''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

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 ...

and the sequel to the

Nintendo Entertainment System 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 America ...

(NES) game '' A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia''. It was published in

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by Imagineering's parent company

Absolute Entertainment Absolute Entertainment was an American Video game publisher, video game publishing company. Through its video game developer, development house, Imagineering (company), Imagineering, Absolute Entertainment produced titles for the Amiga, Atari 260 ...

and in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Jaleco was a corporate brand name that was used by two previously connected video game developers and publishers based in Japan. The original Jaleco company was founded in 1974 as Japan Leisure Company, founded by Yoshiaki Kanazawa, before being renam ...

. It was published by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' follows the two protagonists as they attempt to rescue Princess Blobette from her imprisonment from a castle tower. The game features the same

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

- platforming gameplay mechanics as ''Trouble on Blobolonia''. Controlling the boy, the player must feed the blob different flavored jelly beans to transform it into different tools to traverse the castle. ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' was designed and programmed by David Crane, who also created the original NES game.

Gameplay

''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' tells the story of a young, male protagonist and his blob companion as they attempt to rescue the latter's girlfriend, the titular Princess Blobette. The damsel in distress has been imprisoned by the antagonistic Alchemist within the highest tower of the Royal Castle on the planet Blobolonia. Like its predecessor, '' A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia'', ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' is a

- platformer in which the player directly controls the boy as he is followed around by the blob, who is controlled by the computer AI. The pair must navigate the various passages and floors of the castle to locate and free Blobette. The boy can only run back and forth, cannot jump or swim, and will die if he falls a long distance or comes in contact with dangerous objects such as flamethrowers and sewer serpents. However, the blob can be made to turn into useful tools when he is fed jelly beans of various flavors. Each flavor causes a different transformation. For example, feeding the blob a tangerine jelly bean will change him into a trampoline, which the boy can then use to reach high platforms. The player may also locate extra jelly bean sacks and numerous, optional treasures. Finding five

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

s will increase the player's extra lives by one.

Development

''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' was developed by

Imagineering ''Imagineering'' (from "imagination" and "engineering") is the implementation of creative ideas in practical form. The word was registered as a trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc. in 1990, and forms part of the title of Disney's research and dev ...

and designed and programmed by David Crane, who was also the lead designer on ''Trouble on Blobolonia''. A then-untitled follow-up to ''Trouble on Blobolonia'' was revealed in the September 1990 issue of ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

''. On November 9, ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' was first released in

under the title .

, the parent company of Imagineering, published the game in North America during May 1991. The rights to the ''A Boy and His Blob'' series are currently owned by

Majesco Entertainment Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales Inc.) is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company ...

. This company published a WayForward Technologies

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of ''A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia'' on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

, simply titled '' A Boy and His Blob'', and re-released the classic NES game on the Wii

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, Unix ...

in 2009. When Sean Velasco, director at WayForward, was asked if they were able to pick up ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'', he responded: "Blobette is also the property of Majesco, so there is no reason she could not appear in a new game. Oh man, we have such awesome ideas for her!"

Reception

Critical reception for ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette'' has been relatively positive. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' praised the game as being addictive and fun, and recommended it to players who want something original and have a lot of time on their hands. ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...

'' echoed these comments, adding that it is challenging to both novice players and players who have already mastered the original ''A Boy and His Blob''. Ed Griffiths of Nintendojo felt the game's graphics and sound to be very plain, but found gameplay mix of puzzles and exploration satisfying for first time players. Griffiths summarized: "It's short and it's not as much fun the second (or hundredth) time through, but this game is still a keeper. It's thoroughly enjoyable while it lasts, and its unique gameplay gives it a well-deserved cult classic status. Still, there are other games out there that'll give you more bang for your buck".

1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...

writer Ray Barnholt, who is familiar with the original ''A Boy and His Blob'', was thoroughly unimpressed with ''The Rescue of Princess Blobette''. Barnholt disliked the limited room to move, the ability of the blob to accidentally push the boy into a deadly trap, and no way to save one's progress.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rescue of Princess Blobette, The 1990 video games Absolute Entertainment games Game Boy games Game Boy-only games Imagineering (company) games Jaleco games Platform games Puzzle video games Video game sequels Video games scored by Mark Van Hecke Video games developed in the United States Video games set in castles Video games set on fictional planets Single-player video games Nintendo games