Game and Watch Gallery 4 Review

GBA seems to be home for many collections of mini games, Wario Ware is one of those games. However, there was one of these games that I never really noticed. That game was Mr. Game and Watch Gallery 4. The game is a collection of classic Nintendo games. However, there was one special feature that made it different from the others. The game also has the redone versions of each classic. Pretty cool, eh?

The gameplay in this collection is way above mediocre. There are six mini games in Mr. G and W 4, and each game is fun. There is Fire, Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong Jr., Boxing, Rain Shower, and Mario’s Cement Factory. Each game’s graphics and audio are great, however, you’ll notice in this review that I won’t focus on graphics and audio because the best part about this collection is the great old-school gameplay.

In Fire you control two people that carry a trampoline to get people out of a burning fire. You have probably played a look-alike of this game somewhere, but it doesn’t make it any less fun. However, if you feel man (or woman) enough, try this game on hard mode. I still can’t last 20 minutes in hard mode.

In Donkey Kong 3, you control Mario and you have to verse Donkey Kong. Both characters try to get a Boo on the opponent’s side by using a water gun. When a Boo gets close to a player, it attacks them, and the opposing player gets extra points. Expect a great time playing this game.

In Donkey Kong Jr., you control DK Jr. and have to save DK from Mario (I never expected Mr. Mario to be the villain). In this, each level of the game, DK is stuck in a cage and it is up to Junior to get keys to unlock this trap (you have to get a number of keys to rescue DK). This is a great revival of a classic.

In Boxing, you control Luigi (in the modern version) and have to beat a number of baddies. You could punch and dodge your opponent’s moves, but the AI is pretty awful and it takes forever to punch. This ends up being the worst game in the collection.

In Rain Shower, you have get Mario to shake a rope to keep falling balloons (that are thrown by Bowser) from hitting the hanging characters on the head. The game was weird, but very fun. But Bowser could be very cheap sometimes.

In Mario’s Cement Factory, you have to fill buckets with cement without making any bucket overflow. It’s a fun game but I really never got into it as much as the other games (with the sole exception of boxing).

One of the biggest complaints in this game is that some of the games in the collection are reused. Fire is a prime example. However, the bright side is that now you don’t have to buy the previous three games if you are new to the series (like me). Another complaint is that it takes a long time to really understand the greatness of this game. The first 10 hours might not be totally exciting, but once you finish your 15th hour, you will be totally addicted to this game.

If you have time to kill, or want to reminisce about the good ol’ days, this will be a great game to add to your collection. While it won’t probably click as fast as Wario Ware, Mr. Game and Watch Gallery 4 is another great lesson in what a good video game should (and shouldn’t) be.