While I did have, and truly do appreciate, the Gameboy and its place in gaming history, there’s no question that outside of Tetris and a small number of others its titles can be tough to go back to. It isn’t so much that the lack of detail in the graphics make it underwhelming, so much as how that lack of detail can constrain what’s possible in play. I’ve been pretty amazed to see people continuing, even now, to make games that would conform to the limitations of that platform. Though it is in color, Yosei Wars fits into that tradition, delivering an arcade-like experience, though perhaps a bit too limited of one.

Playing mostly as a puzzle platformer, with a bit of what feels like Bubble Bobble level design flair, in principle your goal is quite simple. You’ll want to make your way through each stage, collecting all of the teeth that are floating around, without getting taken out by an array of roaming enemies. While that may not sound particularly challenging, don’t be deceived. Once you get past the first stage or two, you’ll have two elements working against you. The stages themselves where you’ll only be able to jump up through specific spots, and since you’re unable to fall through floors your path options will be limited. Considering you have no means of attack, limited space to work with, and a jump with very fleeting airtime, the more aggressive enemies can also be challenging to work against.

I think this is the sort of title where you either see the challenge in front of you, feeling it’s worthy enough to stick with, or you decide to move on. Outside of the retro vibes, colorful sprites, and perky tunes, this ends up being a pretty basic overall experience. Yes, it throws down a challenge gauntlet at you, but in a world with thousands of games in the eShop you don’t necessarily have to pick it up, you could simply go to something else in your backlog. True retro fans may dig it, but for everyone else it’s likely a pass.