Alice in Wonderland (GBC) Review (no fat)

Game Description

The Game Boy Color has always been the target of many Disney classics. Alice in Wonderland is yet another movie that got ported to the system. Of course, the game’s story is basically the same as that of the movie, and the book itself.

Follow Alice as the imaginative little girl chases a white rabbit into the amazing world of Wonderland. Along the way, she meets several whimsical and colorful characters, including the egoistic Queen of Hearts, who each welcome her in their own weird way.

Alice in Wonderland Gameplay

Alice in Wonderland is a platform game where you need to control the child across the appropriately huge Wonderland. The game does a very good job of sticking to the original plot as much as possible, and this is probably one of its best features. You will thus witness Alice follow the white rabbit before being dragged into her extraordinary adventure. Strange events also happen to the main protagonist during the game, and these include her shrinking to a mouse’s size so she can go through tiny doors and returning to normal again.

What separates this game from other platform titles is the variety found in its level designs, all of which have been geared to restore the acclaimed movie’s atmosphere. As an example, you will cruise through a whizzing stage where you’ll constantly need to hop as fast as a rabbit and look for elusive keys.

The game even changes from a side-scrolling platformer to an isometric view title once the later stages kick in. There are some bland parts that unfortunately fail to be as enticing, and are simply boring, but these mainly arise due to the game’s dazzling plethora of levels, of which there are more than 20. Obviously, this gives Alice in Wonderland a long life span.

Moreover, although the game is based on material that is mainly geared towards children, the title is actually challenging. There are various tough parts that require a good dose of effort, and Alice’s adventure is certainly no ridiculously easy task you can complete in a single try. The difficulty level is well balanced, and the game never gets frustrating. In any case, the presence of real obstacles makes the game more fun, and beating it is subsequently more rewarding.

In addition to its impressive levels, Alice in Wonderland also includes a great amount of secrets to uncover. There’s a lot to do in the game such as completing specific tasks to unlock even more levels. There’s no denying this title proposes a challenging experience, with such an insane amount of levels thrown in. The game also makes use of the Game Boy Printer with pictures that you can reveal and eventually print. Of course, these do not constitute a real game secret, but fans may nevertheless be enthralled by such nice Easter eggs.

With everything said, the game is brought to earth by some glaring flaws. You will encounter several locations that literally force you to give up lives, as this constitutes the only way to assess what difficulty lies ahead. You are given absolutely no warning about its danger zones in certain locales, and it’s up to you to walk straight into them when you first discover these levels. It’s not recurring enough to give you headaches, but nevertheless breaks the game’s otherwise great flow.

Alice in Wonderland Visuals

A superbly designed game, with visuals that definitely rank among the best on the system. There is a real abundance of colors in the animated and meticulously detailed backgrounds, and the textures seem directly lifted from the movie. The character models are even more impressive with Alice and all the Wonderland inhabitants benefiting from an excellent animation.

Alice in Wonderland Sound

The audio is average, but blends into the game well. While the music is far from remarkable, it nonetheless strengthens the game’s cutesy atmosphere, and never gets monotonous in spite of its blatant simplicity.

Alice in Wonderland Overall

Alice in Wonderland is assuredly one of the best movie-to-game ports to have graced the Game Boy Color. Its charming locales, combined with the solid gameplay, make it a thoroughly enjoyable title that will appeal to gamers of any age.

Alice in Wonderland Cost

The game currently retails for $23.98.