We’ve been following the story of D*Fuzed, a new GBC title from developer Asobitech and publisher Incube8 Games, and have now had the opportunity to play the bomb-tastic strategy game. D*Fuzed is available to purchase on Incube8 Games‘ website and comes in three varieties. Firstly, a standard physical copy with box and manual, a collectors edition that includes lots of goodies such as a CD soundtrack and purple cart, and finally a digital download for use on emulators and SD card carts. There is also a demo available so you can try before you buy.
D*Fuzed was meant to be released some time ago, but there was a delay in the development when Quang, the solo developer behind Asobitech, was dealing with personal matters. There had already been a round of pre-orders made, and Incube8Games wanted to make sure the game would be finished. A deal was struck between all the parties involved to bring on some extra developers and get the game over the line. It’s a great story, and on a personal level, we’re glad D*Fuzed is finally out. Congratulations to all involved.
In D*Fuzed, players take control of Deef, a bomb disposal robot. The story behind Deef’s adventure is one of a forgotten world where he and his fellow robots cannot remember their purpose following many decades of peace. Suddenly, a bomb drops from the sky, and Deef’s forest home is ablaze. After diffusing the bomb, he realizes his robot friends have been captured and must now go on an epic adventure to save them from an unknown enemy.
The game is broken down into 24 levels spread across six distinct areas. Each level is a single screen and poses its own obstacles to overcome. The first few levels act as an introduction to D*Fuzed‘s turn-based puzzle gameplay, and it won’t take long to master the basics. Each time you move deef to a new square, it counts as a turn. With each turn, the landscape changes, with more bombs dropping and new obstacles appearing. You’ll soon learn to cast an eye over each object’s position before deciding on your next move.
To finish a level in D*Fuzed, Deef needs to build up his energy meter by disfusing bombs. To diffuse a bomb, he simply needs to move over it. It sounds easy, but with each turn, any bombs on the play area will tick down by another second. When the timer reaches zero, the bomb explodes and takes out anything nearby. If lots of bombs are in the vicinity of an exploding bomb, then it can cause a large explosion. If Deef is caught in the blast or hit by an obstacle, the level restarts.
There is also an incentive to try and grab bombs as soon as they fall, as the more time left on the clock, the more energy Deef receives from it. While this all works well in practice, the nature of the randomly falling bombs and obstacles makes for some frantic play at times. You’ll be doing lots of damage control in an attempt to keep Deef alive while also doing your best to fill the energy meter. Also, if you don’t collect enough bombs, Deef will lose energy, and this will hinder getting through the level.
Controlling Deef in D*Fuzed is very easy; the nature of the gameplay only requires you to use the GBC d-pad, and it is as responsive as it needs to be. Apart from that, the only other use of the action buttons is to restart levels or use the options menu. The game features some vibrant and colorful pixel art that pops where it needs to, especially during the short cutscenes or great images between levels. Deef’s friends also have their own personalities, and this is shown through the cutscenes after you rescue them.
The sound in D*Fuzed is one of the standout aspects. There is a whole soundtrack of beautifully crafted chiptunes that bounce along at a great pace, and there is enough variety that keep you bopping along with them. There is also real voice acting during the conversations Deef has with his rescued friends. Some of the voices are a little muffled in places, but this is a GBC game, so this can be forgiven due to the technical limitations. Overall, the presentation is high quality, and this feels as though it could’ve been a GBC title released back in the 90s.
D*Fuzed is a great little game that will please strategy fans and offers a decent challenge throughout the main game. Although it probably won’t take you all that long to finish, there is an added survival mode that will add some longevity to those who want to diffuse some more. Gamers looking for action-packed gameplay probably won’t find it here, but anyone who likes cute, cartoony characters will enjoy the journey and cutscenes between worlds. D*Fuzed is a great addition to the GameBoy indie scene and is recommended by us.
