We recently brought you the news that Yosei Wars, a new GameBoy title, was releasing on Steam, and we’ve now had a go for ourselves. The game has been developed by Nekete Games with publishing duties taken up by RAWRLAB Games. Yosei Wars is out now on Steam, although those who want a more authentic GameBoy experience may wish to hold out for the upcoming Switch and Switch 2 ports that are yet to get release dates.
Yosei Wars is a straightforward arcade-style platformer that was made using the ZGB Engine. It was then ported over to PC by the developer with a few added features to make use of the extra power on offer. The game centers on our heroine Hanoka, a brave fairy on a mission to rescue kidnapped tooth fairies from the clutches of mischievous junk food monsters. The two groups used to live side by side in peace, but that all changed when the monsters started kidnapping the tooth fairies.
As you would expect from a game of this type, the story doesn’t matter and simply serves to give some context to the action that unfolds. Yosei Wars starts with a few simple levels to get you used to the mechanics before ramping up the difficulty after the first couple of bosses. The boss stages appear after five standard rounds, which require you to collect all the teeth before taking out the enemies and rescuing the trapped fairy. You can’t attack the enemies until you gain your power by collecting all the teeth. The gameplay loop doesn’t waver from this throughout the 36 levels, except when slightly more difficult enemies start to appear.
There are times when you’ll need to mix up the strategy, as there is no way to drop down from a platform, and you’re forced to reach the top and fall back down the stage. This is quite a good way to create some longevity and difficulty to the otherwise simple level design. Occasionally, a level will have some ladders scattered around, and this usually indicates that the faster enemies will be attacking. The overall gameplay is certainly fun and has the perfect feel of a GameBoy title that could’ve been released back in the day.
Several options help to mix up the gameplay, including how many lives you start with and at what points you gain a continue. The main option to take note of is the difficulty option that can be ramped up to give a tough challenge to veterans or taken down for newcomers to the genre. Some extras help round out the package and give some added value to the game’s $4.99 price point. An art gallery and jukebox are pleasant to experience, and there is the chance to play a few early prototypes of Yosei Wards that those interested in game development will find interesting.
Overall, Yosei Wars is a cute platformer that will appeal to those who enjoy classic single-screen platformers like Bubble Bobble and Bomb Jack. And although it might not reach the heights of some of those legendary titles, this certainly has enough to help it stand out and offer something a little different. The best parts are the boss fights that can be challenging on the higher difficulty settings. While we wouldn’t say Yosei Wars is a must buy, those interested in GameBoy or arcade titles will find this enjoyable while it lasts.
