The Land Before Time

The 2001 Game Boy Color Land Before Time should not be confused with the later Game Boy Advance game bearing the same name. Its strongest idea is to give four young dinosaurs distinct jobs: Ducky enters narrow spaces, Littlefoot reaches higher platforms, and Cera and Spike can deal with enemies, with Spike also breaking rocks. Switching characters turns straightforward side-scrolling into light cooperation puzzles and makes the film's team theme interactive. It is a limited arrangement, however. Each dinosaur has little else to do, and changing quickly after a jump can be awkward when an enemy is waiting. Even the easiest of three difficulty settings includes demanding leaps and plentiful foes, an uncomfortable match for the youngest fans. The characters are detailed and the music varied, though colors can look grainy and effects are slight. Portable usability suffers most from the lack of mid-stage saving and an eight-symbol, color-based password that is easy to misread or forget. There is little fresh to discover after completion. Older children and nostalgic players may appreciate the challenge, but this is not an effortless introduction to platform games.

Who it is for: Older children or nostalgic players comfortable with demanding early handheld platformers.

Play notes: This covers the 2001 GBC release only; a reader review with apparent GBA controls was excluded.