Game & Watch Collection 2 Review

Following in the footsteps of the first Club Nintendo exclusive game, Game & Watch Collection, comes ... what else? Game & Watch Collection 2. But, unlike the first collection, which emulated three of the Game & Watch's dual-screen games, this collection only features two single-screen games, Octopus and Parachute, and a new game that combines the two, Parachute X Octopus. Knowing this, should you still put down you hard earned 800 Coins for this? Or should you hold out and wait for other Club Nintendo prizes?

The only thing I would like to mention is the new interface. The first game had a very plain and boring menu system, that while stay true to the aesthetic of the Game & Watch games, was still just unappealing. But this second one takes a different route, and has the look and music as if it was something out of The Legendary Starfy series. Obviously this doesn't make up for the poor selection of just two classic games (and a third that just combines the two) for the steep price of 800 Coins, but it was something I liked at least. If anything, I'd of liked to see New/Old version of the games in this style, akin to the old Game & Watch Gallery games with Mario characters.

Parachute
When you select this game or the following, there's something you'll notice right away: the top screen is wasted. The previous collection's use of both screens was neat, because you could have never played those games like that unless you actually had them. But with this, you really have to wonder why it's even on the DS.

The premise of Parachute is simple (as one would expect from a Game & Watch title), a helicopter tosses out characters, and it's up to you to catch them in your boat. It's definitely one of the most fun Game & Watch games around, and once I got the hang of it I kept trying to best my scores, but when the cart only has this and another game it feels a bit like a ripoff.

Octopus
While I may have really liked Parachute, Octopus has always been a Game & Watch title that I hated. I'm not sure if it's the difficulty, or the limitations of the Game & Watch interface, or that big stupid octopus that's always there, but I've just never been able to get into this one. And being that it's just one of two games on this collection, makes me question why I even got this ... and then I realized it was because I didn't feel like wasting my Coins on paper goods...

Parachute X Octopus
And then there's the "new" Game & Watch game, Parachute X Octopus. Sadly, as the name suggests, it's just a combination of the two games already on this collection, and not an entirely new Game & Watch set up. And to make things worse, the game never truly uses both screens as it may look. Instead you start off with a game of Parachute on top, and after a certain number of rescues, you go down and grab some treasure while evading the tentacles in Octopus, and repeat. So basically you're just alternating between both games on the collection, just without having to go through menus, and you only have three strikes between both games. It's not overly fun, and really shouldn't even be called new.

Final Thoughts
What made the first Club Nintendo Game & Watch Collection neat was that for the first time ever, those three dual-screen Game & Watch titles could be emulated to play as they were intended, which would have been impossible in the four Game & Watch Gallery titles that had released for the different Game Boy platforms. With this second collection, you're getting only two games, both of which have been featured in nearly every Game & Watch compilation, and could've easily been made available via DSiWare like a lot of other Game & Watch titles have been recently. The 'new' inclusion doesn't even warrant a purchase, because it's just the two games alternating from one screen to another. Sure there's some collector's value with this, but then again, there's nothing much else to spend 800 coins on, so the choice is yours.

Overall Score: 6/10

Flickr Update: Game & Watch Collection, James Franco Q&A

I know, it's been quite some time since I got the Club Nintendo exclusive Game & Watch Collection, and much like we did with Zach's hanafuda cards, I intended to get photos of the game onto our Flickr account. But then, as you may have remembered, my camera died.

But that's all settled now that I got my new Sony DSC-T77, which has 10.1 megapixel resolution, 5 more than my old one, as well as full touch screen controls. It's taken some getting used to, but I'm liking the the quality of the pictures it takes, so I suppose that's what matters. Here's your pack shots:

Anyone else get this collection? What did you think? Worth all 800 of those Coins?

Also, added a collage of photos taken with my crappy cellphone from the James Franco Q&A.

Game & Watch Collection review

Hanafuna cards aren't the only thing you can get for 800 coins at Club Nintendo, no sir, there's more Nintendo history to be had. Those looking for a free game can redeem their hard earned coins for the, once Japanese exclusive, Game & Watch Collection.

This "collection" features three of the "multi-screen" Game & Watch titles, including: Oil Panic, Donkey Kong, and Green House; all faithfully recreated using the two screens of the DS. My biggest gripe though, is that while technically the game is a free reward for spending virtually $800 on Nintendo products, 3 games isn't much of a collection when you've realized 15 multi-screen Game & Watch games were released in all.

Then (Donkey Kong - 1982) and Now (DS Lite - 2006)

As you can see, putting these games on the DS isn't so far-fetched, and in fact it works quite well. However, what makes this Game & Watch Collection different from the Game & Watch Gallery titles from the Game Boy, is that there are no "modern" versions of the games, recreated with Mario characters. So what you're getting is three straight ports, with both A and B versions, and an added alarm feature. As a note to those unaware, the difference of A and B games is that the B game is harder and/or faster.

Oil Panic
This one of the more well known Game & Watch titles, as it's been feature in the first Game & Watch Gallery, this collection, WarioWare, and as a move for Mr. Game & Watch in the Super Smash Bros. series. The way this game work is that you control the character on the top screen, who's objective it is to catch the dripping oil. As your bucket fills, you must empty out to the character on the lower screen, who moves left and right, requiring you to time you catches and tosses. It's a fairly decent game for those with twitchy fingers and yet a good sense of timing.

Donkey Kong
This is not the classic arcade (or NES) game you know and love. Do not let the layout of this game deceive you, cause while it may look like that familiar Donkey Kong game you've played, it will not play like it. The biggest fault of the game is that unlike the free-will controls on the classic version, you're limited to the Game & Watch's pre-determined character frames. And then there's the crane in which you have to grab and swing upon. It's kind of a mess really, but if there was ever a Donkey Kong you wanted to master, try this on Type B and contact me back.

Green House
The last of the collection is my personal favorite, and what looks to be the predecessor to Donkey Kong 3. Here, you have two sets of enemies to worry about: the caterpillars on top, an the spiders on the bottom. It's you job to quickly jump between the two screens in order to spray out the little pests before they reach you plants. It may not sound like much, but I was slightly blown away by how much I was actually getting into this. I don't think my fingers have moved that fast while playing a DS game before. So if I can credit it with that much, so be it.

Final Thoughts
This is not a game (or set of games) for the casual Nintendo fan. And considering it requires you to have spent around $800 in Nintendo products in order to obtain it, chances are you're going to be a hardcore fan if this is in your collection. Sure, the fact that you are only getting 3 simple games may make you want to hold onto your coins for something else, but this is one title you won't find anywhere else. It's truly for the collector.

Overall Score: 7.5/10