Tobu Tobu Girl is a Game Boy action game developed by Tangram Games and released in December 2017. A number of physical copies complete with a box and illustrated manual were sold for 35 euros, but the game is open-source and the rom file is available for free use
on flashcarts and emulators.
It is a simple rising Platform Game in the vein of stuff like Icy Tower, Sonic Jump and Doodle Jump: a girl must bounce on top of various creatures until she reaches the sky-high goal of three stages and eventually rescues her lost cat who floated away on a balloon. The A button makes her flap her arms to fly for a limited time and the B button makes her dash up to three times in any direction. The player must bounce and stomp enemies to recharge the two abilities and look out for clock items that add to the time limit.
In 2019, a Game Boy Color version was released.
This game features the following tropes:
- Astral Finale: The girl goes into space to save her cat.
- Balloonacy: This is how the cat ends up with the predicament that kicks off the game.
- Brutal Bonus Level: The fourth stage, Dream.
- Excuse Plot: OHNO! TOBUTOBU'S KITTY HAS BEEN FLOATENED AND NOW SHE MUST JOURNEY THROUGH THE WONKED OUT AIRS OF THE SKYSECTOR TO RETRIEVE HER MEOWMEOW COMPANION!
- Freeware Games: The rom and the source files are available to the public.
- Gameplay Grading: To earn the best grade, you must both clear the levels quickly and stomp as many enemies as you can.
- Goomba Stomp: Landing on an enemy restores the boost meter and stomping on one restores a fraction of the flight meter.
- Gratuitous Japanese: "Tobu" is japanese for "jump", so the title translates to Hoppity Flappity Girl's Sky-High Adventure.
- Level Goal: A portal lies at the end of every level except the third, where the cat is rescued.
- No Antagonist: Other than gravity and the time limit.
- No Name Given: The heroine is unnamed.
- Video Game Dashing: The girl can dash up to three times in a row, in any direction.
