Head Games: Abobo’s Big Adventure

Six years is a long time.  A veeeeerrrry long time, especially when it comes to developing an indie game. That’s exactly how long it took Abobo’s Big Adventure to reach completion. The brain child of I-Mockery’s Roger Barr, he and Team Abobo have been toiling away at this labor of love since 2006, building it from the ground up. The ultimate goal? To release the tribute to the 8 bit era of NES. I’d say they succeeded and then some.

Abobo’s Big Adventure follows the titular “hero” himself as he rampages his way through eight levels of pure retro madness in the quest to save his son, Aboboy!  The game runs the gamut from side scrolling beat ‘em up, to a Contra style shooter, to a top down dungeon crawler and everything in between….no lack of variety here. You’ll see familiar sights and faces as you travel through Mario’s underwater level, battle the old man from Legend of Zelda, Mate (Or eat, or hit, or puke on) the mermaid from Goonies II, and even have an aerial  battle with The Amazon from Pro Wrestling. Talk about nostalgia!

80′s flashbacks aside, how does she handle? In a nut shell, great. As I mentioned above, you travel through a variety of gameworlds, each level bringing with it a new style of play. No two stages are alike, but each are simple and fun enough to jump right in…but that’s not to say the game isn’t difficult. Sure, some levels are a breeze, but a few will damn well make you want to yank your hair out in frustration (God help you when you reach the balloon stage), but hey, if you grew up on these games that’s nothing new, right?  An excellent sense of humor is also on display, guaranteed to keep you laughing as you pummel your way to your son, skirting the line between heartfelt tribute and all out parody skillfully.

Abobo’s Big Adventure is just that….one big, insane, nostalgia filled journey. Its a love letter to anyone who grew up with the NES or those who just appreciate the old school. Tons of cameos, endless tributes to the classics of yesteryear, and wicked funny bone make for an excellent package that’s hard to resist. I can’t recommend it enough….you must play this game. Stop whatever it is your doing and strap on your powerglove …..it’s time to prove that a “Winner is You.”

Click here to play!