Boulder Dash EX - An interesting and very different Boulderdash game.
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:05 am
I was kind of hesitant on mentioning it at first because of how different it was, but I found gameplay videos on YouTube of a Gameboy Advance game titled "Boulderdash EX", a Boulderdash game that actually had a license from First Star Software. It had a story mode with cutscenes that was actually about an adventure the protagonist (a boy named "Alex") goes through to save his friend (a girl named "Sonya") from the evil Dark King. The game had six differently themed worlds of 10 levels each, and pieces of story happen when transitioning between worlds. Unfortunately, the final showdown was all done in a cutscene. The game also had a large soundtrack too.
There are a lot of differences between Boulderdash and BDEX in gameplay. It generally adds to the Boulderdash formula in ways very different from Emerald Mine, a few changes leaning towards Supaplex (no time limit and enemies only being harmful upon collision).
1.) There is a separate set of tutorial levels available in the game. Each of the eight tutorial levels is selectable at any time.
2.) There is an energy meter. Instead of instantly dying, the energy meter drains and once it is empty, that's when death occurs. Falling rocks will still immediately end the game though.
3.) Objects that follow gravity have a slight delay before falling. This includes objects rolling off of round edges.
4.) Gems (called "mirror jewels" in this game) are automatically collected when falling on top of the player in addition to draining their health.
5.) Collecting all gems in the level (not just the amount required) awards a "perfect" bonus upon reaching the exit.
6.) Pushing rocks normally instead uses the "snap-push" behavior. Drains a small amount of energy.
7.) In turn, snap-pushing is replaced with "kicking" (press the A button), which causes the rock to basically behave like a more powerful EMC spring, killing all enemies within its path. Kicked rocks also fly over single-tile gaps. Drains the same amount of energy as pushing.
8.) Enemies move slower and can have two additional behaviors: Horizontal and vertical. Enemies with the "horizontal" movement behavior can fall.
9.) Enemies don't explode when killed.
10.) An inventory that is limited to five slots, which can be rotated using the L and R buttons. Any inventory item can be used by pressing the B button. All inventory items can only be used once per slot.
11.) Hope crystals are inventory items that rotate gravity when used. Some hope crystals rotate gravity clockwise while others rotate gravity counterclockwise.
12.) Super picks that are inventory items giving the player the ability to break a single rock.
13.) Time bombs. Works exactly like dynamite, but can only be placed in a specified direction (like RND's "throw" behavior).
14.) Magic gloves, which can pull an item from a long distance until it is next to the player. The longer the distance, the longer the player remains stationary. It can also grab enemies, so players need to be careful!
15.) Mushrooms have varying appearances that indicate each ability when collected (they aren't inventory items). Two types of energy mushrooms that restores either 20% or 50% of the player's energy, and two types of speed mushrooms that temporarily either speeds up or slows down the player. There is also a variant that is any of the four with the ability hidden.
There are possibly more, but this is all I've noted from what I've seen.
There is also a selection for a "classic game", which from what I can tell is the original Boulderdash, complete with the old names, graphics, and gameplay (it even says it's "based on the 1984 PC version"). It also has its own series of tutorials and tutorial levels (four of them), most likely because of how different it plays compared to BDEX.
There are a lot of differences between Boulderdash and BDEX in gameplay. It generally adds to the Boulderdash formula in ways very different from Emerald Mine, a few changes leaning towards Supaplex (no time limit and enemies only being harmful upon collision).
1.) There is a separate set of tutorial levels available in the game. Each of the eight tutorial levels is selectable at any time.
2.) There is an energy meter. Instead of instantly dying, the energy meter drains and once it is empty, that's when death occurs. Falling rocks will still immediately end the game though.
3.) Objects that follow gravity have a slight delay before falling. This includes objects rolling off of round edges.
4.) Gems (called "mirror jewels" in this game) are automatically collected when falling on top of the player in addition to draining their health.
5.) Collecting all gems in the level (not just the amount required) awards a "perfect" bonus upon reaching the exit.
6.) Pushing rocks normally instead uses the "snap-push" behavior. Drains a small amount of energy.
7.) In turn, snap-pushing is replaced with "kicking" (press the A button), which causes the rock to basically behave like a more powerful EMC spring, killing all enemies within its path. Kicked rocks also fly over single-tile gaps. Drains the same amount of energy as pushing.
8.) Enemies move slower and can have two additional behaviors: Horizontal and vertical. Enemies with the "horizontal" movement behavior can fall.
9.) Enemies don't explode when killed.
10.) An inventory that is limited to five slots, which can be rotated using the L and R buttons. Any inventory item can be used by pressing the B button. All inventory items can only be used once per slot.
11.) Hope crystals are inventory items that rotate gravity when used. Some hope crystals rotate gravity clockwise while others rotate gravity counterclockwise.
12.) Super picks that are inventory items giving the player the ability to break a single rock.
13.) Time bombs. Works exactly like dynamite, but can only be placed in a specified direction (like RND's "throw" behavior).
14.) Magic gloves, which can pull an item from a long distance until it is next to the player. The longer the distance, the longer the player remains stationary. It can also grab enemies, so players need to be careful!
15.) Mushrooms have varying appearances that indicate each ability when collected (they aren't inventory items). Two types of energy mushrooms that restores either 20% or 50% of the player's energy, and two types of speed mushrooms that temporarily either speeds up or slows down the player. There is also a variant that is any of the four with the ability hidden.
There are possibly more, but this is all I've noted from what I've seen.
There is also a selection for a "classic game", which from what I can tell is the original Boulderdash, complete with the old names, graphics, and gameplay (it even says it's "based on the 1984 PC version"). It also has its own series of tutorials and tutorial levels (four of them), most likely because of how different it plays compared to BDEX.