''Blue's Journey'' is a
side-scrolling platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
released by
Alpha Denshi
, formerly known as , was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980. ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo titles, including for its home consoles, produced in partnership with SNK. ...
in 1990 on
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
's
Neo Geo MVS
The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...
arcade system and their AES home system. It was ported to the
Neo Geo CD
The is the second home video game console of SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format retailing at per t ...
in 1994.
It was rereleased on the
Wii's
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
in Europe on November 9, 2007, followed by North America on November 12, 2007.
Gameplay
Blue has the ability to stun enemies, pick them up and throw them as projectiles. He can also shrink himself down in order to access hidden areas. A second player can take control of a unnamed green palette swap of Blue.
[''Blue's Journey'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)]
Plot
In the game the player controls a heroic young man named Blue who was sent by Princess Fa to save the peaceful
planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
of Raguy. The planet is inhabited by insect people (Insectarians) and Blue is in love with the Princess Fa. It has been invaded by the evil Daruma Empire, who plans on consuming the planet's resources and
polluting it.
There are several endings different endings in the game depending on certain events such as whether or not the player defeated their rival.
Development and release
Reception
''RePlay'' reported ''Blue's Journey'' to be the sixth most-popular arcade game at the time.
The game received generally positive reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms,
most of which unanimously praised the colorful graphics.
Both the Neo Geo and Nintendo Switch versions hold a 48.75% and 50% respectively on the review aggregator ''
GameRankings''.
''
AllGame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
''s Kyle Knight praised the "cutesy" and colorful graphics when compared to other systems released at the time such as the
Nintendo Entertainment System and
Sega Genesis, as well as the multiple pathways but ultimately regarded its gameplay as average, noting that it lacked difficulty.
''Consoles Plus'' Pingos and Badin highly commended the presentation for being varied, simple controls and multiple paths but noted that the music was repetitive.
''
GameFan
''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...
'' and ''
GamePro'' gave high remarks the colorful visuals, music, characters, gameplay and controls but Andrew Cockburn of the former publication noted its short length.
''
Hobby Consolas
''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...
'' Marcos García highly praised the technical presentation, colorful graphics, samba-style soundtrack, numerous secrets, bosses, gameplay and two-player co-op feature.
''Joypad''s Alain Huyghues-Lacour and Seb, as well as ''
Joystick'' Jean-Marc Demoly, noted its low difficulty level but commended the animated graphics, controls and audio.
''Player One''s Cyril Drevet gave positive remarks to the colorful graphics, sprite animations, sound, difficulty and longevity.
''
Tilt
Tilt may refer to:
Music
* Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992
* Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993
* Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979
Albums
* ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981
* ...
''s Laurent Defrance and Jean-Michel Maman regarded it as a cross between ''
Marvel Land'' and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog'', while ''Génération 4''s Frank Ladoire also drew comparison with ''
Super Mario Bros.
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
''. Both publications praised the colorful graphics, fluid animations, responsive controls and soundtrack, with both Defrance and Maman stating that ''Blue's Journey'' was an original and varied adventure-platform game.
''Consolemania''s Marco Auletta criticized the graphics and sound for being simplistic and bland respectively, as well as its gameplay for being frustrating.
In recent years, ''Blue's Journey'' has been met with a more mixed reception from critics.
''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
''s Dan Whitehead criticized the visuals for being "crude and blotchy", recommending ''
Super Mario Bros. 3'' on the
Wii's
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
instead.
''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
''s Frank Provo praised the sound design and sountrack but criticized the graphics and gameplay.
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Lucas M. Thomas regarded the title as a passable platform game.
In 2014, ''
HobbyConsolas
''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...
'' identified it as one of the twenty best games for the Neo Geo AES.
Notes
References
External links
''Blue's Journey''at
GameFAQs
''Blue's Journey''at
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by '' Time' ...
''Blue's Journey''at
Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...
''Blue's Journey''at
MobyGames
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue's Journey
1990 video games
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D4 Enterprise games
Fantasy video games
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Neo Geo games
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Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation Network games
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Platform games
Side-scrolling platform games
SNK games
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games scored by Yuka Watanabe
Virtual Console games
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