365//365: Day 349 – Ghostbusters II (GB)

"Bustin' on the go will make you feel good!"

Questionable CPU co-op buddies can lead to catastrophe more than not. These erroneous allies have been seen mostly over the last several years, from titles such as Justice League Heroes, with its AI partner that cannot open a door by themselves, right on through to big named titles such as Resident Evil 5, who’s CPU controlled ally unloaded clip after clip into your back and produce a major handicap all in all. Then there are games like the Uncanny X-Men on the NES, where you’ll be forced to pray that your CPU partner dies quickly, so that you can actually “play” the actual game. It’s safe to say that developers have had a myriad of issues implementing an artificial intelligence with any semblance of intelligence whatsoever. Which leads us to Ghostbusters II on the Nintendo Game Boy — another CPU controlled co-op venture that provides a welcome twist to the gameplay, all the while providing more headaches at the same time.

When it comes to a CPU aided partner, there are two grades that can be given out: Pass goes to games with a partner that offers no hindrance to your progression, or your teams progression WWE Raw vs Smackdown series, most sports games). Fail goes to the games that offer CPU assistance that detracts from the experience, holds you back significantly, or just flat out breaks the game (the previously mentioned Justice League Heroes, Resident Evil 5 and Uncanny X-Men fall under this category). Ghostbusters 2 is a tricky beast to grade, as you’ll encounter many instances of failure on your partners behalf, only to realize that the gameplay dynamics would not really exist without them.

For the majority of the run, the character you select will fire the proton pack that incapacitates your spectral adversary, while your partner throws out the trap to capture the ghost. Pressing A fires your proton pack on the character you directly control, while pressing B throws out the trap that comes from your partner. You do have some indirect control of your partners movements, however they do maneuver up, down and about within their on discretion, while maintaining a short, leashed distance from your character. The problem is that since the partner AI does have its own movement quirks and do not follow your movements to a 1:1 prevision, cutting corners proves treacherous on occasions. Since they won’t figure out that they’re supposed to follow you directly, they’ll get caught on the corner, being left behind until you double back and get them to cut that corner with you. They’ll still try to follow you if you’re both close to a thin barricade, but cannot make the hop over. In a strange twist, even with the power up that enables you to walk through all walls and obstructions, your partner will still fidget about when walking through things, though maintain the leashed distance with you.

When your partner isn’t getting caught by the corner, Ghostbusters II manages to provide you with a rather entertaining handheld game. You’ll be able to choose from all four Ghostbusters, as Winston isn’t omitted, as he was for nearly every Ghostbusters game in general. You’ll run across your other Ghostbusters teammates throughout each stage who you can swap out with, or get a temporary power up. The gameplay never becomes anything more than elementary, though the number of ghosts that might be within the immediate vicinity will get you frazzled on occasion. Boss battles ditch your proton pack for an energy shooting contraption, as well as a partner that becomes invulnerable, and pretty much useless for the majority of the battle. It’s a typical pattern based battle, though they are not that badly constructed. It adds a dimension and a charm to the overall package.

The audio/video portion of Ghostbusters 2 are both adequate, with nothing special in either. You’ll come across music that, while not overly diverse, do sound a bit familiar. While they are not directly from such games, they do have tones and beats that are fitting to a title such as StarTropics on the NES. While it can be considered a compliment, it’s really doesn’t feel like it fits properly into what’s going on at any given time. Taking a somewhat chibi style, the characters and world in Ghostbusters II also gives it a misplaced feel if you try and compare it to the movie. Although the animated series did not feature the chibi art style, the  game looks like something pulled from an animated series. It’s definitely a much different look that we’ve seen from previous Ghostbusters titles, and though it doesn’t really feel proper, they are well constructed for the Game Boy Unit. The enemy variety though could have used a touch of originality. Slimer ghosts are fine, as the character is a staple to the franchise, but Boo from Super Mario World, a specter that looks like Lolo from The Adventures of Lolo and poltergeists that are reminiscent of a jack-in-the-box clown that’s proped on top of a ball. A little more creativity would have been ideal.

But the one thing that Ghostbusters II on the Game Boy does that no other Ghostbusters title aspired to be, on the handheld and 8 bit front, is to be fun. While there are quirks with your CPU partner, the gameplay mechanic does manage to bring it back to life, offering a much different gaming experience that you’d expect from any game on the system. The visuals have a unique look that does work with the franchise, so long as you don’t expect any sort of strict cohesion with the Ghostbusters II film, and the controls (sans your buddy) work well enough. If you don’t mind a bit of babysitting, as well as playing through each stage with music that doesn’t necessarily fit the bill, you’ll more than likely enjoy your time with Ghostbusters II, without being scared off.

Rating: 6.7