It's hard to believe that the Game Boy Color released almost three decades ago, and it's amazing that here I am, in my thirties, playing new games that are being released for a handheld that dropped back when I was a kid. While ModRetro are releasing new games like Dragonyhm and Chantey for gamers across the world to play, their Classics Collection is doing some great things for game preservation and introducing a new audience to games that might previously have been hard to come by or, in many cases, overlooked completely.
Project S-11 is the latest game to join classics like Toki Tori and the charming sidescroller Baby T-Rex. It's an arcade shoot-em-up that follows in the footsteps of titles like Xevious and Master of Weapon, though the title isn't anywhere near as exciting. A fun fact that you can tell anyone who will listen at parties is that the name was supposed to be a placeholder but ended up sticking!
But enough about that; you came here to discover my thoughts on this game and to see what comes inside the carefully crafted box from ModRetro. So, let's set all phasers to 'Brutal Honesty' mode and get into the review.
Thanks to ModRetro for sending me this game to review. All of my thoughts are my own and taken from time spent playing Project S-11 on both my ModRetro Chromatic and my Game Boy Color.
Project S-11 is part of ModRetro's retro revival range and brings arcade shoot-em-up action to your Game Boy Color or Chromatic. It's an impressive 8-bit title with great graphics and a helpful password entry option, but the gameplay isn't as challenging as other titles for the handheld or from ModRetro's catalogue.
- Price: $44.99, £36.00
- Compatible With: ModRetro Chromatic, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Analogue Pocket.
- Available From: ModRetro
Project S-11: Good Luck, Pilot
If you're looking for a space shooter on the Game Boy Color or Chromatic, then you've hit the jackpot. This game is pure action; there's no real storyline to follow as such bar defeating alien forces and bringing peace to the galaxy, button-mashing your way to victory while picking up different power-ups along the way.
I'll start off by saying that graphically, it's a really good-looking 8-bit game. It feels like a NES game that's been transported to the GBC, and thanks to advancements in screen technology and backlighting alongside modding consoles, it looks even better than it did when it launched back in January 2001.
What's In The Box
As you will have undoubtedly seen from my other ModRetro game reviews, the days of winning a 'cartridge only' listing from eBay are well and truly over, replaced fully by that physical media experience we loved back in the 90s.
For starters, the box art has had a major upgrade from the days of the Game Boy Colour, with the crafts looking more defined and the background of lava and craters looking far more enticing to draw gamers in. This looks like a game I would want to play now, so well done ModRetro for sprucing it up a little. You also get a full-colour manual and the game cart inside its little plastic insert, plus a pendant to hang from your Chromatic. This time it's of an S-11 craft!
The cartridge itself needs its own little segment here because it looks amazing. It's the first cartridge I've had from ModRetro that takes me back to the first time I saw a see-through Game Boy cart and marveled at the chips and the battery inside. There's just something about crystal shells like this that transports me back to being a kid like nothing else in the retro gaming world, so it's safe to say I'm a big fan of this design choice.
The Gameplay
As this is a reproduction of an old game rather, it sticks true to the original and has all of the same levels, action, and cutscenes, including this annoying spelling mistake in the introduction where you're being briefed on the mission ahead. I would have loved for someone to have just nipped in here and corrected that translation mistake if I'm being honest, but that's just me.
See what I mean about it looking more like a NES title than a GB game thought? The scenes above and below use such rich and vibrant colours, and while there's no real sense of depth to the levels with it being a forward scroller, the changing landscape underneath you does enough to keep you focused and alert - the fate of the world rest on your shoulders, after all!
The Weapons
Your thumb will hurt after playing this game. There's an autofire function that you can take advantage of by holding down the fire button, but it's not as rapid as just mashing the button yourself with all of your might. It definitely makes the atmosphere more tense when you're in the thick of the action, but you might start to feel a little out of breath by the end of Level 2.
Players start off with a simple laser weapon and can upgrade them as they go through each level by picking up powerups. I've used what looks like purple laser worms, firey shuriken, a laser that fires in three directions, and what can only be described as bullets from hell. You also have missiles to use too, and while they look good, they can be a little bit hit-and-miss in every sense of the word and don't do very much damage unless you're in the middle of a bunch of enemies.
Speak Friend And Enter
Now, let's talk about the password function. I'm really glad it's here as playing through other levels to get back to where you left off can get pretty tiring, and while I understand that's the nature of arcade games and feels totally right for games like Baby T-rex, it would have made me want to tear my beard out if it wasn't included in this game.
With Baby T-rex, I feel like you learn something every time you play and want to better your previous run time, whereas in Project S-11, there isn't much of a desire to go back and play previous levels, which for me makes it more of a casual 'pick up and play' game rather than a title like Dragonyhm that I've been unable to put down due to loving it so much. Yes the gameplay in S-11 is fun, but it's not gripping me in the same way.
If you do want to input a password, then you'll find the password section on the main menu when you start the game. You get passwords when you die in the game and can use them to go back to the start of the level you perished in. You'll restart the game with all of your lives too; that can be good or bad depending on how you look at it, making it annoyingly easier for some hardened players or throwing a lifeline to those who aren't used to arcade shooting games.
Final Thoughts
- Easy pickup and play game that oozes arcade action
- Clear and vibrant graphics
- Password function for accessing levels
- Gameplay can quickly get repetitive and not very challenging
Project S-11 is a neat game and probably the finest example of a shoot-em-up you'll find available for the GBC or Chromatic. It's fun to play and mindless in the sense that you don't need to think about how you're going to get a certain block to a specific switch in order to move into the next room - it's just a case of 'blast and go' which is sometimes just what you need after a long day of using your brain at work. There are only 8 levels too, so it's not a game you'll need to put 80+ hours into.
I've had a lot of fun playing the game and as I've said, it's stunning to look at, but I honestly don't think I'll be picking it up as much as I have Dragonyhm and Baby T-rex. It's one of those games that you might play for 2 hours and then come back to a week later for another round, and hey, that's fine. Not every game needs to tax us mentally or be stuck in our handheld for weeks on end, and I feel like whenever I want to blow off some steam with some weird purple laser worms and save the galaxy, Project S-11 will be waiting for me on my desk with, if not open arms, an open case at least.
