Game Review: Tutti Frutti (Gameboy Color Remake, WLS)

Some time ago Warren Pilkington took a look at the Commodore 16 version of Tutti Frutti and was extremely impressed. In fact, he awarded the C16 exclusive one of his highest scores so far here on the Mastertronic Collectors Archive website. So I was eager to find out if this Gameboy Color fan remake by László Rajcsányi was up to scratch…

The Origins Of Tutti Frutti

The original release of Tutti Frutti was developed exclusively for the Commodore 16 by Shaun Southern, one of the more prolific programmers for the system and as a rule you were guaranteed to get a great game if it was developed by him. He was responsible for the likes of P.O.D., Dizasterblaster, Dingbat, Vegas Jackpot, Kikstart, and many more. Released in 1985 to critical acclaim it did look somewhat familiar to those who played it…

As with a lot of Mastertronic’s early releases, Tutti Frutti took its inspiration from the arcades and in this instance it came from Universal Entertainment’s Mr Do! which itself took inspiration from Dig Dug). You take on the role Super Strawberry and you have to go around different maze-like levels collecting 15 pieces of fruit while avoiding all of the Acid Apples trying to chase you.

Fancy Playing A Game, Boy?

László Rajcsányi has spent several years creating homebrew versions of games from a wide range of 8-bit formats to the Gameboy and Gameboy Color using Gameboy Studio. Of these, a large percentage were Mastertronic releases including Tutti Frutti. What László has done is attempted to convert the games as closely as possible within the hardware limits of the Gameboy family, adapting them where needed to keep the games true to the spirit of the originals where compromises have to be made.

In the case of Tutti Frutti, as you will have seen in our review or video footage of the original the first notable change is in the number of Acid Apples that are chasing after you. This is primarily down to a technical limitation of the Gameboy’s hardware as it is restricted to how many sprites it can handle at once. While at first you may think that this will make the game significantly easier to play, the reduced screen resolution also contributes to another change as the newly designed mazes are smaller keeping the intensity of the gameplay intact.

He Shoots, He Misses…

Another key difference – and a feature that was also present in Mr Do! – is that the ability to fire balls at all of the Apples is no longer in the game. Originally you could shoot balls that would bounce around the maze until they hit one of the Apples or returned back to you ready to be launched again.While this was a key gameplay element of the C16 version and the arcade original, taking this out of the game adds a new twist so it’s more about planning and having quick reactions over brute force to complete each stage.

Ice, Ice Baby!

While most of the levels focus on the Mr Do! style gameplay, there are additional stages mixed in that take a break from that and deliver a totally different gameplay mechanic. This time it takes its inspiration from SEGA’s Pengo. On the Commodore 16 version you have to run around each maze, this time pushing blocks that form the walls using using them to destroy all of the Apples to complete the level, collecting fruits for bonus points.

This has been tweaked for the Gameboy Color adaptation, presumably again because of technical limitations. This time, the Apples have been removed completely and instead it has become a puzzle game where you have to collect a set number of fruits, using just a few moveable blocks to get to them.

Playability

The original version of Tutti Frutti is arguably one of the best games Mastertronic released for the Commodore 16 so managing to produce a remake that retained all the same qualities that made it such a classic was never going to be an easy task. But László Rajcsányi has managed to do just that. The Mr Do! stages are frantic, challenging but keep you hooked and draw you back to the game over and over again and the more you play you start to realise that it’s a combination of learning movement patterns of the Apples and quick reactions making for some addictive gameplay.

But moving into the Pengo based levels and changing this into a puzzle game not only gives you much needed variety, but brings the speed down a notch so you can give yourself time to catch your breath before diving back into the adrenaline rush of the other levels afterwards. The only issue I do have is that there is no way to restart these stages if you make a mistake and with no time limit you’re essentially locked in the game and can’t progress any further and have no way to lose a life and reset the level to try again.

Graphics And Sound

One thing you could say about the Commodore 16 version of Tutti Frutti was that it looked absolutely fantastic and the same can be said about this remake. Colours just pop right out of the screen with the same style of gradients used for the walls of the mazes seen in the original, detailed and well animated characters, and everything laid out clearly defined throughout making the whole game a delight to look at.

It doesn’t stop there though as it features a superb adaptation of the in-game music from the C16 original, and some great sound effects as well. This remake may have made some compromises to fit all of the visuals into a smaller screen resolution, but what it’s sacrificed in screen size, it certainly hasn’t done so in quality.

Overall

László Rajcsányi has managed to create an absolutely stunning version of the C16 classic for the Gameboy Color original with enough new tweaks and changes to make it a great game in its own right. It’s a game that you’ll find incredibly tough to put down and whenever you lose one of your lives you’ll know it’s down to your own actions and not the game penalising you unfairly – a carry-over from Shaun Southern’s original design and László’s faithful adaptation.

Despite the minor issue I mentioned with the Pengo-inspired stages, this is still a superb game and will appeal to fans of the original and those who missed out. Just like the Commodore 16 version that spawned it, it’s an absolute classic.

If you want to play this for yourself, you can download it freely from the WLS website.

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