The key words there are "almost singlehandedly," as although that side-scrolling puzzler was the game that got me thinking about the GameBoy again (after more than a decade of completely ignoring it), a number of other titles kept the proverbial ball rolling and even helped it pick up speed.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5tixUBDZDSboTa07q140QUaJ_jSf418WbaQJ2xhO6QYAkIvj7oWFWLmE0b1TlsMci-KSKeJo8ytu8le1aGsYXdccrJwW4xsS774sDYtueXhnaDl8rnJHUoTKfJwIo3nBVPj-wg/s400/fullsizeoutput_a94.jpeg)
Kaneko's Peetan, highlighted here, is one of those titles.
Of course, only a person with a heart of stone could fail to fall in love with a game that comes in such a wonderfully colorful and charming package, don't you think?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwW5twASDos_hiEzEoIDKz6OprTRAkFOOgFjLtays_G85o17pswSiW0jSG2HMgdutwFDrtAC4PnHn8RL_v8tNVLO28UbxVaHgLNs9T5qHT-BczK30je2TNxvgVCzN-TxDAQtsug/s400/fullsizeoutput_a8d.jpeg)
Add in the fact that Peetan's protagonist is a protective mother hen and that its gameplay revolves around launching her endangered chicks to the upper-reaches of a tree, and it should be easy to see how I quickly became smitten with this Japan-only release from 1991.
Am I as smitten with Peetan's instruction manual as I am with its gameplay, premise, and packaging? Not really, but don't take that to mean I think it's a dog.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ymSoV_T6hSIrg6HBh9JTU_NRybeHrKY6G97IEDPnGT_yvpKFesOoxwaPORW38r0kgNuvNO_oBriPK4RtJNrYnbUg1Uuptv1X6jWQBtXjbQN5XOb3wKj-TFikwhYLElmeOCZswA/s400/fullsizeoutput_a8e.jpeg)
After all, it offers up a number of nice touches. The line of illustrated chicks that runs along the bottom of every page is a good example. The larger drawings that pop up here and there are another.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_joKfv67Qo6Wzct3g0g93Rdm1jUWxr_P4k0Kz-fWRyr1y0OyKIHees_3h1NakOqcAR9VWxLjpkru9Zydbw4vDF8DoM8owEW_8hD33Yi2B4hVBMzcSlO3hdhg1rOuZ2t41k8Ef_Q/s400/fullsizeoutput_a8f.jpeg)
I'm also pretty fond of the Peetan manual's overall color scheme, although it can make scans such as the ones showcased in this post somewhat hard to see.
My advice: click on them to blow them up a bit--or a lot. That'll make them far easier to enjoy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMho7RxowzIccvufkcPUujnECtDwm2ZqJiYfUqk1ZJVPSL9vSI-zfuONlJu1IrCSKVVYKNGeTZyUS-LohfxAiLFuwzVZsV74c69jxVWmcv1ICu0hQ1MxJptLeus-TngVo638WsaQ/s400/fullsizeoutput_a90.jpeg)
Something else I love about the Peetan manual: the wonky screenshots that are scattered throughout its 15 pages.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjper0R7FawfhQdVlK5410BvJpy8UlaQ2jgeDLptxIcVpRe-s4q6xRmBukYFaWW_4Qm4Jiee2No721ScwmS1fzM1Lv2UabfNb7zIamA2tJPv-fYsLo_wlEU3QoywGLPgeR5-93E5A/s400/fullsizeoutput_a91.jpeg)
That's nothing new to the world of GameBoy instruction booklets, of course. Most of them feature at least a few screenshots that could, at best, be described as fuzzy or hazy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WcIcwpMKrFFHPg1stJNTeTKpdeld4L5_64Eogl1UZP_77pcptHAosjWmQFiCdBvA9IWb6P-qyiDaqsi_i2o3TuvibxDXec_JxaqZskeqBoFDFl1XMlPKEcxoTeJYdgyHdIxxCA/s400/fullsizeoutput_a92.jpeg)
Oh, well. Not every Japanese GameBoy manual can be as eye-popping as the ones made for Bubble Bobble Junior, Pitman, Snow Bros. Jr., or Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank, right?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVVaJ8ZPmIQupOId3sR-O-z8kK-sewUeBKUg4OatACppS-mtHqKV7uCVsF6bQogEg1ddjnvlNTcNIBJAnMKOyImubzGuUsIdy_Pf1EjUmHQ5WzekxTXF5ZvEBzweSYYH96snBsg/s400/fullsizeoutput_a93.jpeg)
Plus, Peetan's booklet includes something not found in any of the just-mentioned ones: an entire page about something called an "EGG BONUS."
See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts devoted to Astro Rabby, Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, Penguin-kun Wars Vs., and Tumblepop
No comments:
Post a Comment