Developed by prolific Aussie studio Beam Software, and published by LJN/Acclaim Entertainment, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure is a simple-but-playable platform game based loosely on the 1989 film, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It was released in North America in 1991 and Europe in 1992.

As movie licenses go, it’s a relatively weak tie-in. As platform games go: it’s a fun little platformer for Nintendo‘s monochrome handheld. The aim is to jump and climb your way – initially as Ted, then later as Bill – through 50 timed levels, collecting glowing objects as you go. After collecting the last object in each screen a glowing door will appear, which you must then jump into to complete the level.

Levels are broken down into ‘adventures’, each with multiple screens, and each ‘adventure’ is themed after a sequence from the film and is accessible via a password. As anyone who’s seen the film will know: it’s about time travel, so each adventure sees Bill & Ted travel back to a specific time period. The first adventure is set in Austria 1805; the second is set in New Mexico 1879, and so on. In-between adventures there are some rather goofy cut scenes where Bill & Ted spout their usual [non] wisdom, or plug their [crap, imaginary] band ‘Wyld Stalyns‘.

If you fall out of the bottom of a level; are hit by a hostile character (or their projectiles); touch fire, or run out of time, you lose a life and have to begin the screen from scratch. Lose all your lives and it’s ‘game over’. Extra lives are awarded every ten thousand points, and also by getting lucky and stopping the spinning ‘chance boxes’ at the right moment (note that if you get unlucky and stop on a skull, you die). Thankfully there’s no fall damage, so you can drop from height without dying.

Collecting some objects acts as a switch in some levels, opening up walls, removing platforms, or making climbable chains appear. This gives the game a Hercules-like sadistic edge, although this isn’t really exploited until adventure four, which is a bit too late in the game for my liking. It would’ve been better to have had this do more earlier in the game. But it is what it is…

One thing worth noting is the fact that the game does have a two-player mode, but it’s just the single-player game and you pass the Game Boy over to friend to let them have their turn after you… Which is a bit weird. As far as I know there’s no two-player link-up option.

Graphically, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure is nothing special, but it looks okay. The cut scene graphics could have been better; the actual in-game graphics are fairly generic, but serve their purpose. The movement of the player character is good, though, which makes the game enjoyable to play. There are no real issues with collision detection, bugs, difficulty levels, or any other gameplay element. Other than the fact that this game could really be anything (without the Bill & Ted cut scenes), it’s really not a bad little platformer.

Bill & Ted fans might be disappointed that it’s not substantially more “bodacious” in its use of the titular twosome, but retro platform game fans might enjoy it for what it is.

More: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Game Boy Adventure on Wikipedia