''Bit Boy!!'' is an

action video game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

developed by Austrian studio Bplus for

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WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

service. It was released in Europe on July 3, 2009, North America on July 13, 2009, and in Japan on March 30, 2010 as by

Marvelous Entertainment (MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...

Gameplay

Players control a cube named Kubi, who they must navigate through a series of increasingly complex mazes in order to rescue his friends. Players must also avoid monsters that roam the mazes, though later in the game they are given a limited ability to attack them. The game's levels are spread across the setting of several "Bit Generations", which are generally representative of video game console generations. Each Bit Generation sees changes in graphics, sound and level design that are intended to invoke the aesthetics of the games from that particular generation, however in general the gameplay remains the same throughout. These Bit Generations, presented in the game as fictional installments of a series of ''Bit Boy'' games, include: *''Bit Boy'', representative of second generation-era games *''Bit Boy 2'', representative of

third generation Third generation may refer to: * ''Third Generation'' (album), a 1982 album by Hiroshima * ''The Third Generation'' (1920 film), an American drama film directed by Henry Kolker * ''The Third Generation'' (1979 film), a West German black comedy b ...

-era games *''Super Bit Boy'', representative of fourth generation-era games *''Bit Boy 3D'', representative of early fifth generation-era games *''Bit Boy 64'', representative of late fifth generation-era games *''Bit Boy Wii'', representative of sixth and seventh generation-era games The game is played using with the

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held sideways or held upright to simulate an arcade

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

. After completing a Bit Generation, the

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-based "Warp Mode" is unlocked for that particular era. Beating the last level of the game in either Classic Mode or Warp Mode allows the player to play through all levels again in the Turbo Classic Mode and Turbo Warp Mode respectively.

Development

With ''Bit Boy!!'', Bplus wanted the game to "spark true retro feelings in all gamers, regardless of age", which led to it being set across multiple video game generations. The first three Bit Generations feature increasingly detailed 2D graphics (including the use of the authentic

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

color palette in ''Bit Boy 2''), the latter generations evolve from using simple polygonal shapes and blurry textures to complex models and sharp photo realistic textures to illustrate the evolution of the three-dimensional visuals.

Reception

The game received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to the

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website

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Sequels

On February 15, 2012, a sequel to ''Bit Boy!!'' was announced. It is titled ''

Bit Boy!! Arcade ''Bit Boy!! Arcade'' is an action video game developed by Austrian indie studio Bplus for Nintendo 3DS' eShop service. It was released in the United States on April 17, 2014 and in Europe on April 24, 2014. It's a sequel to the 2009 released '' B ...

'' and was released on April 17, 2014 for the

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, via the

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References

External links

Official website
*{{moby game, id=/48591/bit-boy/ 2009 video games Action games Marvelous Entertainment games Single-player video games Video games developed in Austria Wii games Wii-only games WiiWare games