Soreyuke!! Kid and Mickey Mouse (Bugs Bunny) for Game Boy

I received a second copy of Soreyuke Kid from Japan.

Both in very good condition. That is not a good sign for me as a gamer.
Soreyuke Kid was only released in Japan, in July 1997, so it is a late game boy game and it isn't common to find it.

No special Super Game Boy support though.
The game is about you going into all the doors, taking the key, and going out again. There are enemies you have to avoid. You can use the stairs and other items you find, such as a gun with one shot.

I thought the game was very boring. It moves slow and every level feels the same. There seems to be very many levels and I got frustrated quickly. You have a password and can always restart from the last level, so I don't think it is frustratingly difficult. I made a note that the music was bad, but I don't remember why now. The game feels lame and our hero is a nasty kid clown. Maybe the worst idea for a hero ever.

The basic game idea is not bad. I know because it was made popular 7 years and 10 months (7,8 years) earlier in Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle, released in Japan as Mickey Mouse. I have some memory of there being a Mario game with the same idea? And it has probably been done many more times. But in Soreyuke Kid the levels are long and repetitive and it takes away some of the fun. However, I think that anyone who only had this game to play would find it playable. So I give it 2/5.

This made me ask myself if I should finally give my Mickey Mouse a chance. I had put it down because it looked childish and I find that most Disney related games are too cute and have too little action for my taste. But I though it would be suitable to play it, and compare it with Soreyuke Kid.

The box is approriatedly mashed and ragged. I like the artwork too. This was one of the earliest game boy games. In my list of all Japanese Game Boy games, this is game number #9 by release date, May 1989. (Soreyuke Kid is #650)
I though I should give it a chance.

I'm glad I did. It seems a bit lame at first, but I got into it and played it for 3 hours straight until I beat it. So yes, it isn't the most difficult game. Some reviewers on the internet complained that the game is too easy and it lowered their score. The successor, Bugs Bunny 2 or Mickey Mouse 2, is much much much harder. But I like short and sweet games.

I still had to use around 30 continues. That's around 150 deaths. So there is a lot that could be improved in my play.

I think the Japanese version is exactly the same as the EU / US version, except for the changed sprites. Wikipedia wrote about the reason for this, it had to do with the copyrights as you could expect. I think they even left the Bugs Bunny music in this Mickey Mouse game. That's strange. But they are good tunes. There are different tunes for the different level types.

As I said, I never bothered with this game before. Almost all the cute licensed games I have played have been very boring in my opinion. This includes the Looney Tunes games such as Babs' Big Break and Taz-Mania.  But a lot of people like them. I also don't like Disney licensed games -- not even Duck Tales. I think Scrooge moves to slowly...

But I played on for a while, and Mickey Mouse is a charming game. Above all, it is a fast paced game so you run fast while being careful to avoid the enemies. The levels are also short. I think none of them needs to take more than 1-2 minutes. That means that the frustration level is low, unlike its successor Bugs Bunny 2 (Mickey Mouse 2).   The music is fast paced too, in Bugs Bunny style. You drop the 10ton weight and safes on enemies, and I just liked the whole feeling of it. It is charming.

While it is a simple game, some levels are tricky and require you to know precisely which way to take and to think quickly to avoid enemies. There is also enough variation. Some levels have many stairs, and other levels are made up mainly of pipes that you travel through.

On some levels I must have used at least 6 continues, which means I died 30 times. And I think I am an above average gamer for these kind of game. Playing it for the first time ever though. Here is my high score, you can try to beat it.

The high score isn't from Stage 3. The game restarts after you've beaten all 80 stages.

I checked, and the Bugs Bunny version actually has the same ending message.

I think that in todays gaming with micro games like Angry Birds, a short game like this may age better than the more difficult sequel Mickey Mouse 2. Back in 1989, people expected more play from their 300 SEK (50$) video game. That's at least twice as much in todays money. But I don't mind playing it today and I didn't pay 50$ for it. I rate it 4/5.

Weird to think that when Mickey Mouse was released I was 7 years old and when Soreyuke Kid was released I was 15. That's a lot of  years. I had both gotten into Game Boy and gotten tired of it again, and had a SNES and got tired of it. In 1997 I only played computer games. My baby sister borrowed my game boy sometime in 1998-1999, to play Pokemon with her friend. I was surprised that anyone still enjoyed that old brick. It felt pretty lame to me.