''Nail 'n' Scale'', known as in Japan, is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

developed by

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

. A combination of the video game ''Jump'n Run'' and various puzzle games, it has a fast-paced side-scrolling gameplay.

Gameplay

In ''Nail 'n' Scale'', the player controls Spike, a skilled climber. The player works the way through levels of heightening difficulty. In each level, the player uses climbing spikes to navigate through the level to the door at the end of each level. The climbing spikes are also used to break bricks that block the path. There are 51 levels in all, with a boss on every tenth level. Each boss has his own unique weakness that must be exposed by the player before he can be defeated. While the first boss is not very intimidating, each subsequent one becomes more frightening. Terrifying monsters can be defeated by firing the nail in either a horizontal or a vertical direction. Players can be killed by their own exploding spikes, acquired throughout levels after the first boss. There are several exits on some levels, but only one functions. Only the "true" exit permits access to the next level. The final boss of the video game is an evil dragon named Lore, who lives in his dragon's lair. Players can continue from where they left off after a " game over", providing that they never turn off their Game Boy.

Special items

Magical door: Completes the level regardless of the player's location. White spike: A spike that will not break the brick when jumped on. Exploding spike: A spike that explodes after a short period of time, destroying the brick it is fired into, provided that the block could be broken normally.

Reception

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 ...

'' rated the game 3 stars out of 5. The gaming magazine ''Power Play'' gave it a 61% rating in its March 1991 issue.

External links

''Nail 'N Scale''
at ''

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

'' *{{MobyGames, id=/nail-n-scale
"Scale the wall or take the fall?"
at ''Gaming Sanctuary''
''Nail 'n Scale''
at ''The Game Boy Database'' 1990 video games Data East video games Game Boy-only games Platformers Puzzle video games Side-scrolling video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Game Boy games Video games about dragons Video games developed in Japan