because, you know, Orange Island ;). Just the little stuff. That's all.
I was very perceptive at the end of a trailer, I've always thought Skeleton astronauts were cool so it's no surprise I really like him. I even ripped an image from you're site, cut it down, resized it, and made him my profile pic: He's the best.
This game is soooo good! So much nostalgia. Love the graphics and the funny characters. I received an error though: "Fatal Error Occured: Ran Out of Obj Tiles". I was past the gate that takes your shield.
I really love the game but I really struggled at the first boss. I kept dying over and over until I had eventually drilled the muscle memory into my brain.
You can often find them in second-hand shops, or on ebay! Just don't get an original (AGS-001) without a backlit screen mod, else you'll hardly see a thing. 😭
Also note that you need a flashcart such as the EverDrive or EZFlash Omega to play this demo on a real GBA.
I loved this game too much. The pixel art, the mechanics, the characters, the fluidity of the animation. EVERYTHING. It's one of the best games I've played here
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
As someone who is obsessed with gameboy games this is absolutely amazing! It's a really solid demo with fun, cute characters, fun to explore maze-like areas, and solid controls and physics! Would definitely recommend a health meter and maybe a sort of mini map to know where I have been already. Really great game and I really cannot wait to see how it goes!!!! :)
Thanks so much! We'll definitely add some kind of map, and the health is something we're thinking about (difficult to block paths with multiple hit-points, so may use checkpoints or some other solution).
no puedo acabar con el 1 jefe, algun tip?
Carga-blast las rocas antes de que cargue contra ti, entonces golpeará los pinchos.
Muchas gracias
This is the BEST game to exist
Hola soy de Latinoamérica y tengo 19 y jugué la demo completa en la versión packed. Me encantó todo el diseño del juego, lo compraría cuando tenga dinero y el arte esta asombroso. Nomás que en un momento se bugeó el emulador nada más.
I'd love to hear more details on how you put together the "packed emulator" build of the game (I'd like to do something similar for my own NES games). Did you do a custom build? What were the steps involved?
I am also curious if you have looked into whether or not this "packed" build is something that Steam and other platforms would accept.
Thanks!
Hey! To make the 'packed' version we followed the steps to build RetroArch from source using MSYS2. For many reasons we'd have preferred to use a standalone GBA emulator, but they're all missing dynamic rate control which is crucial for a smooth 60fps experience.
The goal was then to get it as small as possible (RA is usually hundreds of MB). Looking at the available ./configure options there's a ton of features that can be disabled. We also changed the app icon and removed any theme assets that weren't needed.
RA likes to create folders and update config on the fly, so I'd recommend to commit the whole tree to a git repo before running, so you can easily see what's changed and remove the junk before zipping it up.
Finally, the launcher is just a simple Win32 program made with wnim, which copies the correct ROM for your language and launches the game like so:
With regards to Steam, I'm aware of other emulated titles being sold (e.g. Iridion II), so I'd be surprised if a game running in RetroArch was rejected, but couldn't say for certain.
That's amazing! Thank you so much!
Cute little game, looking forward to see it's GBA performance!
How do you develop Gameboy Advance games? I know about GB Studio and ZGB for Gameboy Color
Thanks
For Goodboy we're using our own stuff in the Nim programming language, but the easiest way to get started with GBA dev nowadays is the Butano engine (requires some modern C++ skills).
Check out gbadev.net for a full list of resources!
Every game playable on the DS gets extra points in my book! A solid 11/10.
Nice one! Really tempted to get a DSi XL now so I can experience those chunky pixels for myself 😅
uhh how do you play pc games on ds?
They're playing the GBA version of the game, likely using GBARunner2.
On DSi you can do this with software mods, or using a flashcart (R4i, etc.)
On DS / DS Lite, softmod isn't an option, but you can also use a GBA flashcart such as the EZFlash Omega or EverDrive GBA X5.
Can confirm this is how I did it, specifically though TWL menu on SD.
Huh. Thanks!
Congrats on making me scream with rage :P
What a great game, though! It's very beautiful and (for the most part) fun to play. My only difficulty was the shield-less area, although that might just be a personal preference issue. Good luck with the game and the kickstarter! :)this is a lot of fun! maybe a minimap or something would be nice, because sometimes its hard (at least for me) to tell if ive been somewhere before. I really love how you can experience the same place completely differently with just a single key difference (like, as shown, jump height or absence of your gun). looking forard to playing the full release!
Liked the demo. I needed a little bit to get used to the maze-like construction of the world but after that it's been smooth exploring, interrupted only a few times by deaths.
Great work with the Kickstarter too, & there are still 20 days left. We're going to need more stretch goals. :)
The demo is pretty fun! I have to say though i am not a fan of all the instant death stuff like being smushed by the boss or the acid you got to platform across.
Like if you want it to be challenging I feel, for at least a first area, anything killing you after your shield goes down is already enough. The first boss being able to just instantly reset the fight if you dont doge fast enough feels harsh.
That's just my personal taste there, even with my gripes with that, the demo was still real fun! The art and music are amazing! You got the start of somethin great.
sameee. i liked it but al my deaths felt cheap af
I LOVE that i can take this game on my little ds and play it whenever i wan
Amazing game! Got ten minutes without 100% as best and 17 minutes at 100%.
Fast!!
WHERE IS THE PUG CARACTER!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
New 100% record of 14 minutes.
I love this game!
GUYS HELP HOW DO I BREAK THESE
aim downwards with the arrow and shoot!
Congrats, the game is great and really fun. This is not really a a complain but something that puzzle me a bit. The game has disclaimers about the quality of the final product and the quality of the demo. In my opinion the demo is really top notch at the moment. I liked the demo so much that the disclaimer made me think that the final product could have lesser "quality".
Haha! Thank you! The demo didn't have as much QA as the full release will, so there was a few bugs (I think we've fixed them all now!) And there's a few things missing in the demo (like a map screen).
Oh I see. Yes, there are some quality of life improvments that would've been nice like a map, an inventory, an in-game language selection options and audio controls. But I think the gameplay is top notch just like art (music and visuals). Usually when I read "quality" I think of gameplay and art.
FYI, I did got the "jtiles" bug, but after reloading the webpage I could keep playing. It is a good thing you could replicate it and fix it. It was just a softblock, but visually was ugly-looking. I totally can understand how a user might be thrown off after seeing it. However, I think it's a lesser bug compared to the ones you can find in some real GBA games. For instance, in the PAL version of "Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cup" you have unavoidable bug that prevents you from getting the last bomb upgrade. It is explained in this video:
(The bug I mention appears at around 11:33) If nintendo got away with it, you should also get et away with it ;).
Two last things:
1. I think it would've been nice if you could replay the boss, but that's not here nor there.
2. There is a bit of a exploit, since you can reload the webpage and make gems respawn. This exploit can be used for 99 gems item. I don't consider it a bug because maybe that was intended, but it is an exploit for speedruns and such.
fatal error: ran out of ob jtiles
was doing sheild gate and shooting at the 2 frog thingies near the end
Hey, sorry for the crash! We've just put out an update which fixes it ^^
Really fun demo game...very pleasent do play!
Such a good game! Also I fell in love with the music at the end after the credits. Will it be on YouTube soon?
Good work, it will be more great if I can buy and play this game on my Nintendo DS. Have you plan about porting game on Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi systems?
you can play it on DS! But it will only show on one screen
Just heard about the game on youtube and played through the demo, ignore my finish time I was taking breaks in between. DS lite is a great way to play as has a backlight. Plays just fine on the DS lite with flash cart. I liked the game so much I have pledged on kickstarter to get the physical cart to play. I probably won't play on my original GBA as it does not have a backlight. I like old school but some things you just can't go back to and DS lite is probably the cheapest way to do it rather than modding a GBA to have a backlight (I might mod it someday).
Well done on the crown! 👑
Found the Orange Island easter egg, (Btw great job on the visuals you guys nailed the feeling of Orange Island) but I was a little upset when the only payoff was the crown at the end. The first boss is okay in terms of difficulty but could be just a little faster. Also, the music. You guys nailed the music. It's a sound I've never even heard on the GBA. Very Steven Speilberg kind of vibes. It's been a pleasure to play the demo overall, can't wait!
The payoff was Azure's friend card, and the crown is for finding every item+friend (well done!!) If you have ideas on rewarding players better please let us know!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and fair feedback!
I'd just say for little side quests like that you just give cosmetics. Whether it be just a color swap or letting the player play as Bones, (I really like Bones, he's my favorite! Was sad he didn't have a spot in the demo ): ) Like there, you could've given Maxwell an Orange spacesuit, because, you know, Orange Island ;). Just the little stuff. That's all.
Good ideas, we'll see what we can do in the main game! I didn't know anybody knew Bones, hope you will enjoy meeting him in the full game!
I was very perceptive at the end of a trailer, I've always thought Skeleton astronauts were cool so it's no surprise I really like him. I even ripped an image from you're site, cut it down, resized it, and made him my profile pic:
He's the best.
Made a video
Good work! I liked it so much!
Such a nice game. I love it, as much as I am bad at it! 😂
I love this, Honestly the game i'm most excited for
this is very good!
This game is soooo good! So much nostalgia. Love the graphics and the funny characters. I received an error though: "Fatal Error Occured: Ran Out of Obj Tiles". I was past the gate that takes your shield.
Sorry to hear that. If you reset/refresh, you should be able to continue where you left off. We will fix this one in next update.
It's awesome !
I really love the game but I really struggled at the first boss. I kept dying over and over until I had eventually drilled the muscle memory into my brain.
Thank you for your perseverance!
woah
How do you build stuff for the GBA?
Really fun! Had a great time searching for that last orange.
Well done! 👑
where am I suppose to get a game boy advanced?
You can often find them in second-hand shops, or on ebay! Just don't get an original (AGS-001) without a backlit screen mod, else you'll hardly see a thing. 😭
Also note that you need a flashcart such as the EverDrive or EZFlash Omega to play this demo on a real GBA.
ohhh ok
you can play it on an emulator aswell
In one word : Awesome !!!
Cute and challenging, loved it!
I loved this game too much. The pixel art, the mechanics, the characters, the fluidity of the animation. EVERYTHING. It's one of the best games I've played here