Reviewer: Dos-Games-Online
The graphics are quite nice, quite a work of art. The sound is well made but may be annoying for some. The game is well designed as a serious thinking game. The physics model may be somewhat confusing. Most people may find it downright annoying. To enjoy this game, you need a massive amount of patience and a lot of brain power.
If you like strategy-puzzle games, this one is worth a try. If you're an average gamer, this game may give you a headache.
Reviewer: Dos-Games-Online
Early in the nineteen nineties, the game designer Loricel programmed and later released the puzzle strategy game Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy. It is an entertaining little play, bearing some elements of classic arcade action, but mostly concentrating on logic for success. It took some obvious inspiration from the more mainstream game, Marble Madness. It is actually a console game conversion for the personal computer, and Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy is one of the few console conversions that did not lose much strength in the crossover. It is still a very thought provoking, sometimes frustrating, and overall playable game.
In Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy, the user plays the part of Bumpy, who is a little red ball filled with air instead of some super human power. The goal of the game is to maneuver Bumpy through the increasingly difficult levels to collect treasure, coins, presents, and amass points along the way. Bumpy’s “treasures” are very circus or carnival themed. There are stuffed toys, including teddy bears, ice cream cones, sundaes and little dolls. Even the backgrounds tend to display circus themes, portraying pictures such as circus bears or acts in a faint outline so as not to distract the gamer from the actual game play, but still provide some extra pizzazz. Usually the backgrounds are monochromatic.
The play of the game begins with Bumpy on a board that appears to be filled with little manholes. He can choose from whichever hole he would like, with each hole leading to a different adventure. Once he successfully solves the puzzle within the adventure, it will block itself off, and Bumpy will be free to choose a new one. Bumpy has to successfully pass all of the puzzles for each manhole in order to move on. While Bumpy can select to tackle the holes in any order he (or the gamer) sees fit, the puzzles within the holes closest to Bumpy’s starting position are the simplest and shortest. Those closer to the final exit are a little bit trickier and more in depth. Bumpy can submerge into whatever hole he chooses by simply hovering over the hole and pressing the enter key on the keyboard.
Once inside the manhole, Bumpy will have to collect all of the treasures presented to him, and a new manhole will appear signifying the exit and the go ahead to move on. Of course, there will be obstacles, and they do not have to be very detailed, given that Bumpy is a ball. Spikes, pits, springs…there will be many things getting in Bumpy’s way and causing his deflation. The trick is to use the obstacles to Bumpy’s advantage in order to collect all of the treasures without popping the ball. It is a challenge, especially in the later rounds, that the logical user will surely appreciate. There are also plenty of opportunities to use reflexes and hand eye coordination, making Bumpy’s Arcade Fantasy a nice blend for all gamers.
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