Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for the Game Boy Advance is a game so forgotten that my casual playthrough became the world record speedrun by default, and it doesn't really deserve better.
The game is not completely without charm. The soundtrack is actually kind of just plain good. This is definitely not the ugliest game on the system. There are a number of hidden secrets and collectables to keep a small-brained child amused.
The game performs terribly, there are a lot of moments where there are just too many sprites on screen and the frame-rate gets really choppy.
The structure of the game is mostly fetch quests for items in what amounts to a game-length trading sequence.
The core gameplay is focused on sluggish platforming, a projectile weapon with a less-than-ideal arc, a short range damage-over-time water gun, and a rolling attack that makes you invulnerable but has too long of a cool-down for it to be viable against anything that doesn't die in one hit. When interacting with people, doors, items, etc. you have to navigate a menu that would not be out of place in an old-school PC adventure game.
The puzzles in the game are also right out of those kinds of games, frequently relying on the kind of absurd "adventure game logic" that will have you consulting a walkthrough more frequently than you would like. Sometimes seemingly arbitrary elements of the game will allow you to progress, without giving you any indicator that a new path has become available.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for the Game Boy Advance is so unfun to play that I wonder if that's the point, it would be thematically appropriate for the work it is adapting.
The game is not completely without charm. The soundtrack is actually kind of just plain good. This is definitely not the ugliest game on the system. There are a number of hidden secrets and collectables to keep a small-brained child amused.
The game performs terribly, there are a lot of moments where there are just too many sprites on screen and the frame-rate gets really choppy.
The structure of the game is mostly fetch quests for items in what amounts to a game-length trading sequence.
The core gameplay is focused on sluggish platforming, a projectile weapon with a less-than-ideal arc, a short range damage-over-time water gun, and a rolling attack that makes you invulnerable but has too long of a cool-down for it to be viable against anything that doesn't die in one hit. When interacting with people, doors, items, etc. you have to navigate a menu that would not be out of place in an old-school PC adventure game.
The puzzles in the game are also right out of those kinds of games, frequently relying on the kind of absurd "adventure game logic" that will have you consulting a walkthrough more frequently than you would like. Sometimes seemingly arbitrary elements of the game will allow you to progress, without giving you any indicator that a new path has become available.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for the Game Boy Advance is so unfun to play that I wonder if that's the point, it would be thematically appropriate for the work it is adapting.