elmo in grouchland

content/games/gameboy/tom-and-jerry-frantic-antics.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ tags:
   - '2D platformer'
 ---
 
-As yet another licensed platformer _and_ watered-down port from the Genesis/MegaDrive original, I was a bit skeptic. Even though [Looney Tunes was okay](/games/gameboy/looney-tunes/), it wasn't great, and my low expectations turned out to be right: this game downright stinks. The review could end here, but since I already spent `€6` too much on the game, I might just as well have a bit of fun by ranting here.
+As yet another licensed platformer _and_ watered-down port from the Genesis/MegaDrive original, I was a bit skeptic. Even though [Looney Tunes was okay](/games/gameboy/looney-tunes/), it wasn't great, and my low expectations turned out to be right: this game downright stinks. The review could end here, but since I already spent `€12` too much on the game, I might just as well have a bit of fun by ranting here.
 
 As soon as you boot up the game, you're greeted with a cheerful 8-bit interpretation of the Tom & Jerry main theme, which is pleasant enough. That is only there to fool the player: during the rest of the game, you're force-fed an amalgam of annoying to downright awful tunes that just don't make any sense. Of course, these are recycled. Of course. Okay, turn the music off and start playing?
 
@@ -28,4 +28,7 @@ The game is more or less a (very poor) port of a mediocre Genesis/MegaDrive game
 
 {{< youtube 4HyTSMzCelU >}}
 
+I don't know why the Game Boy version is called _Frantic Antics! The Chaos Continues_---it's the same game, although you have to look very hard to see it. For those who are content with awful jumps, bland level design, and irritating music, there's at least one thing to look forward to: in each Tom & Jerry level, you can hunt down 4 pieces of a cookie that is usually accessible by walking through walls. Don't expect "the thrill of the hunt" like discovering secrets behind breakable Castlevania-esque walls, though. 
+
+To conclude, this isn't worth anyone's time, even though it only takes an hour. 
 

content/games/gameboycolor/the-adventures-of-elmo-in-grouchland.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+title: "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland: Sesame, Let Me Out Of Here!"
+date: 2022-05-15
+score: 1
+howlongtobeat_id: 63914
+howlongtobeat_hrs: 1
+game_name: 'The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'
+game_genre: '2D Platformer'
+tags:
+  - '2D Platformer'
+game_release_year: 1999
+game_developer: 'Bonsai Interactive Corporation'
+---
+
+_Why on earth would you want to buy a Sesame Street game that's clearly aimed towards kids?_ I can hear you thinking. Because there are surprisingly entertaining and excellent Muppet-alike games out there. Of course I'm talking about [The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside](https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/muppet-cd-rom-muppets-inside)---it even contains a DOOM map pack called _The Kitchen Of Doom_ where you as the Swedish chef have to fight off angry vegetables:
+
+{{< youtube URKaT-EQ5P0 >}}
+
+_Elmo in Grouchland_ is everything _Muppets Inside_ isn't. It's not funny, not pleasant to play through, has little variation (unless you count the amount of over-saturated color usage to convince you you're really, really playing a Game Boy _Color_ game here!), and no decent game length. For `€6` on the second hand market, I kind of expected something like this, but couldn't resist trying anyway. I accidentally came across this game for the first time in a retrospective video on [Who Framed Roger Rabbit](/games/gameboy/who-framed-roger-rabbit) and thought _huh, that looks cool_. Yeah, that's about it. 
+
+![](title.png "Remember these logos well. Avoid like the plague!")
+
+According to [Mobygames](https://www.mobygames.com/company/bonsai-entertainment-inc), Bonsai Interactive also made _Barbie Super Model_ for DOS, Genesis/MegaDrive and SNES. That explains it! There are two more Game Boy Color Elmo games: _Elmo's 123s_ and _Elmo's ABCs_. After that, Mobygames' entries end, but [their official website](https://www.bonsaiec.com/) lists a few more obscure GBC games. 
+
+_Grouchland_ itself fits neatly into the Elmo lineup: it's extremely easy, extremely colorful, and extremely short. Like, ten minutes short. Each level requires about a minute of going from left to right (sometimes bottom or top, too!). Before you even properly begin exploring a level, it ends and you're greeted with an intro screen for the next one. This is without a doubt the shortest GB game I ever played. There's a _hard_ difficulty option, and even that could not be called a challenge. 
+
+![](levels.png "Woaah. Is Elmo on drugs? No, he's washing trashcans in the street!")
+
+Bonsai clearly tried to make the graphics pop to appeal to a younger audience, and I must say it's pleasant enough to the eye, especially compared to so many other shoddy jobs out there on the Color. That said, this is a shoddy job too, even as a gift for a six-year old. They'll likely breeze through this even faster than me. 
+
+There are a few obstacles to avoid and a few hard to see diamond shapes to collect to increase your score, but overall, I had little sense of what was going on, except that Elmo lost his blanket, and we had to get after it. Turns out it tumbled into a sewer, traveled through "Grouchland", and ultimately was left hanging on a helicopter? At least the jump mechanics aren't as bad as in [Tom and Jerry](/games/gameboy/tom-and-jerry-frantic-antics), but it doesn't help that you barely need them.
+
+The only other positive thing I can say about the game is that it's cheap. If you want your kid to grow up in a nostalgic rush of the nineties with a Game Boy, please _do not_ buy this game for them. If you're looking for a simple and cheerful platformer, take a look at Kirby's Dreamland instead. 
+