Ball is an important entry in the history of video games as it was the first game in the popular Game & Watch series, Nintendo's first handheld console, and the game that popularized the trend of the LCD frame-by-frame style of game.
The Game & Watch series was conceptualized by Gunpei Yokoi, who is now remembered as the creator of the Game Boy. He got the idea for simple handheld games using a liquid crystal display after watching a man on a bullet train push buttons on an LCD calculator.
Ball is a juggling game. The balls come toward the character that is now known as Mr. Game & Watch. He has to keep the balls from hitting the ground by hitting them up in the air when they come near his hand. As mentioned above, the game is a frame-by-frame style of game. Balls will move bit by bit on the screen, and the goal is to simply hit the left or right button at the right time to keep it moving. As the game moves on, more balls will have to be juggled, with the speed getting progressively faster.
Today, the original is an antiquated style of game, but it has been remade several times. The first was in the European-exclusive Game Boy Gallery for the original Game Boy. This version simply contained the original Game & Watch game, albeit with slightly improved graphics, such as giving the player character a face.
In Game & Watch Gallery 2 for the Game Boy Color, Ball is an unlockable game that is available in two versions. The first is the original Game & Watch game with Mr. Game & Watch. In the modern game, the graphics are improved and four playable characters can be unlocked, each with gameplay harder than the last. Yoshi juggles Yoshi eggs, Mario juggles various items from the Super Mario series, Wario juggles balls, and Bowser juggles his various minions. Sometimes bombs will come on screen, and these need to be avoided instead of juggled.
The most recent remake is one of the three games in Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. This version is the original Game & Watch version with either Mario or Luigi with a cheat code. It has the stick figures of Mr. Game & Watch with the head of one of the Mario brothers.
Ball is entertaining in short bursts. The original Game & Watch version is an important game in the history of video games, but it has antiquated graphics and gameplay. The 2010 re-release adds the option to turn the bleep-bloop sound effects off, which is a much-needed addition. The version in Game & Watch Super Mario Bros. is the easiest to obtain as of the time this review was posted. However, despite the addition of Mario or Luigi heads, it still has the same antiquated graphics and gameplay. The best version, by far, is in Game & Watch Gallery 2. The modern mode adds gameplay changes like bombs that make the game a lot less tedious. It's also fun in this version to play through and unlock the characters, with the difficulty increasing as you go.
The version in Game & Watch Gallery 2 is worthy of recommendation. It's available to pick up on the Virtual Console for 3DS owners, at least until the eShop closes on March 27, 2023.
Addendum, February 27, 2022: Game & Watch Gallery 2 was also released for the original Game Boy console, but only in Japan.
Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5
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