The Zelda-inspired James Bond 007 Game Boy RPG that time forgot

Date:
Sat, 09 Oct 2021 14:30:32 +0000

Description:
Zelda looks, super spy left-hooks.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Forget an exploding pen: all you needed were a few spare batteries to enjoy this forgotten gem of the early handheld era. Goldeneye may be the more fondly-remembered 90s outing for the super spy, but James Bond 007 on the
Game Boy went to places that no Bond game has ventured to since.

Developed by Sapphire Corporation and published in 1998, a year after Goldeneye 64 had taken the first person shooter genre by storm, the Game Boys take on the James Bond franchise was one of the more ambitious takes on the character weve seen so far.

Top-down Zelda gameplay meets pun-laden super spy antics? You betcha. The
fact that so few people remember it feels like a conspiracy that only
Blofield himself could mastermind. Here's our spoiler-free review of No Time to Die Which is the best Daniel Craig Bond film? Casino Royale to No Time to Die, ranked No Time To Die in Dolby Atmos and Vision has ruined traditional cinemas for me A view to a thrill

If possible, cast your mind back to the licensed 8-bit and 16-bit games of
the 1990s. While Marvels Spider-Man 2 and Jedi: Fallen Order are now big-budget, hugely ambitious takes on existing franchises, the potential was much smaller in the 90s. Slap a recognizable character and logo on the box, make a crude approximation of said character out of a handful of pixels, make a side scrolling platformer jobs a goodun. This describes the vast majority of tie-ins at the time. (Image credit: Future)

Sapphire Corporation, based out of American Fork, Utah, had other ideas though. Working to the strengths of the platform it had been saddled with, James Bond 007 was instead a Zelda-like, top-down adventure where exploration and clue gathering was as important as sharp shooting and fisticuffs. Like in Link's Awakening, you could map items to the A and B buttons as you saw fit, exploring locations for secrets and solutions to puzzles, as well as taking the fight to mobs of henchmen.

Travelling from China to Blighty, Marakech to Russia in globetrotting Bond style, it may not feature Zeldas back-tracking unlockable secrets, but its level-based design definitely takes inspiration from Nintendos pointy-eared mascot. There are puzzles aplenty on offer here, whether its rifling through houses to find tools to repair a pivotal bridge, or shooting out the lights
to get past a particularly vigilant guard, there were lots of clever ideas that went beyond the usual, brainless, license to kill stuff.

Telling an original, if lightweight, save the world story, it played out a
bit like a James Bond greatest hits, too. Youd encounter MI6 boss M, trade blows with Oddjob and Jaws, and even woo a Bond girl. This was very much the Roger Moore of Bond games, with its cheeky asides, ludicrous situations and tongue-in-cheek attitude, for better and worse. (Image credit: Future)

And though the family-friendly nature of the Nintendo handheld was never really breached, gunfights aside, there is very much a clear suggestion that old James Thunderballs Bond partakes in the services provided by a brothel in order to pilfer a diamond.

The best bit, though, is just the way it captures all the other stuff Bond does. Games focus on taking Bond on killing sprees through secret bases, or bombing along in sports cars in pursuit of some dastardly villain. But they never let you have a chat with Q, or flirt with Moneypenny. They rarely let you outwit the bad guy, or let you kick back and hit the casino. It may have been visually limited, but the scale of its ambition was only constrained by the hardwares modest limitations. (Image credit: Future) Whats next for Bond in gaming?

The Bond universe is in a state of flux right now, making it uncertain as to what shape 007s next gaming outing will take.

For starters, Daniel Craigs rough-and-tumble interpretation of Ian Flemings spy has now been put to bed, with Craig handing in his license to kill. The search is now on for a new Bond and, presumably, a new direction to take the well worn franchise in.

In addition, the rights to the James Bond universe have recently changed hands. Amazon looked to boost its Amazon Prime Video offering with the purchase of the Bond property via a whopping $8.54 billion deal for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , also known as MGM. (Incidentally, the purchase also hands over the rights to Sylvester Stallones Rocky movies. Bond vs Balboa, anyone?). Who knows how Amazon plans to use the franchise across its many platforms and services, but its nascent gaming ambitions will surely see Bond play a part.

For now, though, the franchise sits in the capable hands of IO Interactive, the makers of the fittingly-spy-like Hitman series. Its Project 007 will be an all-original story set in the world of Bond, presumably featuring some of the stealthy mechanics that have made the Hitman games so satisfying to play.

But heres hoping they take a little inspiration from the story-driven, explorative heart of James Bond 007 for the Game Boy. Who should be the next James Bond? The 007 wannabes ranked



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-zelda-inspired-james-bond-007-game-boy-rpg- that-time-forgot/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)