A Boy and His Blob
System: NES
Release Date: January 1990
Developer: Imagineering
Publisher: Absolute Entertainment
Genre: Platformer
David Crane takes top billing in A Boy and His Blob. There’s trouble on Blobonia and you and your pet blob, Blobert, need to find a way back to defeat the evil emperor. Blobert loves jellybeans and after eating them will transform into something helpful. So build up your riches, buy some vitamins, and rocket your way to Blobonia to save that world!
From your front door, you have to head into the subway in search for the aforementioned treasure. The Punch jellybean creates a hole in the ground that you can fall through. Pressing the B Button whistles, which either turns the blob back to his normal form or calls him to you. The Licorice ladder is often used to climb up a small ways. As you move forward, you pick up speed, but if you fall off a ledge, you may lose a life. Anything more than a screen and a half fall is instant death, unless you use the Vanilla umbrella.
Gaps in the ground can be closed with the Strawberry bridge. The Cola bubble is necessary for getting a lot of treasure under water. Be careful though, because there are rock formations that will instantly kill you. This treasure takes a lot of practice to pick up. The Cinnamon blow torch is used in one spot to burn down a spider web and then if you need to place the blob in a specific spot. This is especially useful for the Tangerine trampoline, which allows you to jump as high as possible.
If you get separated from the blob, you can toss him a Honey jellybean to turn him into a hummingbird. If you can’t reach him with a jellybean, try the Ketchup jellybean to get Blobert to catch up. The Apple jack is needed to get out of the sewers. Hopefully you picked up the Lime key jellybean in your travels. A visit to the drugstore gets you a supply of vitamins and Orange jellybeans which turn Blobert into a gun. Hopping on the Root Beer rocket gets you over to Blobonia.
On Blobonia, I remember a trick I used to use with the Coconut bowling ball to blow up some cherry bombs in safety, but I could not get it to work this time around. Grabbing five peppermints on Blobonia will add a life to your stocks. There are a lot of obstacles between you and the big boss, but when you get to the final screen, you need to chuck him the right bean to win the game.
Graphics: 1.5
The sprites and animations look like they’re straight out of a mid-80s PC. The backgrounds are drab, except for the cityscape.
Sound: 1.0
The song that loops is entertaining the first five times, but you’ll hear it so much that it grates on your nerves.
Gameplay: 2.5
I find the concept of A Boy and His Blob very interesting, but it doesn’t have as much staying power as I remembered.
Difficulty: 2.0
You can beat this game in five minutes by rushing to the Lime jellybean and grabbing a couple treasures.
Fun Factor: 3.0
Despite its short length, it’s pretty fun. If it was longer, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much.
Overall Grade: 2.0
A Boy and His Blob earns a C. This really is an average game. It’s novel and enjoyable, but only for an hour or two, then you don’t need to play it again.