Nintendo Okie

Before Kirby was even a twinkle in the eyes of the folks at Hal Laboratories they were creating games for another blob, this one the blue blob known as Lolo. Adventures of Lolo was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The game starred the main character Lolo who was a blue blob with large eyes, feet and some hands. He had a girlfriend named Lala who looked identical to him, only she was pink.

In Adventures of Lolo the evil character known as Great Devil has kidnapped Lala and Lolo sets off to rescue her. In order to do that he needs to traverse 50 levels of puzzle adventure. Many of the levels in this game were based on a previous series released in Japan known as Eggerland. That game also starred Lolo. The levels are broken up into groups of 5 set in different floors of Great Devil’s castle. Completing five levels would move you on to the next floor of the castle.

In each level there are hearts scattered around and you need to pick each of them up. Once you’ve picked up the last heart a treasure chest would open revealing a switch that opened the exit door. Once this switch was flipped it would also remove all the enemies on the screen. There are different enemies that inhabit each of the levels and they all have different characteristics. Some, like snakes, will stay in place just taking up space and won’t harm you if you touch them. Others like an armadillo will wander around the stage and if it spots Lolo he’ll roll up into a ball to try and crush him. Some, like the dragon will move around and if he walks into a square that is adjacent to Lolo he’ll fall asleep, potentially blocking paths that are needed to finish the level.

There are also objects in each level that will be required to finish the level. Some are blocks that can be pushed around and used to trap enemies in places keeping them from getting to Lolo. Other times they’ll be used to shield Lolo from projectile weapons. Understanding how each of the enemies reacts and using each of the different objects around the screen is key to completing each puzzle. If you get stuck there is always the option to commit suicide by pressing select. This will reset the level and give you another chance to complete it. The game also uses a password system and once you die you’ll be given a password for the level that you were currently on.

Being a puzzle game that never changes there isn’t much replay value to Adventures of Lolo. Once you’ve learned the solution to each puzzle it’s very easy to replay the levels and all the challenge is removed. Luckily the charm of the visuals, and the lighthearted music keep you from becoming irritated if you have to replay levels again and again. Some of the puzzles are very challenging and you’re almost guaranteed to have to replay them multiple times.

Adventures of Lolo is available on Wii’s Virtual Console for 500 points and if you haven’t played this game yet you might give it a try. It’s a very clever and appealing puzzle game. It starts out pretty easy, but before long the levels become very challenging and you’ll have to work your brain quite a bit to solve some of them.