Game Description

Arcade veteran Q*bert finds a new home on the Game Boy Color in this release from Majesco. The gameplay is very similar to the essentially 2D action of the original. Even Coily the snake and those annoying blobs are back in this version. As in the original game, the object is to hop on cubes in order to change them to a certain color. When all the cubes are the correct color, the game moves on to the next stage. In advanced stages, multiple hops may be required to get a block to change to the desired color. A clever feature in this version allows the user to customize the way that the Game Boy's horizontal/vertical directional button will control Q*bert's diagonal jumps. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

A real blast from the past, when the simplest game concepts could engross a player for hours. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Though Q*bert had already been seen on the original Game Boy, this is the big-nosed one's dazzling Game Boy Color debut, and it does not disappoint. From the faithful re-creation of the colorful characters and environment from the original arcade game, to the ease of the controls (which can be configured in one of two ways -- diagonal or horizontal/vertical -- to suit the player's preferences), this is a classic revival truly worthy of the original game.

The game starts on a playfield almost identical to the original arcade game's pyramid, and then slowly eases the player into more complex levels with more adversaries. The new levels offer quite a bit of challenge to those who are only accustomed to the pyramid of the original game, but not overpoweringly so. Most of the game's audio emphasis is on music, since the game itself isn't exactly thick with sound effects. What's there is good, but in the end it's not as good as Jaleco's earlier Game Boy adaptation of the game, which managed to sneak the arcade game's garbled speech into the mix.

Q*bert features both an original arcade mode and an "adventure" mode, which bears only a very slight resemblance to the PlayStation version's quest mode -- you're trying to advance through numerous worlds, but you don't have to worry about rescuing specific characters. Both versions of the game stick to the basics, however, and both are challenging for old pros and newcomers alike. This is surely one of the best Game Boy Color versions of a classic coin-op that's ever been committed to a cartridge. A real blast from the past, when the simplest game concepts could engross a player for hours. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

The games look just right and are animated smoothly. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

Engaging music overshadows the sparse sound effects. Unfortunately Q*bert's trademark "cussing" is nonexistent. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Those who grew up with this game in the 1980s may find Q*bert at the top of their stack of most frequently replayed games. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

The manual spells out the game mechanics, characters, and some simple strategy in a way that even those who've never seen Q*bert before will understand. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide