Game Boy Works #125: Klax, Klax, & Ginga

Game Boy Works #125: Klax, Klax, & Ginga

Author: Jeremy Parish August 1, 2021 Duration: 14:58

A curious case here on Game Boy Works: A game that is somehow two games. While Klax on Game Boy plays about the same as the Klax we've already seen on Atari Lynx, it takes two very different approaches to its presentation depending on the region you bought it from. The American release from Mindscape, which actually shipped in 1991, has the same vanishing perspective seen in other versions of the game. The Japanese cart from Hudson, on the other hand, looks like no other rendition of Klax to be found on competing platforms. It's two separate takes on the same property by two different studios. Ah, but which fares better on Game Boy?

As for Ginga, the game's full title is Card & Puzzle Collection: Ginga, and that's exactly what it is. It's a video version of all the disused traditional games your grandparents kept in a storage bin in their basement. But you can call it Tornado Appetizer, if you're nasty.


Jeremy Parish's Video Works by Jeremy Parish is a curated collection of his long-running projects diving deep into the history and design of classic video games. Rather than a single focused series, this podcast serves as an archive and hub for several distinct endeavors. You'll find episodes from Game Boy World, which meticulously documents every pre-Game Boy Advance handheld title in chronological order, offering a unique historical perspective. Another strand explores the interconnected world of "Metroidvania" games, analyzing the design principles that define this beloved subgenre. The Anatomy of Games segments provide thorough, thoughtful critiques of classic game design, breaking down what makes these titles endure. Each episode, whether originally audio or adapted from video content, carries Parish's knowledgeable and considered commentary. This podcast is for anyone with an appreciation for gaming's foundations, presented not as dry history but as an engaging exploration of the artistry and innovation that shaped the medium. Tune in for a consistently insightful look at the pixels and philosophies behind the games you might have played-or always meant to.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Video Works by Jeremy Parish
Podcast Episodes
NES Works Gaiden #042: Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:50
By a perfectly timed request by patron TheyCallMeSleeper, this episode arrives just in time to be positioned between this channel's coverage of Super Mario Bros. and its American sequel. Of course, this Japan-only sequel…
NES Works Gaiden #041: BattleCity / Super Mario Bros. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:49
The Famicom finally reaches maturity with the arrival of Mario's greatest adventure—and perhaps the greatest action game anyone had ever created to this point in history. Pushing the Famicom hardware to its absolute limi…
NES Works #092: Mickey Mousecapade/ Joust/ Millipede/ DK Classics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:05
Capcom kicks off one of the most important creative threads of the NES's history: Their collaboration with Disney, back in the days when Disney was simply an animation studio struggling to reinvent itself for a new era r…
NES Works #091: Ghostbusters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:15
Continuing the trend of "games converted badly to Famicom in 1986 and published in America two years later," we have Bits Laboratory's disastrous adaptation of Activision's Ghostbusters. A fun, frothy, fast-paced little…
NES Works #090: Spy Vs. Spy / MagMax / Seicross [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:54
More newcomers arrive on NES this episode, each bringing a musty conversion of an even older original work in tow. Kemco-Seika makes its NES debut with a two-year-old port of First Star Software's Spy Vs. Spy, which kind…
NES Works #089: Bubble Bobble & Racket Attack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:33
It's two for two for the road this week with Bubble Bobble, a game specifically designed to be played with another person, and Racket Attack, the second-ever NES tennis game which, like Nintendo's Tennis, offers support…
NES Works #088: Jackal / Wheel of Fortune / Jeopardy! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:16
The prevailing theme for NES games in 1988 has been multiplayer. From Contra to Life Force to Jackal, many of the best games for '88 played best with friends. (That was probably also true for games that weren't published…
NES Works Gaiden #039: Astro Robo Sasa / Honshogi / Robot Gyro [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:46
The machines have risen, taking control of this trio of games and obviating humanity altogether. Well, almost altogether. R.O.B. at least demonstrates the value of mankind working together, hand-in-, uh, claw with its ne…
NES Works Gaiden #038: The Tower of Druaga [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:51
Although I've previously covered The Tower of Druaga on Game Boy Works, this version precedes the portable rendition by half a decade and stands as the more towering achievement of the two. So to speak. Another solid arc…