Gargoyle's Quest

The Good
Even if it is simple compared with adventure or role playing games on the big platforms, Gargoyle's Quest managed to create an atmosphere of it's own, at least for me. The game offered a more complex alternative to the mainly arcade centered games in the early time of the Game Boy.

The Bad
Some parts of the games are quite difficult and can be frustrating. I especially loathed "Man Eating Plants" which were quite hard to kill. And at the end of the game, one had to master two levels and defeat two bosses without another opportunity to replenish resources and get a password to load the game again.

The Bottom Line
The game consists of two parts, one top-down view where one could interact with characters, search for items etc. The other was a side scrolling jump-n-run (more jump-n-fly, as Firebrand comes with wings) part, in which one had to master a level and defeat bosses to advance in the game. The adventurous part was often interrupted by random mini-levels in which some monsters had to be defeated in order to continue questing. Firebrand grew in strength from a tiny gargoyling to a mighty gargoyle warrior by acquiring additional hit points, extended wing power (aka longer flight time) and up to four weapons, each with distinctive capabilities (which often made it necessary to switch between them to reach certain goals).

The Good
Some of the best graphics I’ve seen on the Game Boy.

The Bad
Very steep difficulty in some places; as well as slow-downs and flickering. The developers really tried to use the Game Boy hardware 100%, and sometimes it’s just too slow and a little bit annoying.

The Bottom Line
You’re a little Gargoyle saving the land! Top-down map with random encounters and longer main levels with tough boss fights paired with some role playing elements. A bit like Zelda II on the NES.