UltraMan Ball

I know almost nothing about Ultraman. I know he was a mascot for IBM computers in Japan in the 1990s, that's about all. OK, I know who Ultraman is, obviously, but I've never seen any Ultraman movies or TV shows. I've seen far more Gamera than Ultraman (shoutouts Magdalene.) Ultraman ball is the characters only game on Game Boy, and it's not really a puzzle game. It's a sidescrolling puzzle platformer with, hey wait I just said it wasn't a puzzle but then I said puzzle!

Well, is Klonoa a puzzle game or a platformer with some basic puzzles in it? Is Metroid a puzzle game, or Tears of the Kingdom, or Half-Life 2? They're games with puzzles in them, in the sense that there's a problem that takes logic and application of tools to solve. Ultraman Ball, in that sense, is not in my mind a puzzle game. But it is darn charming for what it is.

You play as Ultraman, who is a weak baby. Jumping on enemies kills you, but if you press B you can enter ball form. The ball bounces and is hard to control but it can kill enemies and break smiley blocks. I wish there was momentum with hills and such, ala sonic, but no luck. The goal is to get to the end of the stage, and try and pick up whatever goodies you find along the way. Also, bust up the cage to free the UFO if you'd like.

There are four worlds, with boss fights at the end. I got to the end of world two and the second boss stumped me. I know how to defeat it but, my brain just wasn't working with me. This game is charming, and if you're an Ultraman fan I'd say it's a must-play. It reminds me of a lot of the flash games I played as a kid, and I love it for that.