Portable Power

By: Deedee Ash
  • Summary

  • Join Deedee Ash on his adventure through the entire Game Boy library! Each Saturday at 9AM GMT (4AM EST, 1AM PST, 6PM JST) explore five (or so) games, taken in chronological order from the colossal catalogues of Nintendo’s amazing handheld family! We will review every single Game Boy game from the humble beginnings of 1989 right through to the end of the Game Boy Advance in 2008. Also, each Sunday, relax along with another brilliant Game Boy soundtrack, with Soundtrack Sunday! Portable Power Podcast will serve as the audiobook presentation for the upcoming book ’Portable Power! The Story and Complete Encyclopaedia of the Nintendo Game Boy, 1989-2001’ by Deedee Ash. Each review will also be released sequentially from Monday to Friday on the YouTube channel, complete with gameplay footage!
    Copyright 2022 House Of Ashen. All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Ep43 - Were You On The Stale Fish Tour?
    Oct 28 2023

    I think 'Stale Fish' is a skateboarding move, but who knows. Anyway, this is the sequel to 'Bad 'N' Rad', and was the final Skate Or Die game ever released, sadly. They just weren't quite as good as they should have been. At least there are a couple of different game modes here, but it's still way too hard.

    Bo Jackson: 2-in-1 lets you play an average baseball game and a below-average football game. Neither are that worth your time.

    Sneaky Snakes is a 2-D representation of the NES title Snake, Rattle N Roll, and plays in a similar way. You need to get your snakey buddy to the required weight so that he can press a button down and escape a level. The controls are fun in this one, and it has a nice presentation.

    You might recognise the music for Tail'Gator. As it happens the whole soundtrack is great, as equally is the gameplay. A really fun platformer where you collect keys and tackle enemies, but done in a much more captivating way than those Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle games. Play this one, for darn sure.

    Finally, some fun casino-based gambling games that you either understand the appeal of or don't. If you wanna play video poker without bankrupting yourself, here's to ya.

     

    Support the Portable Power Podcast!

    Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/portablepowerpodcast

    Buy Me A Coffee!: http://buymeacoffee.com/pocubed

    POcubed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGLsjthwUPl8fpdcJvFHeFw

    Tweet me: @POcubed

    Email me: houseofashen@gmail.com

    Everything else: https://linktr.ee/portablepowerpodcast

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    24 mins
  • Ep42 - Max The Max! Fighting With A Real Sword!
    Oct 21 2023

    A million Game Boy points (not redeemable in any known store) to the first person who can tell me what this week's episode title is in reference to. It's a real deep-cut, even if you are a wrestling fan (that might be a clue).

    First up is the irritatingly closed-off JRPG Jungle Wars. I didn't get very far with the language barrier, but wanted to feature it in some capacity nevertheless, as it looks quite nice and the bits I have translated have a certain charm to them.

    If not for game #3, the highlight of the week would go to this next awesome shoot-em-up - Aerostar. It's an autoscroller but you actually have to drive forwards yourself, not only blasting every moving thing but jumping between the scrolling platforms. A really unique take that is tough as nails but super-satisfying. Looks ace, too.

    Final Fantasy Adventure takes the series in a different direction to the 'Legend' games, by being a Zelda-ish hack-n-slash that was actually remade for the Game Boy Advance and became one of the Mana games. If you ever wanted a missing link between the 'Mana', 'SaGa' and 'Final Fantasy' RPG serieseses, this completes the threefold branch. The review portrays my thoughts more than I can here, so just listen.

    Finally, some wrasslin. Or more exactly, Puroresu. Shin Nippon: Toukon Sanjuushi is a really early game based on NJPW's rather awesome (if ageing) early Nineties roster.

     

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    26 mins
  • Ep41 - How Many Heads Has He Got, Anyway?
    Oct 14 2023

    Tetris had many clones, especially on the system that made it famous. Not just third-party ones - even Pajitnov and Nintendo released a bunch of Tetris-licensed stuff. The first one of these was Hatris - a game where you stack matching hats instead of blocks. Not much more to say about this one.

    After the success of Nintendo World Cup gave us hope that a decent soccer game was possible on the Game Boy, we got our second actually playable experience. Football International doesn't hit the highs of the Kunio-kun one, but is still a damn sight better than the majority of footie titles that came before... or after, for that matter.

    If you didn't know any better you'd think Daisenryaku was a Game Boy Wars clone. Because it basically is, minus the charm that game had. It's alright, but don't feel like you're missing out on anything by skipping this one.

    Magical * Taruruto-kun is a manga tie-in that sees you trying to navigate some really devilish platforming. Nothing innovative here, but if you liked the show or the comic strips, give it a whirl.

    Finally, the first of two Choplifter games on the system provides a cool, unique, soldier-rescuing challenge that doesn't have many parallels on the handheld. 

     

    Support the Portable Power Podcast!

    Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/portablepowerpodcast

    Buy Me A Coffee!: http://buymeacoffee.com/pocubed

    POcubed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGLsjthwUPl8fpdcJvFHeFw

    Tweet me: @POcubed

    Email me: houseofashen@gmail.com

    Everything else: https://linktr.ee/portablepowerpodcast

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    21 mins

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