Boxyboy
System: TG-16
Release Date: March 1990
Developer: Thinking Rabbit
Publisher: NEC
Genre: Puzzle
Alright, I think I’m over the puzzle game influx on TG-16 here with Boxyboy. You want to earn some extra money, so you’ve joined the working crew in warehouses. Your goal is to push boxes into their correct spots in 100 warehouses around the world.
This is a sliding box puzzle game at its core and it can be tough. I was thinking I’d be able to do about a puzzle a minute… boy was I wrong. If you make a mistake, you can press Button II to rewind your last few moves, or press the RUN Button to restart from the beginning.
Most levels have some sort of symmetry to them. Areas where you have more room are probably where you’re going to be moving the boxes. Man, I played for a good hour 45 before I got stuck on Stage 24 and called it a night.
There’s also a construction mode where you can make the layout of the level. Then you can set the designated spots, where the boxes begin, and where the player starts. I can imagine the difficult puzzles some people could come up with, but this is what I did in a couple minutes and I thought it had a couple gotchas. Of course, I saw them because I set them up that way, that box on the bottom can’t go in any other spot.
Graphics: 1.0
Sprites are tiny and undetailed, but there is a good amount of color.
Sound: 1.0
Music is generic and poor, I ended up turning it off because it annoyed Gert.
Gameplay: 2.0
Push boxes, press Button II if you mess up.
Difficulty: 3.0
There’s a password after every stage and there is a logical solution to each level, even if it eludes you…
Fun Factor: 2.0
I enjoyed it at first, but then started to get fatigued. I can see playing it in small spurts over the course of a month.
Overall Grade: 1.8
Boxyboy earns a C. It’s something that is fun for a few minutes here and there, but it wears out its welcome quickly.