Eskimo Bob: Starring Alfonzo

[b]Disclaimer: I helped fund this game via Kickstarter, and have been friends with the creator for the past 18 years.[/b] This game is the perfect example of why we need more options than just "Yes / No" on reviews. This is a silly action puzzle platformer with tight controls. You control either Eskimo Bob or Alfonzo as they collect all the floating fish on a stage to advance to the next area. Bob can jump higher and farther, and punch blocks below him, while Alfonzo has a stick which lets him attack enemies and destroy blocks in front of him. And you might think it can get boring, but it doesn't. The controls are super tight, better than most games on the old NES, and while most stages are straightforward and can be cleared out pretty quickly, there are a few that will take you much longer to complete because you have to plan out your moves ahead of time, or you don't have access to Alfonzo's stick to defend yourself. And there are a few stages where you can get stuck if you don't do things the right way - thankfully, the game tells you in advance by placing a warning sign at the start. There are also some stages that require you to have pin point accuracy and reflexes (I was stuck on Level 40 for a long while) but you'll get the hang of it. The game also features a password system which saves your progress. The password is saved automatically and restored when you load the game - I imagine it's a carryover of the forthcoming NES version, which likely won't have the benefit of autoloading the password when you start up the game. You can remap your control settings and choose between windowed and fullscreen modes. You get a boss fight every 16 stages. The first three bosses are pretty fair, you basically have to punch them three times so you can proceed to the next level. And here's the reason for this review... the final boss. Unlike the earlier bosses, he has more hits, and each hit also changes up his attack patterns. And if you even get hit once, you have to start the fight all over again. And I'm sorry, but after losing to him twenty times, I gave up. This is the sort of design choice that made me return Ninja Gaiden II to the rental store over 20 years ago. This is the same design choice that made me shelve Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (Sly 1) 8 years ago. And now it's made me shelve this game. I no longer have the patience nor the drive to deal with a design choice that should not even be considered in 20-friggin-17. I beat Dark Souls 3, but I couldn't beat this game, so the creators should be proud of themselves. Final game stats as of this writing: 3.2 Hours Played from start to finish, about 1 hour of that was spent replaying levels I couldn't beat. Over 100 deaths and multiple game over screens. Lots and lots of cursing. Final word: Fun throwback to the NES era, including both the best and the worst design choices of the time. Kinda short, but worth a playthrough. Neutral to yes reccommended.

I backed this game on Kickstarter just because I was so excited to see a new NES game in development. Yes--you read that right--an all-new game in 2017 for the orginal Nintendo Entertainment System. One other thing I should note is that I didn't know anything about the Eskimo Bob series on Newgrounds, so this review is from the perspective of someone with no nostalgic connection to the game's characters or story. As with all Kickstarter game projects, you sometimes wonder if the pledge was worth it--if the game is as good as it looks on the videos. Well, I've finally gotten around to check it out, and I'm happy to say that I'm loving it! The gameplay, like many classic NES titles, is very simple. It's your basic 2D platformer, with a few puzzle-type mechanics added in to make it interesting. The 2 playable characters, Bob and Alfonzo, have different abilities and slightly different jump arcs, which felt like a throwback to Super Mario Bros. 2 (the North American Mario 2, of course). The first few levels start out very simple, but get progressively more complex and interesting as you go along. So far, I wouldn't say this is a challenging game, but it's also not a pretty fun little game, and the level designs so far feel very carefully designed to keep things fun. The controls themselves are very smooth and responsive--more-so than many NES games of years ago! The presentation of the game is also very well done. The colour choices are great, the characters have cute animations, and the music is a fun throwback to the simpler days of gaming. One thing to note is that I only heard one song so far in the game. I haven't gotten tired with it yet, but I'm not sure if it will get old after a while or not. I've been disappointed in the past with some of the games I backed on Kickstarter, but I'm not regretting this one. It's clearly a labor of love, both for the old web series and for the NES. I'm just thrilled that this game exists, and recommend it to anyone looking for some retro platforming action.

Fun little puzzle game that will either captivate you or frustrate you in no time. Enjoy

Bought the NES cart when it came out. Really cool idea, and the game is challenging and reasonably long. I'd say game length is about 2.5-4 hours, mine was padded a bit but not a lot. The movement is solid, levels all seem to serve some sort of purpose be it a challenge, introducing a new mechanic, or a boss. The difficulty of the game scales pretty smoothly throughout its length, and in classic NES game fashion, IT GETS HARD. I'd say I spent at least half of my playtime on the last 10 or so levels. It was infuriating but I never felt overly cheated, and the feeling of finally beating the game was worth it. The game isn't something too special for the era it's trying to replicate, a little lower than megaman in terms of complexity, but it does have quite a few good features that make it a game well at home in the NES library. The graphics are clean and you know what everything is, the jumping and movement are actually well beyond most NES games at the time had, the audio feedback you get is useful and adds to the games feel, and it's just a simple, enjoyable, competently made game. They didn't try to jam in any modern features, not that they really could since this is literally a NES rom, but it's nice to see that a game can be made without worrying about things like a "gameplay loop" "upgrades" and "rewarding progress". The levels are pretty short, only a couple of screens and they loop horizontally, and it uses this to it's full advantage. It almost becomes a sort of puzzle game at points, there is some planning involved between movements and characters, and with the single hit death one wrong move could mean a restart. Ask me how I know. :) Overall this is a cool retro project combined with a game, based on a mid 2000s flash cartoon many have forgotten exists. I'd recommend reading some information about how this game to be and the project surrounding it to get an idea of what to expect here, and an appreciation of what is here once you do. Judging this just as a game, it's a little above average, judging this as a NES game, its great! Give it a shot, it's cheap enough to be worth supporting the dev / cartoon creator.

Très bon jeu de plateforme et très addictif , je suis heureux d'avoir participé à son fincancement sur Kickstarter , hâte de recevoir la version NES ! Amateurs de Die and Retry ce jeu est fait pour vous !

I haven't played this series before, but Eskimo Bob reminds me what is "classic".

Fun puzzle platformer.

I remeber this in grade skool was the ♥♥♥♥ to watch an was funny as hell!!! But being an adult some of it isnt funny anymore an some is i still love the sense of humor it brings still. The game is fun an simple switch out of characters an collect fish an avoid getting hit simple!!!

Fun little trip down memory lane if you watched (and are old enough to remember) the old Eskimo Bob newgrounds cartoons. Still a pretty serviceable platformer if not. It's pretty straght-forward, where you switch between Bob, who can't attack but can jump higher and break blocks below him, and Alfonzo, who can't jump as high but can attack enemies in front of him with his stick. You mostly just go around breaking blocks and collecting fish. Pretty easy game overall, though some later levels are an exercise in trial and error as you need to break the blocks in a certain order. Still a neat game to pick up on a sale regardless.

I just keep getting ♥♥♥♥ on by maurice. Greatest game I have ever played.