One disappointing thing about the Game Boy Color (and to an extent the Game Boy Advance) was that most western publishers chose to release games based on either licensed properties or existing IP. It’s a shame, as had they been bolder and braver, the handheld’s catalogue would have ended up richer and more diverse, with arguably less trash. This would have meant more games like Yosei Wars, and less rubbish like Little Nicky and Austin Powers: Oh Behave!
Conversely though, new GBC release Yosei Wars may have been a hard sell to ‘90s publishers, placing you in the pink and sparkly boots of a tooth fairy rather than a battle-hardened hero. Said fairies are up against an army of junk food and must traverse a candy-coated world before storming a castle to dethrone an interplanetary invader. Of course, there are plenty of pearly whites to collect along the way. Thanks, kids. Your mass consumption of sugar wasn’t for nothing.
In addition to being available on a physical Game Boy Color cart, Yosei Wars has gained an inexpensive digital release on both Switch and Steam, boasting a modern frontend and a handful of extras such as concept art, prototypes, a jukebox and a downgraded original Game Boy version. The digital release also allows the screen to be zoomed, revealing an arcade machine boarder – complete with animated controls.
Being a single-screen style arcade platformer, Yosei Wars shares similarities with Bubble Bobble, Rodland and Snow Bros, yet it also plays quite differently.
When first starting a stage, our pink protagonist can only move and jump – meaning enemies must be avoided at all costs. That’s no understatement as taking a single hit will see the winged warrior flung back to a stage’s starting point. Only by collecting every tooth can they fight back using a projectile. In addition to collecting all teeth, to finish a stage players must make their way to a cage containing a trapped fairy. Only one shot is given; if you fail the next stage will commence regardless, but the fairy won’t be freed – scrubbing the chance of achieving a perfect run.
Although level design is constantly evolving, adding moving platforms and more, the same candy land theme is used throughout, even when entering the evildoer’s domain. The music doesn’t change from one stage to the next either. Although it’s suitably upbeat and jolly, it did make boss battles a welcome reprise as it’s only here a different tune plays.
The pixel art is well drawn, bolstered by colours not usually associated with the GBC, favouring pastel hues rather than bold primaries. A few screen warping effects and such feature too, and while they don’t push the hardware, they still showcase technical knowhow.
Variety comes from the drip-feed of new enemy types, with a new face appearing every 6-7 stages. Each has their own movement pattern, requiring you to think about how to approach. Ice creams are the stock villain, simply patrolling platforms from left to right. Forks will charge upon leaping onto their platform, cupcakes can climb ladders and will fire a slow-moving projectile, while salt and pepper shakers spread damaging clouds of condiment. The difficulty level rises considerably around the time rolling donut foes and floating gum drops appear. On their own these two aren’t too problematic, but if both are heading your way then expect trouble.
Bosses meanwhile are impressively large and continue the fast-food theme. During battle it’s possible to fire projectiles from the start, with bosses requiring a dozen-or-so hits to defeat. Oddly, later bosses are easier than the earlier ones – in the way that the penultimate boss can be beaten just by hammering the attack button while jumping, whereas a couple of the earlier bosses require a few attempts to memorise their attack patterns. The final boss mixes up the formula but feels a bit clunkier for it, ultimately being more frustrating than fun.
The final few stages focus on precision platforming and it’s here the limitations of the game engine start to show. The controls are fluid enough to facilitate simple tasks such as leaping from one platform to the next, but when moving platforms and crumbling stepping stones are put into the equation the rigidness of jumping becomes questionable. Thankfully it’s only within the final hurdle that this issue comes to light, and a rise in difficulty was always expected around this point.
The options menu allows for additional lives – as many as 30, in fact – effectively making Yosei Wars as easy or hard as you like. Every gamer going into it should be able to reach the ending with relative ease, even if it does mean blitzing through a colossal stockpile of extra lives.
I went into Yosei Wars with the hope of discovering a modern-day classic – ergo, something that would have been considered essential had it released circa 1998 – but the lack of variety within the backdrops, the omission of power-ups, and the late introduction of new, clunkier, mechanics drag it down. Not considerably, but enough to stop it from feeling like a lost gem. I’ve recently played the likes of Rodland and Snow Bros 2 on Evercade and this doesn’t compare well on a technical level. When compared to the Game Boy versions of Rodland and Bubble Bobble, which were serviceable enough for the time, things are more in its favour. I guess we’re spoilt by how many arcade classics are at our fingertips nowadays.
It’s neat that modern Game Boy games exist, and I also found the candy theme curiously appealing, but I can’t see myself returning to Yosei Wars any time soon. It lacks the addictive edge similar modern games have, and it doesn’t do a very good job of luring you into its score chasing elements. What should have been a banquet of nostalgia is instead a bite-size treat – which is fine, but only if you’re looking for something to snack on during a lunch break.
Nekete Games’ Yosei Wars is out now on Switch, Steam and Game Boy Color. Published by
RAWRLAB Games.