Super Hunchback, Game Boy

Developed by Ocean Software and first published in 1992, Super Hunchback is a sequel to the Hunchback games that were successful in the mid 1980s (which were all based on the arcade game, Hunchback, by Century Electronics).

You play as Quasimodo and must make your way through nine scrolling stages (each broken down into five sub-levels) – eating fruit, collecting bells and avoiding hazards – in order to rescue Esmeralda from the evil villain ‘Halfenpounder‘. Quasimodo can jump, climb, swim, swing on ropes, and must ring a bell to complete a level. He can also bounce off the top of rolling logs to reach fruit that is out of reach of his regular jump, and also ride on cannonballs. Each level is time-limited with a burning fuse at the bottom of the screen, representing the timer. If you manage to collect 100% of the available fruit during a level you are awarded with an extra life for your efforts.

The game features occasional bonus stages where Quasimodo must collect ten pieces of fruit within a short time frame to earn an extra life. These bonus stages are accessed by jumping into a spinning warp.

Super Hunchback is a simple game that takes the Hunchback idea only a little further than the earlier games, but it is an amusing title to play for a short while. The opening title screen music is a version of the song “Puttin’ On the Ritz” by Irving Berlin.