The presentation on this game is absolutely killer. All the characters are rendered and animated beautifully in that lovely Game Boy Color style, along with the UI and other visual elements. The music consists of (what I assume are) classic Pop'n Music tracks remixed for the GBC and they also sounds incredible. Seriously, even if you're like me and don't really know much about the series, you should boot this up in an emulator because it just looks and sounds great. As for playing, well, Pop'n already looked pretty tough just in Arcade form, and it does not translate well to a controller. There were times when I felt like I had a good grip on the layout, only for the game to immediately throw something my way that completely reset my brain. The game involves pressing left, up, right, A, and B, as notes come down to one specific button, and it's an extremely tough layout to memorize. Asking me to press some at the same time or to switch rapidly between them just felt mean. I'm willing to bet there are people out there who have complete control over every track in this game, and I salute them, their brains are simply bigger than mine. Maybe it's easier on an actual GBC, since the buttons are closer together. But like I said, I think anyone who has any affection for the GBC should boot this up at least once, it's a neat little thing.

Reviewed on Jan 17, 2023


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