• Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:

    1. The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
    2. Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration

    Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.

What's On This $10 Handheld 3: There Are More. Blame Ixo.

Lexibook_games_155.png

156 Truck Race
Another version of Runner Car (#151). This one gives you a truck, sharply limited fuel, and a track that splits and re-combines. (Despite what look like turn-offs, you can only ever go forwards.)

Lexibook_games_156.png

157 Dump Lorry Race
A hack of the Tiltboy title Motor Rally, which we saw as VR Racing (#149). You have a monster truck instead of a motorcycle, but it’s otherwise identical. I realize the titles JungleTac came up with haven't been at the Nice Code level, but I kinda love this one and whatever translation disaster that turned "monster truck" into "dump lorry."

Lexibook_games_157.png

158 Fast Race
This wiki specifies that this is a clone of Bump 'n Jump, but not a hack. I found that the poor controls and unclear graphics make it nigh-unplayable. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_158.png

159 Excel Racing
A clone of Rally-X, but without the ability to blow smoke. Travel around the map, collect the flags, don’t hit the other cars. (With a title like that, the map should be a spreadsheet. Wouldn’t that be cool? Or do I just have an unhealthy obsession with spreadsheets?)

Lexibook_games_159.png

160 Motor Rally
The original Tiltboy title, which we saw as VR Racing (#149) and immediately above. (VR Racing got a slight facelift, but it's otherwise identical.)
 
We’re five for five on repeats today. JungleTac isn’t as blatant about reusing games as some other producers (at least they changed the names!) but I suspect the rate of new games from here on is going to continue to decline. They clearly front-loaded the higher-end graphical versions of these games and crammed the older versions into the back half of the list.

Lexibook_games_161.png

161 Road Bumper
Another version of Runner Car (#151). This one puts you on a motorcycle and makes it look like winter; and you can bump the other cycles to knock them off the road.

Lexibook_games_162.png

162 Cross-Country
This appears to be another version of Road Star (#77).

Lexibook_games_163.png

163 Fire Panic
Another version of the Flying Hero clone Fire Fighter (#19).

Lexibook_games_164.png

164 Monsters
Another version of Mr. Onion / One Day of Mr. Potato (#20).

Lexibook_games_165.png

165 Jewel Fall
This isn’t in the wiki, but it’s clearly a Columns clone. We saw another one of those as Jewel Master (#37).

Also, since we're into heavy repeats territory and the end is in sight, we're moving to a double-time schedule. Ten a day!

Lexibook_games_166.png

166 Urban Mission
I think this is an earlier version of the Frogger clone Ultra Doggy (#38), with worse controls. And far worse graphics.

Lexibook_games_167.png

167 Elf Fantasy
Another version of Elfland (#82). The controls are actually better and this one has a title screen; I’m wondering if this is the original.

Lexibook_games_168.png

168 Gem Mystery
Another version of Tetris with bombs, presumably a variant of Magic Diamond (#137).

Lexibook_games_169.png

169 Quick Win
I actually kinda love the random-ass naming scheme, because this is another version of Hard Win (#41).

Lexibook_games_170.png

170 Smart N Fast
Another variation of the Pooyan clone Monkey N Fox, which we first saw as Homeland Defense (#25).
 
Lexibook_games_171.png

Lexibook_games_171a.png

171 Loop Tennis
We’ve definitely seen variations of this game on earlier handhelds, because it’s a very simple concept: Press the button to hit the ball up, and you need to get it to land on the moving racket immediately above it. (I think there was a very with jumping bunnies? I’d need to check.) The important standout here is the title screen, which has been a rarity on this device and appears to feature Phineas from Phineas and Ferb. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_172.png

172 Igloo Land
This is actually really impressive! The actual gameplay is a clone of Soukoban, but it has a world map between the levels and some minigames, and it stars this cute little alligator guy. You can also back up move-by-move with the B button, which makes the levels much less frustrating. This is randomly cool and almost feels like a “real” NES game that got mix in to the list. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_173.png

173 Line up
I think this is a more primitive version of the match-3 game we first saw as Fruit Fall (#53), based on Move Fun (#107).

Lexibook_games_174.png

174 Sky Hits
Another variation on Beat the Bird (#93); this one is very close to Hunting Madness (#98).

Lexibook_games_175.png

175 Brick Bounce
Another variation of the Arkanoid clone Block Out (#42).

Lexibook_games_176.png

176 Final Path
A Sokoban clone; multiple levels of block-pushing puzzles. It also has the ability to back up one move at a time, but after Igloo Land, it’s just not cool enough. It has different levels from Push the Box (#39) but basically the same setup; it’s probably a hack of that?

Lexibook_games_177.png

177 Sky Attack
I think this is a more primitive version of the Kaboom! clone Catch the Egg (#44), as it shares the weird slidy controls.

Lexibook_games_178.png

178 Crazy Garden
Another version of the whack-a-mole game Crazy Hit (#140). I think this is a hack/rename of a VT09 game called Whack the Critter that was also hacked into Clowning Hit, which is coming up.

Lexibook_games_179.png

179 Fireballs
A slightly different version of the Snakes game Dragon Fire (#61), with fireballs instead of apples.

Lexibook_games_180.png

180 Pool Pro
This is a clone of Side Pocket; a perfectly reasonably single-player pool game. According to the wiki, the graphics are based on the SNES/Genesis version of the game, rather than the preexisting NES port. (VT03-09)
 
Beowulf said:
172 Igloo Land
This is actually really impressive! The actual gameplay is a clone of Soukoban, but it has a world map between the levels and some minigames, and it stars this cute little alligator guy. You can also back up move-by-move with the B button, which makes the levels much less frustrating. This is randomly cool and almost feels like a “real” NES game that got mix in to the list. (VT03-09)
Click to expand...
Very much Mario 3 map vibes
 
Lexibook_games_181.png

181 Air Blast
The title screen calls this “Sky Mission,” and we already saw Sky Mission (#100). It’s a hacked or earlier version of that Astro Robo Sasa clone, without the prospector guy.

Lexibook_games_182.png

182 Risker
Finally, another new game! Unfortunately, it’s terrible. This is a platforming game, vaguely similar to Mappy. It has very poor collision detection; it’s really easy to die trying to jump over a hole between platforms. One of the enemies resembles Porygon from Pokemon. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_183.png

183 Pair Memo
The original of the game we saw as Pair Up (#109).

Lexibook_games_184.png

184 Patch Up
Another version of Garden Maze (#130), only with a king and a knight as the characters.

Lexibook_games_185.png

185 White Fungus
Another variation of the Zeek the Geek clone Ogreish Flower (#74). They clearly were using the stolen Mario graphics from the start.

Lexibook_games_186.png

186 Fish Catcher
The original of Ghost Buster (#12), where you use your grabby-hand to catch fish. The fish are clearly cheep-cheeps. Don’t grab a black fish; those inexplicably explode and destroy your hand.

Lexibook_games_187.png

187 Fish Prince
Another version of Fish Quiz (#136).

Lexibook_games_188.png

188 Open Land
Another version of the Pipe Mania clone Build Up Road (#116), only with actual roads this time. I wonder why the version with the better graphics mixed up the road and pipe themes.

Lexibook_games_189.png

189 Crystal Clear
Freak Number (#135) again; the title screen even calls it that.

Lexibook_games_190.png

190 Keep Balance
The Tiltboy balance bird game Birdie Nest (#72); probably the original, as it leaves out the Angry Birds and matches the My Arcade Go Gamer version.
 
Violentvixen said:
Very much Mario 3 map vibes
Click to expand...
Yeah I was about to say. But really, as this game points out, there's no reason you *can't* use that style of map for almost any genre. I'm almost surprised more actual NES games didn't rip it off.
 
Lexibook_games_191.png

191 Go Bang
Make five-in-a-row on a Go board; we’ve seen this game plenty of times before. I remain entranced by it but strangely terrible at it. I feel like I might need to look up strategies.

Lexibook_games_192.png

192 Grass Yard
Grass Cutter (#69) again.

Lexibook_games_193.png

193 Moving Blocks
The Christmas-themed Puzznic clone Happy Diamond (#139) again.

Lexibook_games_194.png

194 Block Panic
Another version of Dangerous Zone (#28).

Lexibook_games_195.png

195 Insect Chase
The Tiltboy game of catching bugs in a net that we also saw on the My Arcade Go Gamer.

Lexibook_games_196.png

196 Bubble Factory
JungleTac apparently made a licensed port of Snood Towers, which was then hacked into this. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to play it. I think this version might be broken. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_197.png

197 Transportation
I wouldn’t have necessarily realized it without the wiki pointing it out, but this is a hack of Hard Win (#41) with totally different graphics but the same gameplay, shifting a pair of arrows so the colored balls end up in the right bins.

Lexibook_games_198.png

198 Crazy Nursery
Awake Baby (#131) with actual babies!

Lexibook_games_199.png

199 Bubbly Challenge
A more primitive version of the Snood clone Magic Bubble (#63).

Lexibook_games_200.png

200 Matching Tiles
A Mahjong matching game, though they use English letters and random symbols instead of actual Mahjong tiles. (VT03-09)

Only 50 games to go! Any bets as to how many new games will be in the last segment?
 
Lexibook_games_201.png

201 Ocean Quest
A boat-based side-scrolling racing game for the Tiltboy. (You’re clearly in a river, not the ocean.) It feels very similar to Big Racing (#150), but I can’t be certain it’s a hack.

Lexibook_games_202.png

202 Clear Water
This appears to be another version of the Depthcharge clone Sea War (#99).

Lexibook_games_203.png

203 Runway Paint
Another version of Make Trax clone Paint Master (#33). I think it’s slightly less prone to an instant game over when the enemies spawn?

Lexibook_games_204.png

Lexibook_games_204a.png

204 Pet Shop
We saw this hacked into War of Mummy (#16); this is the original and check out that ripoff of Hector the Bulldog on the title screen! (The in-game sprite makes me think of Ma-Mutt from the original Thundercats.)

Lexibook_games_205.png

205 Pinball Gates
Another version of Pinball Track (#57). The holes continue to have larger hitboxes than sprites.

Lexibook_games_206.png

206 Bubble Blaster
This is a clone of Zuma, but it’s a bad one that relies on a hand cursor and has the balls move with a very slow, jerky animation. I don’t think it’s the same game as Ball Blaster (#36). (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_207.png

207 Push the Ball
A very close clone of Shufflepuck Café, a 3D Pong-like air hockey game I hadn’t heard of before. I’m not sure what’s up with that robot’s nipples. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_208.png

208 Rainbow
Catch the rainbows into the pot. A very simple Kaboom! Clone. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_209.png

209 Flying Ball
A more playable version of Bounce (#114), replacing the candy cane theme with Atari 2600 graphics and sounds but also not angling the ball to immediately make you lose each round.

Lexibook_games_210.png

210 Hurry Up
Another version of the Tiltboy title Bingo Zap (#60); neither title makes sense to me for a “get the ball in the flashing hole” game.
 
Surprise! There are some new things hidden deep in the depths of the list!

Lexibook_games_211.png

211 Spin Ball
Another Tiltboy game that plays similar to Pinball Track, but without any holes—you need to collect the key to get through the door and reach the exit, but other than the time limit there don’t appear to be any hazards.

Lexibook_games_212.png

212 Ball Center
Another version of Ball Mania (#66). The controls to rotate the center ball remain obtuse.

Lexibook_games_213.png

213 Bingo
A simple “bingo”-style game where you pick some numbers and see if they hit and you win anything. As straightforward as gambling gets. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_214.png

214 Slot Machine
Well, except for the computerized one-armed bandits. I really don’t get the appeal of these kinds of games. It’s pure chance! You’re not betting money and there’s nothing to win; there’s no skill, no story, no progress, and not even enough flashing lights to occupy your brain like a tappy game. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_215.png

215 Texas Hold’em
A four-player poker table. It’s not the same without human players you can properly bluff, but poker is at least a game of skill and strategy. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_216.png

216 Wild River
A hack of Frogger clone Ultra Doggy (#38). I’m not sure what your character is supposed to be, but their slow, clunky movements make it very easy to get rammed by boats as you try to swim through the wild river.

Lexibook_games_217.png

217 Sudoku Challenge
I think this is the Sudoku game also known as Number Quest, not the same Sudoku (#119) we already saw. I reiterate my comment about sudoku being much more playable with a pen. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_218.png

218 Track and Field
Originally released as 100m Dash, a clone of an event from Track & Field, featuring cats and dogs. This version features people and actually has some entertaining “getting tired” animation. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_219.png

219 Target Limit
A slightly better-named copy of the Track & Field shooting-event clone Dart Champion (#88). The targeting boxes slowly rise except when they spontaneously jump to the balls; there’s a timing routine to this if you can find it.

Lexibook_games_220.png

220 Jumping Ball
Clearly based on some sort of tennis game, the robot will shoot balls at you and you need to press the button to bounce them back. You’re trying to hit the three tiles to flip them and show the other picture on all three. (VT03-09)
 
Beowulf said:
198 Crazy Nursery
Awake Baby (#131) with actual babies!
Click to expand...

I don’t think this hospital is following proper NICU procedures.

Beowulf said:
207 Push the Ball
A very close clone of Shufflepuck Café, a 3D Pong-like air hockey game I hadn’t heard of before. I’m not sure what’s up with that robot’s nipples. (VT03-09)
Click to expand...

Oh hey, I know that game! It was a pretty big deal when it first came out on Mac, and it’s level of animation, big detailed characters, and quick action were still pretty uncommon.
 
Lexibook_games_221.png

221 Bomb Fish
This is a weird puzzle game where you’re playing as the blue cat, and you can push the various blocks, but how they move and what they do (some explode when matched, some transform) is completely inconsistent. I’m guessing somebody screwed up the graphics or there’s something I’m missing, because it seems like you’re just supposed to guess what to push and how to push it and get lucky. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_222.png

222 Fruit
Another Magic Jewelry (Columns) hack. The first one we saw was Jewel Master (#37).

Lexibook_games_223.png

223 Clowning Hit
As predicted, this is another hack of the whack-a-mole game Whack The Critter that we first saw as Crazy Hit (#140). And who doesn’t want to hit clowns with a hammer?

Lexibook_games_224.png

224 Defender
Another variation on Mr. Onion / One Day of Mr. Potato (#20), but this one is totally graphically overhauled: You’re playing a kid in a purple hoodie, the monsters are different, all the ladders are replaced with ¾-view platforms, and there’s just an exit rather than anyone to rescue. (I have no idea what you’re defending, though. There’s a title screen, but it’s blank.)

Lexibook_games_225.png

225 Canyon Raider
Another hack of Ogreish Flower (#74), the clone of Zeek the Geek; but again with the major graphics overhaul: You’re playing as a little pink mouse collecting ice cream cones, and the plants are replaced with snakes that jump out to eat you.

Lexibook_games_226.png

226 Escape
Your Mr. Onion-looking character needs to avoid octopuses and fish, collect gold coins and a key and escape through the door. This is a hack of Path Finder (that’s coming up), and vaguely similar to a bunch of Nice Code titles. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_227.png

227 100m Dash
The animal version of Track and Field (#218).

Lexibook_games_228.png

228 Rabbit’s Defense
Another version of Monkey N Fox, the Pooyan clone we first saw as Skytrooper War (#8). I think that’s going to win for game that’s appeared the most often! In this one, the enemies are swimming down to your level, so you need to shoot their heads poking out of the water rather than popping their balloons or parachutes. There are carrots you can throw at an arc as a power-up. (This is another case of a really clever graphical hack that plays exactly the same but makes the game feel a little different.)

Lexibook_games_229.png

229 Super Surfing
You can only move left and right, and the waves never move as the various swimmers and other surfers wander through. You need to collect floating moneybags while avoiding everything else, because they’ll make you wipe out. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_231.png

230 Score Hits
Another copy of Basketball (#86), which I’ll admit I really wasn’t expecting to see again.
 
Lexibook_games_230.png

231 Arrow Target
Seems to be the same Track & Field event clone as Golden Arrow (#87).

Lexibook_games_232.png

232 Ball Win
Another version of the Penguin-kun Wars clone Ball Clash (#32).

Lexibook_games_233.png

233 Lonely Island
This is a clone of Hirake! Ponkikki for the Famicom. (I’d never heard of this game before, but there’s a fan translation playthrough on Youtube.) The playable characters are replaced with the penguins from Yume Penguin Monogatari, which I also was not familiar with, but also has a fan translation playthrough. Hey, even late in the project, I’m seeing new things! This game has a minimap and each area has a different minigame for you to play. It’s cute! (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_234.png

234 Stars Stroll
Another version of Balloon Man (#29), only this time you’re a balloon frog.

Lexibook_games_235.png

235 Path Finder
We saw the same game as Escape (#226); though in this version you’re playing as a kid and avoiding flies and praying mantises.

Lexibook_games_236.png

236 Colour Mission
Another variation on Right Spot (#123).

Lexibook_games_237.png

237 Challenger 100
Clone of NS-Shaft. The playable character appears to be Keroppi from Kero Kero Keroppi. We’ve seen variations of this before, and I think this was the original version that was upgraded into Down to 100 (#58). Interestingly, in this version your health will regenerate as you successfully land on platforms. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_238.png

238 Conquer South Pole
A clone of Kickle Cubicle, starring an alligator I feel like I should recognize. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_239.png

239 Cash In
Back in the Bob Shop (which, according to the wiki, was the original title of this game) for a more primitive version of Delivery Man (#24).

Lexibook_games_240.png

240 Fancy Match
This is the same game as Puzzle Park (#79), and it actually fills in some details for us: It’s a clone of Minna no Taabou no Nakayoshi Daisakusen, and the wiki notes that some of the fruit graphics are taken from Pac-Man.
 
Lexibook_games_241.png

241 Birds Protect
Another version of the Bird Week clone Worm Catch (#55). Feed your babies, avoid the hawk.

Lexibook_games_242.png

242 Defence Base
The title screen reveals this to be another copy of Flying (#128).

Lexibook_games_243.png

243 Diamond Gate
Another version of Lucky Lawn Mower, which we first saw as Jewel Quest (#111).

Lexibook_games_244.png

244 Animal Pool
You need to hit the incoming animals with your dodgeball in a Space Invaders sort of gameplay, with the quirk that you only have one ball and it’ll bounce off the far wall and come back, and you can’t throw again until you retrieve it. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_245.png

245 The Night
The player controls a devil, shooting at orbs an angel is dropping down. We first saw this as Ant & Bee (#94), and just like in that, the orbs are your target and not the angel. I still couldn’t figure out if any of the power-ups actually did anything.

Lexibook_games_246.png

246 Towers
A clone of NS-Tower. We’ve seen other clones of this on earlier handhelds; you move back and forth and need to charge up jumps to climb the tower. This is clearly based on the same engine as Challenge 100 and using the same stolen sprites. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_247.png

247 Under the Sea
You need to maneuver through the obstacles in the narrow “sea” (clearly a zig-zagging pipe), but don’t worry too hard about that because you’re going to hit the wall and explode a dozen times before you get frustrated and give up. This shares music with a bunch of the racing games, but the mechanics are suitably different that I’m not going to declare it a clone. (VT03-09)

Lexibook_games_248.png

248 High Score
The neighborhood asshole returns in another copy of Football Kid (#30).

Lexibook_games_249.png

249 Baking Fun
Cooking Mama is back in another version of Bake Pancakes (#67).

Lexibook_games_250.png

250 Wooden Bridge
And our very last title doesn’t appear on the bootleg wiki, but it’s clearly another Runner Car clone. Like the first time we saw it in Gear Race (#76), you can bump other cars off the road and need to collect fuel power-ups, but the track is straight and boring.

And that, dear friends, is every game on this handheld!
 
Of the 250 games on this handheld, there were 165 unique games. Credit to JungleTac that they didn’t actually repeat the same title at any point (no dozen copies of Super Mario 16 or anything like that). Games that were made for the earlier Tiltboy or VT03-09 systems are the ones we saw multiple times, because they put both the older versions and the upgraded versions on the same device.

72 of the games were VT3xx originals, made specifically for this advanced device. 153 games (or hacks thereof) were made for the older VT03-09 or UM6578 (NES-on-a-chip) systems. 20 games (or hacks thereof) were originally made for the VT02 Tiltboy system. 4 games were hacks of licensed properties (…three of the four were of Magic Jewelry). And only one game I couldn’t hunt down the origin of, that broken Boxing game that froze the device. Baby Arms was the only other broken title; everything else I could get to play successfully.

In terms of repeating games, the racing game Runner Car was the winner with 6 versions; though the Pooyan clone Monkey N Fox was a close contender with 5 versions. Third place goes to the Zeek the Geek clone Ogreish Flower with 4 versions. And the honorable mention is Track & Field, because three events from it were made into games and each of those appeared twice; so there are six games on this that originated with it. Only three games were clones of WarioWare minigames, as far as I could tell. (17 games appeared three times, 41 appeared twice.)

This is another handheld that would actually be a lot stronger if you could carve down the game list to maybe 150 titles. Pick the best version of every duplicated game and cut out the really bad ones (of which there were relatively few!), and then you have a solid list of casual titles that are each worth five or ten minutes of play. There’s actually a pretty good variety of games in this—platformers are under-represented, but there’s a solid selection of puzzle and casual games, racing and shooting games, and (limited) sports games. It’s not as good as a device that has actual branded games or save functionality, but they did understand that this was a “pick-up-and-play” device and everything on it functions accordingly.

The device itself would be better if it had an on-off hard switch and an actual menu button, and if the two control buttons were side-by-side instead of stacked; but you’re not going to play hours on this thing at a time so the bad ergonomics are forgivable. It’s suitably tiny as to fit in a pocket and though I was getting “low battery” warnings by the last few entries, two sets of AAAs lasted for this entire project.

Apparently if you pick up one of the licensed variations of this handheld (which include Disney Princess, Disney Frozen, Disney’s Cars, Disney’s Planes, PJ Masks, Paw Patrol, Minnie Mouse, Spider-Man and Star Wars) there are 5-10 special hacks of these games for each system. (As far as I can tell from the wiki, we’ve seen 99% of JungleTac’s gameplay output, there are just graphical differences to insert the various Disney characters.)

And that concludes this latest project, at least until Ixo discovers another device in a thrift shop somewhere and sends me down the next rabbit hole. Thanks for reading, folks!
 
Good stuff, thanks Beowulf!

There sure are some stolen Mario trees in that last birds game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top