Thursday, December 22, 2011

For the ninth game of Christmas, the UPS man brought to me ...

... a complete-in-box copy of the GameBoy Advance puzzler called Zooo.

Most of you likely know this game by another name: Zoo Keeper. For some weird reason, its name was changed to Zooo when it was released for GameBoy Advance and PlayStation 2 in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Also weird: Said ports were released only in Europe and Japan.


As for why I imported the GameBoy Advance version of the game and ignored the more-easily-accessible DS version of it: I've found (through playing both versions via emulation) that I prefer the increased difficulty present in the former iteration.


Plus, I'm on a bit of a GameBoy Advance kick at the moment, and I liked the thought of being able to play this game on that great little handheld.

12 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I can't say that I've heard of ANY of this game's iterations. But I'm always up for a unique and cute puzzler.

Linnea said...

I've always thought the DS version was the first one! Do you look forward to the 3DS Zoo keeper?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Really, Justin? You've never heard of Zoo Keeper? It was a launch title for the DS, I believe. Basically, it's a Bejewelled clone with zoo animals in it. It's really pretty fun -- and addictive. Anyway, in general, the DS version is too easy/forgiving for me.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hello, Linnea! I thought the DS version was the first one, too, until I did a bit of digging recently. I really want to get the PS2 version at some point, too. As for the 3DS version, I may get it if it's released outside of Japan -- and if it's good, of course.

Retr0gamer said...

There's a flash version of Zoo Keeper online as well if people want to try it out. It's totally legal as well since it's were the game started out.

Is this game hard to find since I saw it in the local retrogames shop yesterday and paid it no notice?

Bryan Ochalla said...

You're right, Retr0gamer! I completely forgot about the Flash version. I'll try to find a link to it and share it here.

As for the GBA version being hard to find or not: As far as I can tell, the Euro version is VERY easy to come by. In fact, I think I paid about $10 or less for this copy -- and that was including shipping from England.

The Japanese version, on the other hand, seems pretty hard to come by. In fact, I've yet to see a complete-in-box copy of the Japanese version on eBay, and I rarely see loose carts on there.

Adam said...

I actually had Zoo Keeper on DS when there was nothing else to play. I honestly preferred it over Bejewelled 2 on my iPod. I forgot they even made the GBA version.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, there you go, Adam! I have to admit, I was completely unaware of it until earlier this year, when the guys at Tiny Cartridge mentioned it a few times. Anyway, it's good to hear that you've enjoyed the DS version :)

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh, that is just beautiful! Were you not able to find a copy of the Japanese version? I bet the box is gorgeous! (I love the long Japanese GBA boxes)

Did you know you can play Zoo Keeper free online? That's where I first got into it: http://pc.kiteretsu.jp/games/zka/zka.htm

Ahhh, now you've made me really want my own copy...

Unknown said...

Whoops, didn't see Retrogamer's comment! Anyways, that's the original link to the Japanese creator's page

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Anne! Actually, I looked for some time for a boxed version of the Japanese release, but I couldn't find one. I eventually figured it would cost a lot more than a CIB copy of the Euro version, though, since even just the Japanese cart seems to go for $10 or more. So, this way, I got a CIB copy of the game, plus shipping, for about $10! You can't go wrong with that, can you?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Also, thank you for sharing that link! Saved me from having to find and post it myself :)