Story:
The story in Airball is that you’ve been turned into a ball of air by an evil wizard, and to make matters worse, you have a hole in your body that is slowly leaking air from it. You are tasked with navigating a 250-room mansion in search of a spell book that may be the key to your salvation and transform you back to your human form.
Gameplay:
Airball pays homage to both Marble Madness and Altered Space in the way it plays. You play as a ball of air that is constantly leaking, and you move about on a 2.5D isometric plane going from room to room in search of objects to help you progress. There are various traps to avoid such as spikes and various enemies, and there are pumps in some rooms that help to replenish your air that acts as your life bar. But be careful, too much air and you will pop from the pressure. You do have the ability to jump onto ledges and platforms to help you traverse rooms, but these can be a bit tricky given the camera angles at times. With there being 250 rooms and no map, you are going to have to be really good at memorizing the layout of the mansion.
Graphics and Performance:
Each room in Airball has 3D set pieces such as fountains, plants, vines, and large structures that help to fill each room. The game looks really good when playing on a DS or a GBA, but not so much on a bigger screen using say a RetroN 5. What was once a crisp-looking game on a small handheld screen becomes a blurry mess when blown up on a TV. Performance is of no issue with this game as it was designed to work on the GameBoy Advance or a device that can play GameBoy Advance games that has the actual hardware to play them. There isn’t any slowdown or any issues performance-wise with this game and it plays very well.
Sound:
The sound in Airball is nothing to write home about but it’s not bad. The background music features upbeat techno-style tracks that fit the adventure vibe of the game. It almost feels like a bit of Castlevania, but different enough to stand on its own. The sound effects also fit the game rather nicely, giving life to the bouncing ball and the mansion in which is being explored.
Conclusion:
Airball is a game that almost never existed. It was slated for release on the NES back in the NES era but never saw the light of day until now. The game is not only available on the NES as it should have been, but also now on the GameBoy Advance. Though the game is available on both platforms, they play differently based on my conversations with the publisher. If you’re a fan of isometric adventure games with puzzle-like elements akin to Metroid, I would highly suggest picking up this game on the GameBoy Advance.
Disclaimer: A review copy was provided. You can purchase Airball here
