Cherry Rescue! Review – GrafxKid Comes Through Again With a Cute Platforming Adventure!

Cute, kid-friendly games are one thing I look for in retro-inspired titles, and Cherry Rescue! by GrafxKid definitely fits the bill. It’s a 2D side-scrolling platformer for the Game Boy that starts out really easy, but provides a good challenge for little gamers by the end of its adventure.

I also reviewed this game on YouTube along with Robby’s Day Out!

Game Story and Control Options

In the opening cinema, your sister is kidnapped, and it’s up to you, Barry, to rescue her! This is done by journeying through 6 levels of platforming challenges with jumping being your only means of attack. Through the use of the D-pad you move around, and with the B button you jump. To read signs and talk to people press the A button.

Graphics and Art Design

The game is made up of six different levels, and include a variety of locales such as a forest, a city, a neighboring construction site, and more. One thing I like about them is that they are all semi-interconnected to one another. While Cherry Rescue! Is not a metroidvania, near the end of each level the background changes to the upcoming stage, making transitions between them smooth and logical. This is further heightened by a little title card that appears at the beginning of each stage. While they aren’t animated and or funny like in Kirby’s Adventure for the NES, I still really liked them! Moreover, each stage is constructed reasonably well, with little details that liven the game up quite a bit. Some examples include flowers near your house, branches sticking out of trees, and lunchboxes at the construction site.

For the sprites themselves, they look nice enough. Barry is a cute little guy who reminds me of a walking apple. He has personality and it’s fun to watch him move around. I especially like that you can climb up ladders just by being on the edge of them. I think it is unintentionally funny how it looks! All the enemies have a similar non-threating style except for the boss at the end who is obviously mad when he sees you. Their artistic designs aren’t amazing, but they work fine for the tone of the game. One irritating aspect was a repeatable graphical glitch that occurs in one stage of the game where you can speak to people. When you stand near them to talk, part of Barry’s spite breaks through the image of the one you are conversing with. It is like the two sprites get mixed up into a combination of them both. While not a big deal, I feel like I should mention it. Like GrafxKid’s prior title, Robby’s Day Out (reviewed here), where the graphics shine the most is in the pleasant style of it all. They give off an air of just going on a nice jaunt to rescue your sister from baddies. It’s all really cute and family-friendly.

Music and Sound Effects

The music is composed by Scott Semanski, who also composed tracks for Robby’s Day Out. It is in the same style as that one, except the last level is notably darker than the rest of the game, which is understandable. For Cherry Rescue, the music truly elevates the game to a higher degree of fun. It makes it that much more enjoyable as you go along to save your sister. There are some sound effects in the game, but they’re nothing incredible. They work well with the graphical style.

Control and Difficulty Progression

As I shared earlier in the review, the primary actions in the game are moving around, jumping, and reading signs. Enemies are defeated by jumping on their heads like in Super Mario Bros. It should be noted that our little cherry guy has a large amount of momentum when he runs. He does not stop on a dime and you’re liable to slide into spikes at least a few times while playing. Thankfully, the game does a good job of easing you into jumping and hitting of the enemies, especially in the first level. I could tell that there were some smart design choices picked by the developer to help ease players into the game, which was appreciated. As such, by the time you get to the sixth level, the game is significantly more difficult. However, nothing’s too challenging that a child with discipline and perseverance couldn’t complete. Also, be aware that Barry dies in one hit, but this is mitigated by the game’s unlimited lives.

Summary

Despite Barry’s slippery controls, I consider Cherry Rescue! to be a good introductory platformer that is great for kids and those who enjoy that Game Boy aesthetic. The only real letdown for me is that the last boss may be a bit of a disappointment in how it plays out. It’s still a great game though, and I’m glad I replayed it for this review! Sadly, as of this writing, GrafxKid has only developed two games, and this is his last one. I’ve also reviewed Robby’s Day Out, which can be found on itch.io.

Title: Cherry Rescue!
Genre: 2D Side-scrolling Platformer
Year Released: 2020
Developer: GrafxKid
Played On: RetroArch
Price Paid: Free

Remember, we can have different opinions about the games we play. If you like something more (or less) than I do, both of our perspectives are valid.