“Revenge of the ‘Gator” was a title I initially passed on several times when the pickings were slim back during the first year of the Game Boy, but I eventually gave in and was pleasantly surprised. Pinball titles on any platform were never of any interest to me. How could you possibly get all the nuances of the real thing to even remotely come close in a video game? It would be an exaggeration to claim that ‘Gator is flawless in a pinball translation, yet even after playing it on and off all these years, I still can never tell how the ball is going to behave. This title is an excellent early example of how the Game Boy was shaping up to be the killer system it would eventually make claim to. * Gameplay: The designers didn’t let the small screen of the Game Boy stop them from creating a large game table. Can you believe a multi-screen table that doesn’t suffer a frame rate drop as it moves between areas? Three bonus areas are exciting to uncover and play. You get the standards of many game tables like bumpers, drop targets, a kicker and a spinner, plus features that take advantage of the electronic platform. You get a slot machine, warps to the bonus zones, and a hungry gator at the bottom of the trap who gladly eats your lost balls. * Graphics: Gators abound! The whole design revolves around alligators and what I deem to be a sewer setting, due to the brick pattern making up the table boundaries. Those toothy lizards appear all over the place in various forms. They swat at the ball, eat it, get their noses smashed in by it, and dance around it. Oh, those cute gator dances. This is a game that tries hard to please. * Sound: One of the best features is the catchy music and numerous sound effects. Everything you do and hit strikes up a unique effect. Unlocking table bonuses results in a triumphant tune, while scoring all eggplants in the slot machine gets you a scolding no-no. The background music is whimsical and memorable. You’ll want to stay on the start screen just to watch the little gators perform for you. * Value: Thanks to the bonus zones which are challenging to get to and beat, the game can offer a lot of reasons to replay it. My only gripe is that the high scores don’t save since there is no internal battery, so anything you accomplish only lasts until you turn off the power. * Tilt: Like I mentioned, I’ve never been a big fan of pinball as a video game (with a few exceptions, like Full Tilt 2), but I’ve always been able to rely on popping this cartridge in for a quick, fun game experience.
Other Helpful Reviews for Pinball: Revenge of the Gator
This pinball game is somehow better than all the others that I have played. Maybe that is because in this one you have the ability to go up to different areas of the game where you can score loads of points and if you l... Read Full Review
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