This is actually the only game I've reviewed that I actually own, wow. Justified in that this is only my third review. Ok, the current fad seems to be adding Virtual Boy-related content - so I'm reviewing Mario Clash, a currently unreviewed game. (EDIT: Some guy reviewed this game while I was writing this review. Unfortunately, I found out only after I'd finished. I hate to review an already reviewed game, but I'd also hate to waste a perfectly good review.)

(Mario Clash is a twist on the classic Mario Bros. arcade game. Not Super Mario Bros., either, but the regular. You know, the one where you jump under platforms and flip over Shellcreepers[read: Koopas]. You can no longer jump under platforms, but you can travel in/out between them and throw shells picked up from jumped-on Shellcreepers.)

Also, I'm tight on Viz at the moment. I first played Mario Clash on my Virtual Boy, but my copy has some problems and has a tendency to have graphical glitches. A lot of times that messes with the 3D and makes it less fun. So, I was excited to find out that I could play it on Vizzed! Now that I've tried it, I'm reviewing it. Anyway, I'll start reviewing now. Hope it's not too short.

Graphics: 8

Most Virtual Boy games have these insane graphics that are both good and bad. They're amazing and good and stuff, and in 3D, but completely red. I know that that's because of the limited LEDs and costs and tech, but it's a factor. If you don't like that, just remember that the beloved Game Boy did the same thing with green. Mario Clash is the same: Every sprite looks cartoony and recognizable. On the original, the pixels look real big, so everything is recognizable; but you know what I mean. Unfortunately, Vizzed isn't very good at emulating VB games. It (the Vizzed Virtual Boy emulator) used to have a red-blue-pink style 3D going on that required 3D glasses, but they completely removed it. This can be seen in the opening (the screen that displays at the start of every VB game), when only 2 corners' VB logos can be seen. In 3D, there's one in each corner. Also, the resolution doesn't match up with the plugin screen. In most games it stretches nicely, but it looks terrible for VB games.

Conclusion: Graphics may take some getting used to, but they're pretty good overall.

Sound: 10

Ooh, I love this game's sound. Most VB games have excellent sound already, but this game is so audially pleasing that I can't think of a good enough hyperbole for it. Music is fitting and doesn't get annoying. In fact, some of it's Ear Worm material. The sound effects are so inexplainably....what's the right word...really, really good. And awesome. I can't put it into words, what they sound like, but I just love the sound effects. I really can't explain it. The sound it makes for Technical Bonus after finishing a level...oohh hoo hoo! Not much to say about sound.

Conclusion: You don't know how amazing this sound is until you've heard it youself.

Addictiveness: 7

Basically inverts Wonder Momo's addictiveness: I'll definitely single this game out when thinking of games to play, but when I've already finished a game, I may not start a new game. That's the first instance I can think of of an Addictiveness formula like that. Considering, addictiveness is kind of a YMMV thing most of the time, and I'm not sure how important a factor it is, so I'm not gonna say much about Addictiveness.

Conclusion: I will nominate it when looking at my library, but I may or may not instantly replay it after a Game Over.

Story: 6

Mario Clash's story is as follows, going by the cutscene: One starry night, at the top of a tower, a blimp with a skull design on it flies to the tower and drops some pixels into the top. The camera scrolls down to reveal that this is a very, VERY tall tower. When ground level is reached, Mario walks to the entrance. A sign that reads "Clash Tower" in fancy letters can be seen. Mario walks into the building and into darkness. On the original version, this part looks real neat because of some well-executed 3D and pixel scaling. As I said earlier, neither of those are present on Vizzed, unfortunately. Anyway; this leaves many plotholes. What did the ship drop? Why? What was that ship anyway? Why did Mario go inside? Maybe this is explained in the manual, but I don't have the manual. Many games for the Virtual Boy include a high-quality story - Waterworld uses the movie's, Wario Land has a cutscene, etc., so there are no excuses here.

Conclusion: Story is shallow, but decent.

Depth: 7

Wow, depth. There are many kinds of enemies, stages, and ways to do stuff in this game. Depending on your point of view, that can either be sarcasm or not. For enemies, there's the standard Shellcreepers which must be jumped on to get shells, the spiky guys that are like Spinies with less spikes, and enemies where you have to hit them by throwing a shell to the front from the back or to the back from the front to stun them, and then throw another shell any way you like to defeat them. There's also Fighter Flies, and more that I can't remember. Stages: Regular and icy, along with an occasional bonus game in which you jump around and walk on striped ground and collect coins that fly forward. Stuff: You can throw shells not only left and right, but to the back and to the front. Now that is cool. The menu really does have some depth though. You can choose to view high scores, select a level, and even change the brightness.

Conclusion: Deep.

Difficulty: YMMV (I'm a 6, I think)

It really depends, Difficulty. I can usually get a place on the top or bottom of the score board when I play. For everyone else, it may differ. The controls are not slippery enough to be easily noticed and are relativey easy to figure out (throw = A and jump = B [or is it the other way around?], L&R on left pad to move, up/down on left pad to throw inward/outward). Stages have a nice difficulty curve in my opinion.

Conclusion: It really depends on who you are. Chances are, it'll be easy.

Conclusion/Overall: 8

Mario Clash is a fun game for the Virtual Boy that's worth the money or Viz you pay for it. A great twist on a classic. It might just end up being your favorite Virtual Boy game.