Product Description

a boy and his blob makes it's triumphant return! A reimagining of the NES classic, as the boy, you feed your blob jelly beans and watch him transform into cool and useful objects to solve puzzles and escape danger. With its robust and emotionally driven story, challenging puzzles, and visually impressive art style, a boy and his blob is sure to become a classic once again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74 in Video Games
• Brand: Majesco
• Model: 01612
• Published on: 2009-10
• Released on: 2009-10-13
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Number of discs: 1
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .60" h x 5.41" w x 7.57" l, .36 pounds

Features

• 40 additional challenge levels will put your skills to the ultimate challenge.
• Experience the heartwarming story through an all-new, hand-drawn and animated presentation designed exclusively for Wii.
• Teamwork is key: the boy has limited movement and strength, so you must use your blob friend to transform into useful objects to get to things or places the boy cannot access alone.
• Transform the blob into 15 useful items by feeding him jelly beans such as the all-new Caramel Cannon and Bubble Gum Bouncer and classic beans like the Licorice Ladder, Apple Jack and Tangerine Trampoline.
• Travel through the Blobolonian Outskirts to the Emperor's Citadel in four breathtaking worlds featuring 40 levels filled with hidden treasures.

Amazon.com Product Description

A retelling of the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) classic of the same name, A Boy and his Blob teams players with the unusual ally of a blob for single player, side-scrolling platformer and puzzle-solving fun. Using both the blob's ability to assume a number of different shapes and your skill at calling each out, together you set about saving the Blob's home of Blobolonia from the grasp of a enemy bent on domination. The Story When the distant world of Blobolonia is threatened by an evil and frightening emperor, one of its denizens, a being known as a blob, makes the world-changing decision to stand up for what is right. This brings about his journey to Earth in search of help for his world. Here he discovers two unexpected things, the friendship and loyalty of a young boy and an overwhelming love for jellybeans of various flavors. Both will prove important before this adventure is through. Help the blob dethrone the evil emperor that's terrorizing Blobolonia and establish a friendship with the blob that will last a lifetime. Gameplay Team with the Blob to save Blobolonia. View larger. A Boy and his Blob is a side-scrolling platformer that teams the player up with the game's namesake amorphous blob as you navigate 80 game levels that make up the dangerous terrain of Blobolonia and take on the baddies and bosses that are terrorizing it. Your main weapon in this is the power of the Blob to transform himself into a variety of useful forms. There are 15 of these, and all are initiated by specifically flavored jellybeans. Just a few of the flavor/forms that can be expected are Caramel Cannon, Bubble Gum Bouncer, Licorice Ladder, Apple Jack and Tangerine Trampoline. During gameplay the Blob's transformative powers are balanced by the relative weakness and limited movement of the boy, but it's through his hands, and the jellybeans he tosses, that the powers of the Blob reach their height. Key Game Features Experience the heartwarming story through an all-new, hand-drawn and animated presentation designed exclusively for Wii. Teamwork is key: the boy has limited movement and strength, so you must use your blob friend to transform into useful objects to get to things or places the boy cannot access alone. Transform the blob into 15 useful items by feeding him jelly beans such as the all-new Caramel Cannon and Bubble Gum Bouncer and classic beans like the Licorice Ladder, Apple Jack and Tangerine Trampoline. Travel through the Blobolonian Outskirts to the Emperor’s Citadel in four breathtaking worlds featuring 40 levels filled with hidden treasures. 40 additional challenge levels will put your skills to the ultimate challenge. Battle baddies and evil bosses that terrorize Blobolonia, including the Serpent, Quadruped Beast, and even the Blobolonian Emperor himself. Unlock bonus content including original concept art, video features and more. Screenshots: Platforming fun. View larger. Easy in-game controls. View larger. 80 play levels. View larger. 15 different blob forms. View larger.

Customer Reviews

Proof that there's still life left in 2D
The Wii has become the welcoming home for a series of wonderful 2D games lately, from Muramasa: The Demon Blade to World of Goo, and the forthcoming New Super Mario Bros Wii (worst...title...ever). Add to this list A Boy and His Blob, which is an ultra-charming reimagining of the NES "classic." I say "classic" because, like Battletoads, it's one of those old games that people remember fondly until they try to play it again and realize just how crazy hard the game is.

The Wii version is much easier than the NES game in some ways, although it offers up plenty of challenge in its own right. The boy now has an unlimited number of jellybeans to feed the blob, which means that you can now focus on the puzzle at hand rather than worrying about rationing and backtracking. Further, there really is no backtracking anymore since the Wii version does not contain an open world; the game is split up into self-contained levels in four unique worlds. There is a final goal to reach in each level, but there are also three treasure chests hidden in each one. Get all three chests and you open a whole new challenge level at your treehouse "hub." Beat the challenge and you're rewarded with behind-the-scenes footage of the game in progress, including sketches and artwork. It's a great system that's easy to understand and really boosts the replay value of the game.

The game is beautiful. It's hand-drawn and the level of detail is astounding, in a subtle kind of way. Stop for a while and appreciate the light swaying of trees in the background, the animated frogs jumping at your feet, and the very nice lighting effects, especially during the night stages. Like a Miyazaki film, you can feel the love that was poured into this game. Heck, the animators even went so far as to include a feature where you can hug and scold your blob, for no other reason than "because you can." These elements also greatly add to the charm. The music is also subtle but quite nice. Chances are you won't be humming the tunes later, but the music fits well with the visual style.

Controls are tight, for the most part. Some sticky points can come in when you're trying to direct the trajectory of your jellybeans, which requires a very light touch on the analog stick. Also, flying can feel too loose and the screen gets kind of jerky, which leads to quite a few accidental deaths. Luckily, there are a wealth of save points within each level so you're never sent too far back after a death. My biggest beef with the game is that only one player can save a game at a time. My fiancee and I are both big puzzle fans and it's annoying that we can't each have our own game going at the same time.

Long story short, buy this game if you're a fan of puzzle games. The pace is not fast, but you'll love the animation and the challenging levels that build in the latter half of the game. Support 2D games, let the developers know that there's still a market out there for them.

A delightful, gem of a game. Don't miss out.
Short and sweet: This game is a real gem. A great puzzler/platformer for anyone. The game's pace isn't fast...there are no explosions or guns. There really isnt even any dialog. What you have is a game that requires complete reliance on your blob companion, as well as some quick and creative thinking to determine how best to get around an obstacle or past an enemy using the Blob's various transformations. This is a game that I can see myself easily sinking 10-20 hrs into to complete (there are hidden treasures in each level, which ups the replay value).

The environments are gorgeous, as is the soundtrack and sound effects. Also, the game has a certain "warm and fuzzy" quality to it. When you click up on the D-pad, you give the blob a big squeeze... and when you click down on the D-pad, you scold him. If you walk away from him after scolding him, he turns red.... and then when you return to him (and invariably give him a hug because it is so darn cute and rewarding to do!), he returns to his standard white color. Little touches like that, and sticking the blob in your backpack to use as a parachute, and sticking him under your head to use as a pillow make this game really interesting and appealing.

Even though the art style of the game may seem to be more focused on younger players, the truth is that this game can get really challenging (and kids these days arent really into being challenged in my personal experience... but I digress). This game is really reminiscent of World Of Goo (on WiiWare).... it has loads of personality and heart... beautifully drawn 2-d graphics, and an amazing soundtrack. Much like World of Goo, I see myself slowly progressing through this game bit by bit over a long period of time rather than hammering away at the game over the next week just to complete it. This is one of those games that I like to savor, rather than defeating and trading in @ gamestop for the newest iteration of Guitar Hero.

In closing, all I can say is that this game is a real gem on the Wii, and it would be a shame for you and your family to miss out on its charming presentation and challenging gameplay.

Here is my overall rating:

Presentation: 9/10
Multiplayer: 0 (N/A)
Sound: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Replay Value: 7/10 (lots of secrets to unlock, but once they're found, they're found)
Overall: 8/10

A charming remake of a classic NES title.
A Boy and His Blob is one of those old classic games that I have a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, I loved the concept of the original game, but on the other hand the original game was just too hard and unforgiving in many ways. The new remake is sets out to honor the spirit of the original and fix many of its shortcomings, and for the most part I believe that the remake succeeds.

GAMEPLAY: You play the role of a young boy who discovers an alien blob. The boy and blob work together as a team to navigate the levels. On the surface the game looks like a standard 2D-platformer, but this is hardly the case. While there is some basic platforming involved, the true meat of the game is based upon overcoming environmental obstactles and puzzles with the blob's shape-changing capabilities. Different levels give you access to different jellybeans, which will allow the blob to transform when eaten. The farther you progress into the game, the greater the variety of jelly beans. Example transformations: hole, trampoline, ladder, balloon, parachute and rocket. The majority of the levels are fairly short. Some levels have a theme and others are more platformer in nature, but the good news is that there are a lot of them. You will die a lot, since this game is old-school. Touched a spike? You die. Touched an enemy? You die. Fall too far? You'll die. Fell in the water? You drown. Luckily the game has checkpoints everywhere, so frequent dying isn't an issue.

GRAPHICS: Gorgeous cartoon style artwork graces this game, giving it a sense of style and place. While the game doesn't do anything particularly impressive from a graphics standpoint, it is obvious the development emphasis was on clean, colorful, and whimsical artistic expression. The artwork can get repetitive though since many of the levels within the same zones use much of the same artwork, but at least it looks good.

PRESENTATION: The presentation is a mixed bag. One one hand, the game is trying to create a cohesive experience from the moment you boot the game up. The feel of the original game is definitely kept alive, which is a huge bonus. The first time you play, an intro movie is played that ends by abruptly dumping you into the game's hub level. The hideout/hub level is charming and gives you a sense of child-like whimsy. On the other hand, you are limited to exactly one save file and the game doesn't bother giving you much of a sense of purpose near the beginning, leaving you wondering what to do inside this tree house. No tutorial, no instructions, and no helpful mission hints. To top it off in the mixed-bag department, once you do figure out how to get to the first levels, the first several levels turn out to be absurdly easy with the game holding your hand through the solution to every puzzle near the beginning.

CONTROLS: Mostly pretty good. The button layout for remote/nunchuck controls is slightly awkward, but the classic controller setup is rather nice. Running and jumping work great, but commanding the blob can be a bit annoying since it seems like the little alien has a mind of its own. Throwing and aiming the jelly beans is a snap and once I figured it out it makes perfect sense. A lack of a tutorial will leave a lot of folks randomly pushing buttons until something they want to happen happens. I perhaps I was just really special. Near the beginning, a lot of the buttons don't do anything, so it kind of confused me at first. My biggest complaint is the Jellybean wheel, which is used to select your jellybeans. The layout of the jellybeans changes from level to level, so the bean you got used to being in the right slot for four levels in a row might suddenly get moved to the bottom slot. It's kind of annoying and never really lets you intuitively learn where your menu items will be at any given time.

VALUE: The game has a lot of levels, although most of them can be beaten fairly quickly. Every level has 3 secret treasure chests which can be collected to unlock additional levels, artwork, and basically gives something for the completionists out there to shoot for. Considering this game released for about $10 less than the average Wii game, I'd say you get a good value for your gaming dollar.

PROS:
+++ Beautiful cartoon graphics
+++ The spirit of the original game was preserved
+++ Lots of little unlockables

CONS:
--- Minor control quibbles
--- The game is way too easy near the beginning.

Overall, I have to recommend this game to anyone who enjoys puzzle solving game, 2D games, or who wants to get a nice family friendly game. Fans of the original game will probably like this remake, but just be warned that the difficulty is much lower than the original, partially due to the frequency of checkpoints.