12th Feb: A new policy is being put in place for TRS threads: Make your case that the name/page is broken in the Opening Post, or the thread will be nuked immediately. See Everything You Wanted To Know About Changing Names for what "Make your case" means.
5th Feb: Echo Chamber Season 1 blooper reel on Youtube here
Released in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia (yep, that really is the game's subtitle), features the adventures of our eponymous hero (the Boy) and his friend Blob (full name Blobert) as they race to Blob's home world to defeat the evil emperor. There was a 1991 Game Boy sequel, where they now have to rescue Princess Blobette.The main draw of this platforming game (which was created by David Crane of Pitfall fame) is that Blob has the uncanny ability to change into different shapes/objects depending on what type of jellybean the boy feeds him. From licorice to ketchup, each flavor turns Blob into a different shape, allowing the boy to overcome obstacles and complete each level.Numerous remakes were rumored since its release, but for twenty years the series consisted of only the original and a 1990 sequel for the Game Boy.It was finally resurrected on the Wii by WayForward Technologies, makers of Shantae and a bunch of licensed stuff, as a level-based puzzle platformer. The 2 main characters among with others were redesigned too.
Added Alliterative Appeal: Those jellybean names that aren'tpun-tastic tend to be these. Both games have the Licorice Ladder and Tangerine Trampoline.
The original contains the Root Beer Rocket.
The Wii game replaces Root Beer with Cinnamon for the rocket, but gives us in return: The Berry Balloon, Bubble Gum Bouncer, Pear Parachute, Cream Cannon, Strawberry Shield (replacing Strawberry = Bridge in the original), and Cotton Candy Copy.
Eternal Engine: In NES version, the sweets factory. In Wii version, the earlier levels of world 4.
Fat Bastard: The Emperor of Bloblonia. In the original game, this was part of the allegedAesop, because the game had a whole "candy is bad for you" theme and the Emperor was basically just a sapient blob of fat. In the Wii version, there's no such moral anymore, so he's basically just your standard big fat jerk.
Joke Item: The ketchup jellybean that Blobert won't eat (unless you trick him, in which case it turns him into a brick wall). It instead allows him to catch up, returning him to the boy's side if they get separated. (Functionally, the Berry Balloon replaces it in the Wii version.)
Not the Fall That Kills You: Fall more than two screens without landing on something soft or bouncy, and you'll die.
This also applies in the Wii version. If the boy falls far enough to start tumbling (about one screen in height), he's doomed. Be very careful about where you Trampoline to....
Parental Abandonment: In the Wii game, the Boy is especifically said to be around 6 years old. Where on Earth are his parents? The original looks like a teenager, so he's probably OK on his own, but still..
Stalactite Spite: It's one of the few things that can kill the Boy when he's in the Cola Bubble.
Stealth Pun: A number of the jellybean's abilities are linked to their flavors. Both versions have Punch = Hole, Apple = Jack, and the original has Lime = Key. (* groan* )
Super Drowning Skills: The Boy and the enemies. Of course, as mentioned above, he can still breathe in space.
Super Not Drowning Skills: While the boy can't swim, the Blob is unable to sink if he's not a bubble or an anvil.
The 1989 game and Game Boy sequel provide examples of:
American Kirby Is Hardcore: When the NES game was released in Japan, the Boy and the title screen were changed to look "cuter".
A Winner Is You: The NES release is a particular offender in this department.
Broken Aesop: The original game seems to be saying sweets are bad (marshmallows and chocolate kisses can kill you, and vitamins are used to destroy them) yet jellybeans are the Blob's source of power and peppermints are traded in for extra lives.
Not only that, but cherries (or more accurately, cherry bombs) are among the things that kill you.
Dummied Out: Tricking Blob into eating a ketchup jellybean will turn him into a brick wall. The brick wall is essentially just a stepping stone.
Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Sometimes, when screeching to a halt at the edge, the Boy will suddenly stand in midair. In true cartoon physics fashion, he will gradually look down, realize his situation, and fall, usually to his death.
Under the Sea: The caves in your world have water in them, and you won't be able to survive unless you feed Blobert a jellybean that turns him into a bubble.
Unwinnable by Design: If you waste your beans. The key lime beans in particular; you get exactly as many of those as you need.
100% Completion: Getting all 3 treasure chests in a level unlocks a challenge level. Beating challenge levels unlock things like concept art and some other stuff.
Artificial Stupidity: At least the game is kind enough to note it — When Blob cannot reach the player or seems to be getting stuck, he turns pink (as he turns gray near the enemies).
Blackout Basement: Level 2-6. Blob helpfully eats a firefly to help you light the way, but if you don't have Blob cling close to you, you'll have no idea where you're going.
Also, the "grand prize" for completing the T-rex set of Challenge Levels in World 2 is an orb that turns every level into one of these. Good luck; you'll need it. (But you can turn it on and off at whim, so no biggie.)
Breather Level: Challenge Level 2-4 is pretty easy—it's a lot of running around inside the Cola Bubble, which is Nigh Invulnerable. This is a good thing, because Challenge Level 2-5 was probably designed by someone on the dev team who was bald and didn't want to feel so alone.
Casual Video Game: The developers wanted it to be "accessible", so divided it into two parts: Ordinary story levels, and unlockable "Challenge" levels for the Challenge Gamers. What they neglected to mention is that the later levels of the story mode are every bit as Nintendo Hard. Ouch.
Combat Tentacles: The second boss, the Beast, has an entire back full of writhing, deadly tentacles.
Concept Art Gallery: At all the hubs after completing challenge stages. There are a few videos too.
Cuteness Proximity: Watch some of the hands-on promotional videos. Numerous ones contain some male, potentially jaded game journalist dissolving into a puddle of gibbering Baby Talk at the sight of Boy and Blob hugging.
Cutscene Power to the Max: The opening movie depicts the blob eating a bean and transforming. All in midair.
Disney Death: In the second-to-last level, right before the Eleventh Hour Superpower kicks in, one of the Emperor's blob-tentacles appears to squeeze the Blob to little bits. However, a few Swiss Army Tears—and the fact that he's a blob—help the Blob get back together in no time.
Dark is Evil: Although the emperor is the lightest shade of dark.
Ditto Fighter: A certain jellybean will make Blob turn into Boy's shape and replicates his movements. One of the enemies can also do so.
Doing It for the Art: The graphics. Every movement of the Boy, the Blob, and the enemies is lovingly hand-drawn. The backgrounds exquisitly painted. The developers said they wanted a deliberately nostalgic, warm feel, and knew only traditional animation would get them that. And it looks awesome#$)* @& AWESOME.
WayForward has had a history of this, with their previous game Shantae.
Downer Ending: Everyone knows the boy and his blob are going to be seperated in the end. So how do Way Forward step it up? The blob leaves, the credits play a song called "Everything to Me" about how the blob is the greatest thing ever to happen to the boy and how lonely he is without him, accompanied by a montage of pictures of them playing together with nobody else in sight, culminating in an end screen of him staring up at the moon forlornly and waiting hopelessly for his only friend to one day return. Forever.
However, given the fact that you can still redeem your treasure chests and play further challenge levels after the last boss, it seems that the Blob comes back after all.
Dummied Out: The enemy concept art shows a Spider Blob enemy. It is seen standing among the other enemies in the finalized art. You never encounter it, however.
Family Unfriendly Death: The emperor gets punched repeatedly in the skull by a giant robot, while bleeding black goo, and then, when he finally dies, he turns into a roiling mass of blackness as his face TEARS INTO TINY PIECES and he dissolves.
Also, killing the frog mooks.
Foreshadowing: Second boss can be seen in the background before the boss battle.
Four-Fingered Hands: A rigorously enforced part of the Boy's design, to help make him as cuddly as possible.
George Lucas Throwback: Art style and the trailer of the game in inspired by 80-s cartoons and films.
Ghibli Hills: The Boy makes his ho— er, tree fort in some truly beautiful forest land. It's right next to Bubblegloop Swamp, though. (But it's still beautiful.)
Gusty Glade: Numerous, with Challenge 2-5 being a standout.
Guide Dang It: In most cases, inverted. The hint signs are everywhere. They're left there as a remnants of the development and playtesting stage of the game development.
Heli Critter: One of the pieces of native wildlife in Blobolonia.
Helpful Mook: The giant-sized blob enemies will still kill you if you touch them... But they're surprisingly good at helping you get around, either by riding them via Banana Anvil or tossing around the Cola Bubble. Many of the enemies also help you to hold down those numerous Pressure Plates. Even hummingbirds can be used to defeat nearby enemies.
Level Ate: Bloblonia comes pretty close. Some parts of it do look organic, but there's a lot of towering gelatin-mold spires and jellybeans everywhere.
Mood Whiplash: The absolutely beautiful opening levels are as lovely and as soothing as can be, full of fireflies and gently swaying trees... until you hit Level 1-10. "This music sounds... different. Everything's so red! I've got a bad feeling about this... HOLY CRAP OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?"
Scenery Porn: Some absolutely gorgeous hand drawn artwork makes up the backgrounds.
Silence Is Golden: The game has no dialogue... at all. (Well, the Boy yells "Blob!" and "Let's go!") And barely any on-screen text. Even the "hint signs" just show pictures! It works, though.
There Was a Door: Your first appearance in the World 3 hub involves crashing through the roof. Averted when going from World 4 back to World 1, since the boy and the blob just fly in through the open window instead.
Wasted Song: Done intentionally! There are four very hidden songs found only in the Sound Test (It Makes Sense in Context). Musically, they don't fit the style of the rest of the game. However, they'll sound... familiar to those who've played the original game...
Unexpected Genre Change: Level 14/2-4. It's the first level you can use the Cola Bubble jellybean in... and it plays more like something out of Sonic the Hedgehog than the other levels.
Not to mention the World 2's Challenge level #10, which involves flying the Root Beer Rocket through a massive labyrinth full of Deadly Walls.
The fourth world also has a number of caged blobs in the Emperor's citadel. Feeding them a Berry Balloon bean will free them, but you get nothing for doing so beyond warm fuzzy feelings.
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