GBAtemp Recommends! Blender Bros

[shaunj66]

GBAtemp Recommends! Blender Bros
G.R. Issue #18 (GBA)


So did you give last weeks game, Ninja Five-O, a twirl? Did you find it much cop? Thirsty for more gaming goodness? Then welcome back to GBAtemp Recommends! Our popular weekly magazine feature in which we, the GBAtemp staff, recommend classic Game Boy Advance titles!

GBAtemp Recommends!

Blender Bros

Now many of you may not have heard of this game, but it managed to snag a respectable 7.8 from IGN and a sexy 7.4 from GameSpot, so if you're a fan of platformers - then read on!

Blender Bros. is an often overlooked title on the GBA. Developed by Hudson and released by Infogrames, the game is a platformer at heart with a few action-style gameplay twists thrown in for good measure. You play as "Blender", a strange dog-type-rabbit-like creature with huge ears that he uses to hover, attack, climb and use like a sonar to locate where to head next. The game has a story played out through a few cutscenes and dialogue boxes, but it is so weak and laughably translated that it's honestly worth skipping. Copy & paste generic storyline -- The galaxy is at peril and of course it's up to you to save it...

You're assisted through the game by your "mini brothers" - a total of 20 collectable critters who you can individually assign to help play with you during any level. Each mini brother has their own unique skill such as increasing your attack range, allowing you to heal after damage or allowing you to reach higher ledges. You can switch mini bro's by finding certain points within each level.

Each level is laid out with a fairly simplistic left-to-right structure with a few devious puzzles and obstacles to overcome, by of course using your helpful little miniature brothers. You'll encounter a boss fight after you complete the level, and there are also some Mario Kart style racing segments in which you must collect "keys" crucial to the story. Hudson even managed to squeeze in a few mini games to lengthen the gameplay experience.

Hudson did a fairly good job with the presentation, both the graphics and audio are pleasing to the eyes and ears, but neither really shine. They get the job done, but it's nothing you haven't seen before.

Overall the game is a lot of fun. It's a solid platformer with a few good mechanics thrown in, and the design and presentation are done well. The game is relatively short, and will take you a few hours at best to complete. So if you're hankering for a new GBA platformer and have never heard of this title or overlooked it, hook it up and give it a go, and let us know what you think! It's not a big hit title, but we like to throw these hidden gems in to the mix now and again to keep things interesting!

Leap into the future as Blender, leader of the Cosmo Keepers, and use his super long ears to grab items, fight and fly. Clear multiple levels on different worlds, collect Mini Bros., use their power-ups and defeat the Zooligans! 20 Mini Bros. to find, collect and trade, 7 different planets with unique environments and surprises, 3 mini games allow up to 4 players to compete using the Game Link Cable.

Spoiler: Gameplay Trailer (video)

#0409 - Blender Bros. (mode7)

Genre: Platformer, Action
Publisher: Infogrames
Dump Date: 19/04/2002
ROM Size: 64Mbit

If you enjoyed this weeks edition of GBAtemp Recommends! please leave a comment in the thread. This helps us monitor feedback and ensures we keep posting these magazine articles in the future.

View in G-Online

Game Profile at IGN

Official GBAtemp Recommends! Mini-Page & History

Discuss (%nbreplies% comments)

 

[Toni Plutonij]

Never heard of this game!

It looks pretty good, will try it for sure, thanks for the nice recommendation!

 

[taken]

Exactly haven't heard of this game. I'll give this a blast.

 

[Icyfrodo]

I played a lot of this game, but I don't really remind how good it was, I guess it was pretty good since I played it for a almost long period.

 

[tinymonkeyt]

omg! i actually remember playing this game with my bro!
good game :]
and nice review!

 

[Sharpz]

It looks pretty cool,but now I need to re-download VBA again.

 

[Siegmund Fretzga]

Played this on the GBA, good recommendation.

 

[Garcimak]

Thanks, didn't know about this title, will try it for sure, liking the tunes (main theme is great) .hope the background GFX becomes more inspirated later in game.

 

[OuTee]

Finally a recomendation for unknown game! :]
Ill give it a try! :]

 

[Smartpal]

This looks good, guess I'll play it on my iPod Touch.

 

[Bridgy84]

Hey very nice guys this is one i have never heard of as well!! Keep these coming and keep the gba alive.

 

[UofG2000]

Love the GBAtemp recommends feature, keep it going. Will definitely try this game.

 

[Jdbye]

First GBAtemp recommends that I haven't tried yet that actually looks really interesting.

I like the boxart.

 

[Goshogun1]

Thank you! Very rarely do I find a gba game I truly have never heard of. Appreciate this mention.

 

[Mangofett]

But will it blend?

 

[Smef]

Like Ninja 5-0, this is a pretty solid GBA game which i would recommend as well.

 

[subanark]

I remember this game, its a pretty nice platformer, simple, but not bad. Someone really should TAS this if they get a chance.

 

[Firedrake1]

I missed out on the GBA Entirely, this game is great! Thank you!

 

[skyman113]

.

 

[Styles420]

This is exactly why I got the GBA Expansion for my M3 - all the classic games I missed out on and never would have known about otherwise. Keep the recommendations coming!