Now,
I've played some pretty wacked-out games before, but none come in comparison to this underrated gem known as Glover. And when I say underrated, I mean REALLY underrated. This game got little to no popularity. Unlike many gems, this game never got a sequel. Originally, there was going to be a direct sequel, but it was entirely scrapped in 2000. But, if you're fortunate to pass this game up, I'll give you the idea of the game. Something interesting to note before we start is that reviews give the N64 version of Glover a much better rating than the PlayStation version. This game also had a Windows port shortly before the N64 release.

Gameplay:

At the start of the game, you're given a cutscene about a wizard who, I guess, lives in a tower in an abandoned amusement park, with themed worlds. (I don't think its really an amusement park, but that's just my guess.) Experimenting with a batch of bad potions, the wizard falls to his death, nope, scratch that, turns into stone. It wouldn't be a Nintendo game if it showed actual death. One of his magic hand/gloves fly out of the tower into the overworld, while the other hand flies into the vat in the wizard's cauldron, turning him into...Cross-Stitch! Then you start the game. Until you get at least a few balls back, You'll hear Cross Stitch's evil laugh each time you go into the overworld, which is pretty creepy. Underneath the tower is where you take the balls to, and where you must free the wizard from his stone prison. Glover can perform a variety of 'magic tricks' on foot and when you have a ball in your hand. Glover can also can change the ball into 4 types of balls, all with their own abilities. There's the normal bouncy ball, a bowling ball, that can shatter weak walls or knock down enemies or obstacles, but it isn't a very good bouncer. You can change it into a crystal ball that doubles your point multiplier, but watch out. If this thing is handled with brutal force the ball will shatter, causing you to lose a life. And you have a magnetic marble, which can be used for some puzzles.

This game mixes platforming and physics the likes of which one would never think to see. You have to bounce the ball, you have to keep your eye on the ball, you have to BE the ball. Everytime you brings one of the balls from a world back after completing it, you take it to the tower to open the next world. Though this is done in the manner of Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo Kazooie, each world only consists of 3 levels, a boss, and a bonus level if you got all the Garibs (Cards with stars on them) in the world's normal levels. The game's enemies
aren't really much of a threat as they just wander around and play with your ball. Killing enemies can be done by ground pounding them, or flicking your ball at them. Now, since you need to keep the ball safe, similar to the eggs you must find then hatch at the start of a new world in Billy Hatcher, one may question why not go through the level on foot and kill everything then come back for the ball? Well, you can’t. You need to keep the ball as you have certain times where you need the ball to get you to higher elevation and such. Though this game’s levels are cool, I didn't really know what to think of the bosses. Most of them can merely be killed by just hitting them with your ball flick, while some were really annoying. Either way, this game is good, but why did it get such little attention? Well, I guess people didn’t really know what to think from the cover. I mean, Glover is pretty strange compared to an Italian plumber that stomps on enemies and eats flowers to shoot fire. Although to be fair, this game was released around the time that Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time was about to be released, so people had gathered their crowd waiting for that, and paid Glover no mind.


Graphics: 8

The graphics aren't bad, but Glover looks kind of funny. He only has four fingers, but then why does Mickey have four fingers and always wear gloves?


Sound: 9

This game has some okay soundtracks, but I honestly didn't remember most of them.


Addictiveness: 6

Unfortunately once you've completely beaten the game, there's no real redeeming value in playing it again. This is one of those games, a game that you play one time around, and never come back to.


Story: 8

As I've mentioned, the wizard falls to his doom, while the hands fly out. The explosion from Cross Stitch's creation causes the spires to break. Glover quickly reacts and turns them into bouncy balls as they bounce into each world. The plot of this game was very original, and it had a very original character. But I do have a few questions: Why exactly do these balls need to be used to keep order in the world? Was it not there when they were built? You're provided no real backstory other than this cutscene.


Depth: 6

Although you can change your ball's form and ability, nothing really had much of a level of depth. Given, there is stuff to collect and bonus levels.


Difficulty: 6

This game isn't very difficult, but it is challenging sometimes, having you think about how you must proceed. The game's controls can be a bit hard to control at start, but once you figure it out, you'll have a more stable grip on the game.


OVERALL: 8.4

In case you're wondering what made the Playstation one get such bad revisions, you'll just have to find out yourself, as I won't spoil your surprise. I know this game didn't get much popularity for people to want a sequel, but I wonder what caused them to scrap Glover 2 in the first place. Oh well, until next time, I leave you with this review.


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M4g1cW4rr10r : Great job on another good review! I've really been impressed with the detail that you have been putting into them lately. Keep up the great work!

One thing I will say is, I don't see how you give a games sound a rating of 9, then say "I can't remember most of them" Which basically says the soundtrack is not that memorable...but the score you gave contradicts that...not trying to nitpick...just saying.

These days during the TDV it's hard to find really good reviews because SOME users are just trying to pump out lazy stuff for TDv jerseys.

As far as Glover goes, it's an interesting game for sure. A little different than most games you saw when this came out, and I'm always up for something different.

Not the greatest game in the world by any means, but it's for sure worth people taking a look at.

Jordanv78 : And I thank you for taking a look at my reviews! If you're still wondering about the music thing, the problem with my forgetfulness is due to the fact I haven't played Glover in a while, but I remember the music being good, especially the space level Out Of This World's theme. So yeah, I guess the rating I gave it is a little messed up, but hopefully this problem never happens again. Sorry for the confusion.

M4g1cW4rr10r : Amazing review!
You went straight into heavy detail!
I'm quite surprised a review of this quality came from someone with less than 80 posts.
Keep up the good work! In fact imma wire your 500 Viz cause i feel generous.

iN008 : Well, you know now to never judge a book by its cover. And thanks for the viz!

Great review about glover the most impossible game ever. I remember watching a whole lets play of this not to long ago and boy does this game of the hardest game mechanics ever. My mom told me my brother used to have this game and it was the hardest thing ever.

mourinhosgum : Well, I wouldn't call it the hardest game ever. I've played some pretty tough games, and I played through this game one time and beat it. I don't know if that says anything about me, or if I'm just that good at old video games. And from looking at your title, I think I know who you're talking about that did the LP. *wink*