Overview – developed by Phoenix Adverdale and published by RAWRLAB Games, Judy’s Adventure DX is a Game Boy Color platformer, with precision based action in a retro style. As Judy, go on an adventure to get back home after a mysterious hand steals her house key, exploring a colorful pixelated world. This version of the game is available on the Steam service, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank RAWRLAB Games for providing the copy of Judy’s Adventure DX used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. As the story is rather simple, I will be combining that information into the gameplay segment.
Gameplay – Judy’s Adventure DX is a retro Game Boy Color precision platformer, where the player controls Judy, a bunny that fell asleep during a picnic. During that her nap, a mysterious hand stole her house key and now Judy must go on an adventure to get home. As the titular bunny, players will be able to walk, run and jump to navigate each of the areas of her world. The world is split into 8 areas, with over 140 rooms to challenge.
To get through each of the stages, players will need to navigate challenging platform layouts, climb ladders and avoid hazards to reach the goal door. There will be static platforms, that can be hopped between rather quickly, but in some areas, there will be platforms that move and react to the player. The many rooms will have layouts that use a mixture of vertical and horizontal scrolling, with the capability for the screen to move in all four directions.
As the player makes their way through each of the different themed areas, the difficulty of rooms will increase. There will be enemies that attack, bottomless pits and deadly spikes, which will reset Judy to the start of the room if she is killed by them. Players will also need to find keys, which will allow her to progress. There will also be hidden items, including Judy’s retro consoles, which she misplaced and can’t remember where she had them last.
There will also be special challenge stages scattered through the game, which will push the skills of the player to the limit. These challenges are hidden behind orange doors, with a reward at the end of them. After entering the door, the challenge will begin with a significant difference. Unlike the regular stages, there are no checkpoints between the rooms of challenge stages. If the player dies at any point, they will be returned to the start of the challenge.
The general platforming is rather solid, with physics that are a little slippery, but this is worked into the experience. This allows for quick rapid hops between platforms, making it feel snappy and speedy during play. However, there are a couple of hiccups with general platforming, as all momentum is lost when making contact with walls or ceilings. This can lead to deaths and some minor frustrations during gameplay.
Thankfully, there are plenty of save points that players can use to preserve progress. These are behind pink doors and can usually be seen pretty clearly, but there are some that will be a little more out of view. There is only a single save point for the game, so players will be unable to have more than one active game. If players do want to try from the beginning, a new game can be started from the main title screen.
As Judy’s Adventure DX is a Game Boy Color game, the whole game can be cleared in a couple of hours. This is a good amount of content for a smaller title, with a good amount of replay value as the game will keep track of the time and number of retries. The inclusion of these trackers allows players to try and improve their performance, lowering the time and number of deaths. There are also achievements for players to clear with this release.
There are additional features for this release, including support for a range of controllers, with rumble functionality. Then there are several different bezels that can be used for the screen, which are designed well and have a lot of detail to them. There is also unlockable art, music options and the most interesting is the extra version of the game. The original prototype build, as well as the non DX version of the main game are included as bonuses.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as Judy’s Adventure DX is a Game Boy Color Game, there is a very simple two button control scheme. The inputs for the release are the jump and run buttons, which work very well, with no issues in terms of delay or lag during play. I would recommend using a Nintendo controller, or reassign the inputs to have the A and B buttons flipped. This makes the game feel more natural, as these match the original hardware the game was made for.
Difficulty – there is an escalating difficulty curve to this release, as the challenge will ramp up over the course of the game. The early segments of the game are fairly easy to get through, but the further the players get, the more challenging it becomes. This is most notable with later segments that require consistent platforming, due to the way momentum can be lost by poor platforming. But with some persistence, it is possible to overcome all challenges.
Presentation – Visually, the game looks just like it was pulled from 1999, with colorful sprite work and vibrant backgrounds. The experience looks good on any size screen (even a Game Boy Color), with all of the visuals being clear and easy to see. Then there are the extra visual details, like the bezels that are pleasing to the eye. The sound for the game is done very well, with music that makes the most of the limited sound engine for the system.
Final Thoughts – I do enjoy playing new games for obsolete hardware, having covered previous Game Boy Color titles like Marron’s Day (HERE) and Yosei Wars (HERE). So when I was given the opportunity to play Judy’s Adventure DX, I was more than happy to take on the experience. The gameplay is a lot of fun, with a challenge that does have some blemishes, but is generally polished well, making the most of the old hardware.
I had a lot of fun with this release, and the bonus versions of the game that are included. There is access to the roms for the three versions of the game, included in the Steam files. This allowed for the games to be put on a flash cart, making it playable on original hardware, which is a good alternative to a Steam Deck. In general, I am happy to recommend this game to everyone who is looking for a new challenging platformer with a retro aesthetic.
In the end, I give Judy’s Adventure DX a final score of 4.75/5. This is an excellent retro precision platformer, which feels like it was pulled from the end of the millennium, offering a challenging experience, with vibrant visuals, a solid soundtrack and plenty of content in a relatively compact package. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 