One of the best parts of my job is being able to both review new games for old consoles and have the chance to speak to the creators behind them. It's a privilege to be able to see new creations from creators in the space, especially ones that feature artwork from a legendary Pokémon card designer!
Fall From Space is a new game from Joel Jarman of Joel J. Games, and I've been putting it through its paces over the past couple of days to get a feel of the game and the world that Joel has created. It's a non-linear open-world game that lets you explore an entire solar system in the palm of your hands, and the story is as intriguing as it is captivating.
‍Players take an amnesiac robot only known as Milton on an adventure to discover his past, and why he's fallen from space and landed on a strange planet known as Pandaemonium or 'New Albion'. The game uses the stalwart RPG feature of moving around a large, slightly barren overworld map to reach towns and cities, which then open up to reveal detailed towns and explorable areas.
Fall From Space really pushes the boundaries of what you thought was possible from a Game Boy game, bringing multiple story endings, a karma system that, in Joel's words 'shapes the world around you', and real-time choices that affect characters and how you play. A Game Boy game that changes as you play - how wild would that have been in the 90s, huh? There's hours and hours of gameplay in this title. I've been playing for a couple of hours now and I don't even feel like I've scratched the surface!
And let's not forget the box artwork by the legendary Mitsuhrio Arita, the mind behind so many amazing Pokémon card designs from our youth, the most famous being the Base Set Charizard which I'm sure pretty much all of you will have held or seen at some point in your lives! It's fantastic that Arita has lent his talents to a solo dev Game Boy project, hand-painting the box art to create a truly unique cover that further enhances the nostalgic experience of opening up a cardboard box and pulling out a physical game cart!
Interview with Joel Jarman of Joel J Games
Retrio Dodo: Thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to talk to us, Joel. I want to start by asking what it was that inspired you to make this game?
Joel: My previous game, Tales of Monsterland, was my first project where I had to both learn GB Studio and the limitations of the Game Boy hardware, as well as how to basically make a game. So I was very conscious with it to avoid scope creep and to actually be able to finish a project. Throughout its development, I was taking notes on an idea for a much bigger project (one I could get stuck into over a period of years rather than months). I had a clear story in mind I wanted to tell, and I really wanted to replicate the ’step out’ moments I’d had in some of my favourite games. Where the game is much bigger than you originally imagined, leaving the dungeons in an Elder Scrolls game, the vault in Fallout, etc. Something that first hit me with Buck Rogers for the Mega Drive was when you realise you can just go to any planet in a solar system, in any order; that was a big inspiration.
Retro Dodo: And who would you say Fall From Space is for?
Joel: Fans of Sci-fi, fans of RPGs, and fans of platformers/Metroidvanians, fans of some of its literary themes - it’s a bit of a mash-up of a lot of things, but of course fans of the Game Boy!
Retro Dodo: I was amazed to find that you have worked with the legendary artist Mitsuhrio Arita on this game. What drew him to the project?
Joel: He mentioned he’d done some research into me and the game, also mentioning he’d self-taught himself programming in the 90s and said he understood how ambitious the project was. It is pretty wild that he’s done this for solo dev and for the Game Boy! I emailed him last August after seeing the awesome art for Earthion as well as some amazing Marvel artwork on his personal portfolio, then forgot about it. He got back a little while later, saying that while he doesn’t usually take on commissions like this, he’d done research into the project and myself and would be happy to take it!
Retro Dodo: What’s your history in game development?
Joel: I'm a long-time Game Boy collector, and during the pandemic, with extra free time on my hands, and a recent update to GB Studio allowing rudimentary platforming, allowed me to dive into making my first full game (Tales of Monsterland). I originally just wanted a cartridge that I could design the label for and slot into my collection to pretend I was a real developer, and maybe hassle a few of my friends who still had their Game Boys to play it. I really caught the development bug, and it’s been all-consuming ever since! Aside from that, I’d only spent a little time in the late 90s playing around with Klik & Play and the Games Factory.
Retro Dodo: Finally, can you reveal any information on a release date or pricing? Will there be a physical edition we can buy, or even a collector's edition?
Joel: I don’t actually know the price yet, but it’s a 4MB game (maxing out the cart). There will be a physical edition with a manual, etc and the lovely Mitsuhiro piece. It should be ready to launch very soon!
