looney tunes carrot crazy

content/about.md

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ Inspired by the review methodologies of _GoodReads_ and _EuroGamer_ , I award ea
 
 Examples of bad to amazing games can be found while [browsing all games](/games) and sorting these using the "Rating" button.
 
+Each [game platform](/platforms) page contains a **Best Of Games** list with my personal top 20 games, grouped into four categories `A` to `D` to avoid having to effectively rank them, which would be an impossible task. Believe me, I tried. Games in `A` are (barely) more valued than those in `B`, but every single entry in the _Best Of Games_ list has a rating of either _Great_ or _Amazing_.
+
 ---
 
 ## History <a name="history"></a>

content/games/gameboycolor/looney-tunes-carrot-crazy.md

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+---
+title: "Looney Tunes Carrot Crazy: Eh, What's Up Game Boy Color?"
+date: 2023-04-22T14:09:00+02:00
+score: 2
+howlongtobeat_id: 30465
+howlongtobeat_hrs: 1.6
+game_name: 'Looney Tunes: Carrot Crazy'
+game_genre: '2D platformer'
+game_release_year: 2000
+game_developer: 'VD-dev'
+tags:
+  - 'looney tunes'
+  - '2D platformer'
+---
+
+In my search for decent [Looney Tunes games](/tags/looney-tunes) on the Game Boy (Color) platform, I happen to come across an awful lot of bad games, especially in the year 2000, when Infogames launched their next major Looney Tunes assault called "Games for the next Mil-Looney-Um", as seen in the following splendid ad:
+
+![](looneyumad.jpg "Games for the next Mil-Looney-Um! Happy 2000!")
+
+Although the poster is mainly advertising the brand new 3D platformer _Bugs Bunny Lost in Time_ for the Playstation, and some small entries on the Nintendo 64 on the lower right, handheld lovers aren't left behind. I've played through [Speedy Gonzales' Aztec Adventure](/games/gameboycolor/speedy-gonzales-aztec-adventure) (bad), the [Looney Tunes Collector](/games/gameboycolor/looney-tunes-collector) Pokémon rip-offs (surprisingly good), and a questionable [Racing game](/games/gameboycolor/looney-tunes-racing), all either licensed and published by the Japanese Sunsoft or the French Infogames.
+
+And then I encountered Marcus Huderle’s [Reverse Engineering Carrot Crazy](https://www.huderlem.com/blog/posts/carrot-crazy-1/) blog posts (see [password hacking Sylvester & Tweety](https://brainbaking.com/post/2022/04/password-hacking-sylvester-and-tweety/)), and I knew I wasn't yet done with the _Looney Tunes_ GB(C) games. The question is: is this 2D platformer worth the few hours of game time, or is this yet another bust? 
+
+The answer lies somewhere in-between. _Carrot Crazy_ isn't actually developed by Infogames but by the French duo Fernando Velez and Guillaume Dubail who were known for other licensed Game Boy projects such as _The Smurfs_, _Lucky Luke_, and later the _Asterix & Obelix XXL_ GBA port. In _Carrot Crazy_, where you can switch between Bugs and Lola on the fly, you run around in two stages and a boss stage for each of the five film scenes, collecting carrots and four pieces of director clapper board to get to the next stage. Its mechanics are fairly conventional, and although there's the odd push-a-block or ride-a-rhino-to-cross-the-water affair, I felt the overall (level) design to be bland and uninspired.
+
+![](forestlvl.png "Left: on the film set, selecting the next scene (world, I guess). Right: in Elmer Fudd's woods, avoiding bear traps.")
+
+Even Sunsoft's original 1992 [Looney Tunes](/games/gameboy/looney-tunes) comes with a lot more variety. Eight years later, what we're left with is a visually and aurally very impressive game, with beautiful big sprite work and as much colors slathered on there as possibly could: bear in mind that this was one of those black Game Boy cartridges, which is still compatible with the original Grey Brick. [Sylvester & Tweety](/games/gameboycolor/sylvester-tweety-breakfast-on-the-run) already followed this model in 1998, but _Carrot Crazy_ clearly pulls all stops here. It's a beautiful game to look at, and each film scene comes with its own unique theme and color scheme.
+
+The same can be said for the music: its 8-bit chiptune-like soundtrack is surprisingly good for an average French licensed late GBC era game! I wish the same could be said for its basic gameplay though. It now feels a bit out of proportion: the basic run-and-grab gameplay and simple level design doesn't neatly match the game's presentation layer. 
+
+![](bosses.png "Left: on the run from Daffy Duck's giant machine. Right: the same boss-fight but now in space against the Martian.")
+
+Each scene ends with a boss chase and fight stage where the boss controls some form of a giant vehicle coming from the right of the screen. If you successfully avoid all obstacles along the way, the boss steps out and you'll have to fight them. Bugs Bunny equips a hammer, and Lola a rolling pin---how sexist---which make short work of the bosses. There's zero challenge involved and all patterns are the same. It's pretty to look at, but that's about it. The chase scene acts as a fun diversion but after a second time, the novelty wears off.
+
+In-between stages, you'll get the chance to score a lvl-up if you collect all letters of the word "EXTRA" that Tweety flies away with, provided you win a dynamite throwing minigame. There's only one minigame and it's pretty mundane (and easy). Again, the graphical effects are stellar, with multiple virtual panes shifting faster or slower to create the illusion of depth which works quite well here. But again, who cares if the basic gameplay is rather boring?
+
+Sure, there's a purpose in switching between Lola and Bugs: Lola has an umbrella that's needed to jump down from high places, as Bugs would simply fall face first and waste a life---which annoyingly happens a lot, even for short distances. Bugs on the other hand can push obstacles and dig underground---a feat needed in only a handful of levels.
+
+![](passminigame.png "Left: the password system; three faces of different Looney Tunes characters. Right: the dynamite throwing minigame.")
+
+I felt a bit sorry for _Carrot Crazy_. It's clear that the art and music is superb and superior compared to other early noughties GBC games: [listen and judge for yourself](https://www.zophar.net/music/gameboy-gbs/looney-tunes-carrot-crazy)---I especially recommend BGM #05! The music was once again provided by the masterful Bit Managers, the team that also did the music for the _Collector_ and _Tweety_ games. 
+
+_Carrot Crazy_'s 2D platforming doesn't only play safe, even though the controls feel good, but the levels are short, bland, and feel uninspired. IGN's review mirrors my feelings: back in the day, this would have been one of the "better" ones:
+
+> Overall, Carrot Crazy doesn't really push the jump'n'run genre to new heights, but all the gameplay elements are in the right place to form a great gaming experience. The game's music [...] is worth special mention as the sound designers tried to push the envelope [...]. Not to be confused with the many uninspired Looney Tunes Game Boy games out there, this one is well worth a look.
+
+Yes, this one is better than the average _Looney Tunes_ game, but the average is pretty bad anyway, so where does that leave us? Average? If you love big 8-bit spritework with a dab of Gaugin-like color, or if you enjoy typical Game Boy chiptunes, I'd still say it's worth to Get Crazy about those Carrots.

content/games/gameboycolor/looney-tunes-collector.md

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ Speaking of world, the games are longer than your average Game Boy Color game, c
 
 As a kid, me and my sisters played the _Looney Tunes Collector_ games, although we never tried linking up. I kind of regret that now, as it would most certainly introduce even more fun. There aren't a hundred Looney Tunes to collect, so it's not as complex as Game Freak's Pokémon games. Pokémon Crystal, the GBC iteration, was released in July 2001, a good six months later, but it's obvious that Infogames' inspiration came from the 1998 GB original, albeit with less focus on combat and breeding. What would a Daffy + Bugs child look like anyway? There are no random encounters or stats, the world is set and more puzzle platformy than RPGy. And that's a good thing. 
 
-I haven't even talked about the music yet. The tunes are a perfect compliment to the game: both cheerful _and_ memorable. Entering a dark castle starts the appropriate 8-bit tune that announces imminent danger, entering an underground hole comes with a dampened musical track, while the sunlit farm roads immediately increases the cheerfulness levels. The credits indicate [Bit Managers](https://www.mobygames.com/company/bit-managers-sl) was involved in creating the soundtrack, the same folks that did [Sylvester & Tweety](/games/gameboycolor/sylvester-tweety-breakfast-on-the-run), Turok 2, Carrot Crazy, and a bunch of incarnations of French comics.
+I haven't even talked about the music yet. The tunes are a perfect compliment to the game: both cheerful _and_ memorable. Entering a dark castle starts the appropriate 8-bit tune that announces imminent danger, entering an underground hole comes with a dampened musical track, while the sunlit farm roads immediately increases the cheerfulness levels. The credits indicate [Bit Managers](https://www.mobygames.com/company/bit-managers-sl) was involved in creating the soundtrack, the same folks that did [Sylvester & Tweety](/games/gameboycolor/sylvester-tweety-breakfast-on-the-run), Turok 2, [Carrot Crazy](/games/gameboycolor/looney-tunes-carrot-crazy), and a bunch of incarnations of French comics.
 
 The controls feel snappy, and there wasn't a moment where I was unsure if my button presses would result in the right actions in-game, like in [Tom & Jerry](/games/gameboy/tom-and-jerry-frantic-antics). Of course, since it's a top-down action adventure game, this is less off an issue compared to hardcore platform games. 
 

content/games/pc/arx-fatalis.md

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 date: "2007-03-30"
 title: "Arx Fatalis: the Review"
 tags:
-    - 'Arx Fatalis'
     - 'crpg'
 howlongtobeat_id: 637
 howlongtobeat_hrs: 20