Q*bert

Q*bert arrived on the Game Boy Color as a modern adaptation of the legendary arcade classic from the early eighties, made famous chiefly by its unmistakable character and simple yet devious game design, in which an orange creature with a long snout hops across a pyramid of hexagonal cubes, changing their color while avoiding the snake Coily and other enemies lurking on the pyramid's various levels, who grow faster and more unpredictable as the game progresses. The handheld version by Realtime Associates preserves the basic principle of jumping in four directions and adds new environments, game modes, and small tweaks meant to refresh the original's simple but relentlessly addictive concept for a new generation of players.

The game works as a hybrid of platformer and puzzle game — the player must anticipate enemy movement and plan a route across the pyramid in order to color all the cubes before being caught by an opponent, or make use of the escape discs at the pyramid's edges. The GBC's color display allowed for a more faithful distinction between the different cube states and enemies, which made the game considerably clearer than black-and-white handheld versions, and the catchy music along with the signature sound effects remained true to the arcade original, including the famous sound of Q*bert's cursing, which became one of the whole brand's recognizable trademarks.

Although Q*bert belongs among the quieter titles of the GBC library, its simple rules and gameplay that's quick to grasp but hard to fully master make it an ideal game for short sessions on the go, where even just a few minutes are enough for one round. Today it is appreciated mainly as an honest handheld adaptation of an arcade icon, one that shows just how well the principles of eighties games translated to pocket consoles two decades later without losing any of their addictiveness or clarity.