Line #31 VideoGame/BlasterMysterySeries


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mbm.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The scariest part is that it's full of word problems.]]
3	The ''Blaster Mystery'' series is a kind of SpinOff to the larger ''[[VideoGame/BlasterSeries Blaster]]'' series of {{Edutainment Game}}s. While the original ''Math Blaster'' teaches basic arithmetic to elementary-aged children, ''Math Blaster Mystery'' teaches pre-algebra to somewhat older kids. ''Blaster Mystery'' later expanded into covering language arts for the same age group.
4
5	These games take place in a different universe from that of the Blaster Pals. Trading the "space" theme for a "spooky" theme, they focus on Rave, a little green creature with a [[HornedHumanoid yellow horn growing out of his head]], as he battles Dr. Dudley Dabble, a MadScientist who lives in a HauntedHouse. Most of the inhabitants of this world appear to be monsters and/or creatures of some description, with the odd exception of Dr. Dabble, although he does have [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation blue skin]] at least. While generally unrelated to the original universe, there was a readable crossover story featured in ''VideoGame/ReadingBlaster2000'' titled ''Dr. Dabble's Revenge'', wherein the Blaster Pals fought against Dr. Dabble.
6
7	Games in the ''Blaster Mystery'' series include:
8
9	* ''Math Blaster Mystery'' (1989) - The initial entry in the series, sorta. It includes four pre-algebra puzzles, which are presented with a vague "mystery" theme. The characters of Rave, Dr. Dabble, etc. don't exist yet at this point. Instead, the main character is [[SherlockHomage an unnamed man who looks like Sherlock Holmes]], and there is no storyline linking the mini-games together.
10	* ''Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery'' (1994) - This is where the series really gets started, with Rave and Dr. Dabble making their first appearances. Dr. Dabble has stolen the brain of a math genius, and it's up to you, as Rave, to recover it from Dabble's creepy mansion. In a certain sense, this is a remake of the 1989 game. Although the characters and story are new, the four educational mini-games are clearly derived from the four mini-games that were included in the 1989 game. Plus, the whole "mystery" theme carries over, albeit with a {{Halloweentown}} vibe added.
11	* ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' (1997) - Dr. Dabble has kidnapped six of Bizarroville's most prominent citizens, and Rave has to rescue them. This game is something of a ContinuityReboot, since it completely ignores ''The Great Brain Robbery'', but shares its canon with the next two games, more or less. It also does a lot of WorldBuilding, much of it [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration cleverly integrated into the reading comprehension activities]].
12	* ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' (1997) - A remake of ''The Great Brain Robbery'', set in the canon established by ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', with which it was apparently developed in conjunction.[[note]]Both games end their credits by thanking the developers of the other game, so...[[/note]] However, the storyline is different this time. It now involves Dr. Dabble using an "electrochemical math magnet" to [[IntangibleTheft steal all the world's math]].
13	* ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary: Ages 9-12'' (1998) - Rave is assigning you, the player, to solve a series of whimsical mysteries plaguing Bizarroville. Your seven suspects are Dr. Dabble plus the six Bizarroville citizens you had to rescue in ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. Despite departing from previous entries in several significant ways, most notably Rave no longer being the PlayerCharacter and Dr. Dabble not necessarily being the villain, this game seems to be set in roughly the same canon as ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra''.
14
15	Note that while only the first two entries in this series were actually marketed as "Blaster Mystery," ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' still have the full onscreen titles of ''Reading Blaster Mystery: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster Mystery: Pre-Algebra'' respectively. ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary: Ages 9-12'' dropped the "Mystery," but that was probably just to avoid ColonCancer. This is ironic, since ''Vocabulary'' is arguably the entry in the series that can be most accurately categorized as taking place in the mystery genre.
16
17	As part of the ReTool that the entire ''Blaster'' franchise received in 1999, the ''Blaster Mystery'' series was apparently retired. A very InNameOnly version of Dr. Dabble appears in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BlastersUniverse'', where he's now part of the Blaster Pals' RoguesGallery, but that's it.
18	----
19	!!This series provides examples of:
20
21	* AbnormalAmmo: Rave throws green slimeballs during the last stage of ''The Great Brain Robbery'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra''.
22	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The back of the early instruction books lists all of the Blaster series' main antagonists, in the form of a WantedPoster. Dr. Dabble is wanted for "robbery, grand larceny, and non-payment of electric bill".
23	* AssholeVictim / NeverMyFault: Dr. Dabble in ''Reading Blaster Ages 9-12''. It is revealed, after you save them, that each of his victims are those from his younger days whom he felt have done him wrong in some way and that he had a score to settle with each of them, even though said wrongs he suffered he really deserved.
24	* TheArtifact: In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', Dr. Dabble's laboratory is located in a stone tower next to Bizarroville Mansion, and in those games, you access the tower at the end of every mission. Due to how it dispenses with the regular series format, the tower is rendered inaccessible in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', but it's still present in exterior shots of Bizarroville Mansion.
25	* BlobMonster: One of the enemies on the catwalk in ''The Great Brain Robbery'' is a blue slime creature.
26	* BrokenBridge: In ''Pre-Algebra'', there are some rooms (and two games; the number-guessing computer (the medium difficulty onward) and the equation-building versus game against Dabble himself (only on the hardest mode)) in Dabble's mansion that you cannot access if your difficulty is set too low. Attempting to enter the rooms when the difficulty level isn't high enough will result in Rave getting into some sort of trouble off-screen before coming back out of the room and telling the player: "[[YouDoNOTWantToKnow You do NOT want to go in there!]]"
27	* CartoonBomb: Used to remove directions in the coordinate game in ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra''.
28	* ContinuityNod: ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' contain a lot of clever nods to each other. For example, in the vanity puzzle in ''Pre-Algebra'', you get hints by clicking on a perfume bottle labeled, "Eau de Hint." In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', there's a newspaper ad for Eau de Hint, advertising it as, "For that creature in your life that doesn't have a CLUE."
29	* DefangedHorrors: The series generally follows this. The setting is spooky and creepy, but in a kid-friendly Halloweenish way.
30	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: When you're outside the mansion in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', everything [[SplashOfColor except Rave]] is in black-and-white as part of a FilmNoir spoof. The game transitions to color when you go inside.
31	* DenialOfAnimality: In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', Dr. Dabble's new invention is described as changing his victims from "human beings" into household appliances. This is despite the fact that everyone living in this universe is some kind of Halloweenish creature.
32	* FelonyMisdemeanor: The mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' are minor crimes that get huge attention from the Bizarroville media. At the conclusion of each case, the narrator describes the judge dishing out a humorously karmic punishment.
33	* FetchQuest: If you don't count the goalless 1989 game, every entry in this series centers on a fetch quest:
34	** In ''The Great Brain Robbery'', you have to collect the missing pieces of a mosaic in order to open a secret passageway. Plus, you have to collect gold coins in order to be able to play the mini-games.
35	** In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', you collect the pieces of evidence that you need to restore the missing guests. In addition, you have to find the clues that reveal which pieces of evidence go with which guest.
36	** In ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', you collect fuses to put into the fuse box, which will restore power to the house and disable Dabble's security system. You also need three power gems in order to access the catwalk.
37	** In ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', you collect clues that, when put together, reveal which suspect is guilty.
38	* ForcedTransformation: The six missing people in ''Reading Blaster Ages 9-12'' were turned into household appliances.
39	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: After three games that were StrictlyFormula (see below), ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' breaks with the standard format of the series. Rave is changed from a PlayerCharacter to an ExpositionFairy. Instead of having the entire game dedicated to a single plot, each mission is its own self-contained mystery. The goal is not to thwart Dr. Dabble but to find out who the culprit is in each mystery. In fact, Dr. Dabble isn't even really the bad guy anymore. He's one of seven possible suspects, and when he is the culprit, it's treated no differently than when one of the other characters is the culprit. Almost invariably, the "crime" turns out to be some kind of wacky misunderstanding or somesuch, and the judge's punishment is humorously karmic. Since ''Vocabulary'' is also the last game in the series, all of this can also be regarded as LaterInstallmentWeirdness.
40	* GenderEqualEnsemble: The six guests from ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' consist of three males and three females.
41	* {{Halloweentown}}: The setting, which is called Bizarroville starting with ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. Granted, we really only ever see Dr. Dabble's creepy mansion, but it's heavily implied that the rest of the town follows this trope as well. In fact, the second newspaper story you receive in ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' would suggest that this world features an entire United States that follows this trope, what with a president named [[PunnyName Mort Chewarry]].
42	* HauntedHouse: Dr. Dabble's mansion, haunted by its previous owner, Lydia Novella, who serves as your guide throughout ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''.
43	* HerrDoktor: At the start of ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', Rave is watching a movie with a German-accented character referred to as "Professor".
44	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: In ''Pre-Algebra'', the grid mini-game in the mansion's kitchen involves Rave abruptly shrinking as part of a trap by Dr. Dabble and needing to eat food on the playfield in order to return to normal size, all while avoiding hazards like potted carnivorous plants or, on the hardest difficulty, a giant cockroach.
45	* IntangibleTheft: In ''Math Blaster Pre-Algebra'', Dr. Dabble uses an [[AppliedPhlebotinum electrochemical math magnet]] to steal all math from the world.
46	* TheJoyOfX: The title "''The Great Brain Robbery''" is a parody of ''The Great Train Robbery'' (take your pick whether it's referencing [[Film/TheGreatTrainRobbery1903 the 1903 film]] or [[Literature/TheGreatTrainRobbery the 1975 novel]])
47	* KidHero: Rave, who is also a KidDetective. Granted, it's hard to judge his age when he's a non-human creature, but he does have a juvenile-sounding voice. Plus, he's clearly regarded as a youngster in-universe, what with other characters calling him "kid" and so forth. [[FreeRangeChildren Hey, where are his parents?]]
48	* LargeHam: Dr. Dabble.
49	* LighterAndSofter: ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is more light-hearted than its predecessors. While the three previous games all involved thwarting some evil plot by Dr. Dabble, ''Vocabulary'' is instead dedicated to solving silly mysteries. Dr. Dabble is merely one of seven suspects, none of whom are treated as being truly villainous. And although Bizarroville Mansion is clearly still haunted in ''Vocabulary'', the game takes place while a big party is going on there, which mitigates the creepy atmosphere.
50	* LookBehindYou: How Rave defeats Dr. Dabble at the end of ''The Great Brain Robbery''.
51	-->'''Rave:''' Look! Music/{{Elvis\|Presley}}!\
52	'''Dr. Dabble:''' What? Where?!
53	* LuckBasedMission: The sentence spinner game from ''Reading Blaster Ages 9-12''. With random [[{{Whammy}} whammies]] like "wordrupt" (a pun on "bankrupt" that's exactly what it sounds like), you can easily lose without making a single mistake. It'll certainly be worse for you if you ''do'' make mistakes, but still, the game is mostly pure chance.
54	* MadScientist: Dr. Dabble, naturally.
55	* MadScientistLaboratory: Dr. Dabble has one.
56	* MonsterMash: ''Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery'' has a fairly large assortment of monsters that give you word problems and puzzles to solve.
57	* MonumentalTheft: One of the mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' involves the perpetrator stealing the state of Rhode Island.
58	* NoEnding: Lydia's journal in ''Reading Blaster 9-12'' ends on a cliffhanger with no resolution whatsoever.
59	* NotGoodWithRejection: As mentioned in ''Reading Blaster 9-12'', [[spoiler:this was the reason why Dr. Dabble spirited away Bobbi Fright: he wanted to be her boyfriend, but she kept refusing, while he would not take no for an answer. A LoveTriangle erupted when Dr. Dabble and Lou Fright vied for the affections of Bobbi, and when Lou and Bobbi got married, Dabble retaliated by sending her a wedding gift of [[BeeAfraid a fridge full of angry bees]]. Dabble never forgave her for rejecting him, and it was these reasons why he lured her to his domain and imprisoned her in his lab.]]
60	* OurFounder: One of the mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' involves the statue of town founder Vasco de Bizarro getting smashed.
61	* ThatPoorCat: In ''Pre-Algebra'', this is one of the sound effects that plays when you try to enter a room that's not available on your difficulty level.
62	* RedHerring:
63	** The items belonging to Dr. Dabble and Lydia in ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. They're mixed in with the items belonging to the guests for no reason other than to mislead you. Additionally, the game sometimes makes it unintuitive which items go with which guest in order to ensure that you read the clues like you're supposed to. For instance, you'd think the pearl necklace would belong to movie star Gloria Ghastly, and the football would belong to Coach Gulliver Lilliput, but you'd be wrong. It turns out the necklace belongs to the coach's mother, and the football belongs to Gloria because it's a signed movie prop.
64	** In ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', [[spoiler:one of the mysteries involves someone hoarding all the rice in Bizarroville, and Gloria Ghastly's comment is that she "can't stand the taste of rice." It turns out she's the culprit. She just didn't want the rice to eat it. Instead, she was hoarding it so that it could be thrown at [[SerialSpouse her fourteenth wedding]].]]
65	* {{Revenge}}: Dr. Dabble's motivation in ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''.
66	* ScaryStingingSwarm: A swarm of bees flies randomly around the catwalk stage in ''The Great Brain Robbery'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra''.
67	* ShoutOut:
68	** Bizarroville Mansion's street number is 19840. At the time, the mailing address for Creator/DavidsonAndAssociates was 19840 Pioneer Ave, Torrance, CA 90503.[[note]]The building there is now a self-storage facility, for the record.[[/note]]
69	** Gloria Ghastly tends to call everyone "darling," which is ultimately a reference to Creator/TallulahBankhead.
70	** Bizarroville was founded by an explorer named Vasco de Bizarro, a parody of Vasco da Gama.
71	** In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', the newspaper includes an advertisement for ''[[Theatre/FunnyGirl Funny Ghoul]]'' starring [[Music/BarbraStreisand Babbles Stystand]] and [[Creator/OmarSharif Ogre Scareief]].
72	** In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', one of Gloria Ghastly's items is a football signed by [[Film/KnuteRockneAllAmerican Newt Rocky Knees]].
73	** In ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', a newspaper article quotes President Mort Chewarry saying that Rave saved the country from becoming "a thousand points of fright," a reference to UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush[='s=] "a thousand points of light."
74	** ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' reveals that Bizarroville has a Radioactive City Music Hall, parodying New York's Radio City Music Hall.
75	** One of the mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' involves a UFO being spotted over Bizarroville. At the start of the case, Rave comments that, "[[Series/TheXFiles the truth is in there]]," referring to the mansion.
76	* SmellySkunk: In ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', [[spoiler:one of the mysteries involves Bizarroville being overtaken by a bad odor. It turns out Mayor O'Cassidy had started a wildlife refuge for skunks.]]
77	* StealthInsult: In ''Reading Blaster 9-12'', Dr. Dabble mentions that the mayor may have fewer ethics than he does, and turns her into a vacuum cleaner. [[spoiler:He thinks she sucks.]]
78	* StockAnimalDiet: In ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', the two mice in the piano game are named Brie and Jack, which are types of cheese. Also, [[spoiler:one of the mysteries involves the local gym being taken over by mice. It turns out they were attracted by Gorky Barf's shoes, which are made out of cheese.]]
79	* StrictlyFormula: ''The Great Brain Robbery'', ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' all follow roughly the same formula.
80	** Rave hears about Dr. Dabble's latest crime on the news. He then heads over to Dabble's creepy mansion and goes inside, sometimes only on a hunch that Dabble is responsible. Breaking and entering? What's that?
81	** The bulk of your mission is taken up with completing a FetchQuest in which you win {{Plot Coupon}}s from the mini-games inside the mansion.
82	** One final mini-game has you crossing over to the tower that contains Dabble's secret lab, which is where your mission concludes.
83	* TakeThat: In ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', a newspaper article about the partial restoration of math mentions that, "Congress appeared to be unaware of the problem."
84	* TowersOfHanoi: All three versions of ''Math Blaster Mystery'' feature the same variation on this puzzle. You have four objects with numbers on them, and you have to stack three so that they add up to a certain number, but you can't stack larger numbers on top of smaller numbers.
85	** In the original 1989 game, this activity is called, "Weigh the Evidence." How doing this exercise is useful for detective work is left to your imagination.
86	** In ''The Great Brain Robbery'', the activity's premise is changed to stacking the amount of ingredients that you need in order to follow a kitchen recipe.
87	** In ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'', you stack barrels, which generates food for one of Dr. Dabble's robots. You win the activity when you feed the robot so much that it literally explodes.
88	* TheTriple: In ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'', Gorky Barf recounts his days as a stand-up comic: "I performed everywhere: Vegas, Atlantic City, Ypsilanti..."
89	* VideoGameRemake:
90	** ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' is a remake of ''Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery'', which is itself a remake (kinda) of the 1989 game ''Math Blaster Mystery''
91	** ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is a loose remake of an earlier game by the same name. However, this earlier version was unrelated to the ''Blaster Mystery'' series and was itself originally released as ''Word Blaster''.
92	* ViewersAreGeniuses: There aren't too many 9-12-year-olds who would get that the name "Gulliver Lilliput" is a reference to ''Literature/GulliversTravels'', let alone that "Gorky Barf" is a parody of ''Literature/GorkyPark''.
93	* TheVoice: Lydia the Ghost in ''Reading Blaster Ages 9-12'' is a disembodied voice occasionally represented by floating objects. In the sentence spinner game, a pair of disembodied feminine eyes serve as her avatar while your avatar is a picture of Rave.
94	* WetwareCPU: Dr. Dabble seems to be a fan:
95	** In ''The Great Brain Robbery'', he stole Big Brain's brain so that he could put it into some kind of FrankensteinsMonster creation. ("I would have used my own, but it's hard to concentrate without it.")

Context VideoGame / BlasterMysterySeries