Game Freak's second game Jerry Boy / Smart Ball

[iretrogamer]

Hey guys! A while back I posted my retrospective on Air Zonk and Super Air Zonk. Well I'm continuing that series with a Super Nintendo entry - the notorious Jerry Boy (Smart Ball in the US)

This was Game Freak's second video game after Mendel Palace on the NES, and it's always been a favorite ever since I owned the Japanese original. I was SHOCKED to find out the US localization had removed the game's entire storyline! Sad really.

Marc from "My Life in Gaming" joins me in the discussion. Hope you enjoy the video. Feedback GREATLY appreciated. Thanks guys.

[esteban]

First, I'll regurgitate my post from TooYube:

I have only played SmartBall, eons ago, but now I realize that I really need to play the Japanese version. Damn. As stated in the video, the elements gutted from the North American version needlessly stripped away some of the original game's charm and personality.

Since Jerry Boy/SmartBall is a quirky game that has a niche audience, some of you might enjoy playing another quirky game with a few mechanics that are *slightly* reminiscent of Jerry Boy: Mesopotamia/Somer Assault on PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16.

They are *NOT* the same sort of game...

...and yet, Jerry Boy and Mesopotamia/Somer Assault feel like kindred spirits: they are both creative, genre bending games that, sadly, never found enough love from players. If Mesopotamia/Somer Assault starred a cute little blob of jelly, I bet folks would find the game far more endearing.

And I'll add:

(1) I love the video clip at the end of the video: you have to tell us about your dad? He's awesome (supporting SFC imports!)

(2) Overall, I enjoyed your commentary. I don't think  Jerry Boy was ever considered more than a niche title by Sony, but framing Jerry as a hopeful in the  "mascot frenzy" helps the narrative and really emphasizes your main point—the protagonist is an unlikely hero.

(3) "Slime" has a long history of being the "loser enemy" (fist edition Dungeons& Dragons) that one fights as a neophyte...so I liked this "underdog" element that carries over (apparently) into the storyline (the rival steals the girlfriend!)

(4) little touches, like the NES Pinball + SmartBall mashup, were nice.

(4) I don't care about Pokemon, but my daughter has forced me to acknowledge its existence (she is 11 and obsessed with the DS games), so I actually appreciated the Jerry Boy meets Pokemon discussion. Three years ago, I would not have been so kind.

(5) make more videos like this.

(6) Yes, I proselytize forTG-16. I figure that at least one person might be curious enough to try Mesopotamia/Somer Assault.

[Opethian]

I was hoping for a Jerry Boy does what Turricant meme but maybe its run its course...

[xelement5x]

Nice!  I always liked your Sega Channel stuff so it's cool to see you branching out

[seieienbu]

I vaguely recall playing this game; I think a friend of mine owned this when I was younger.  After watching your video I must say that it looks really good.  I think I'll give the game a go as an adult.  Does the Japanese version  natively have English text or were you using a translation hack?

[ccovell]

Nice to see the game making the rounds more and more.

You might be interested in some more background info on the game, which I've put up on a little tribute page: http://www.chrismcovell.com/JBTribute/

And, yeah, the Japanese game got an English translation, by... uh... some dude, way back in 2001!  Check it out: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/372/ 

Also, Jerry Boy 2 translation: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1062/

[seieienbu]

Bah.  I was hoping to play import carts on my snes in English.  I guess there's no dice on that one.

It's definitely cool that the games got translations, don't get me wrong.

[iretrogamer]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

ccovell - Love your tribute page man. I remember skimming it over when I was doing research. The interview with the developers is fascinating. Hope you enjoyed the video. ;-)