Fix it Felix Jr picked up popularity after Wreck it Ralph was released to theaters.  Enterprising homebrew developers created the fictional Fix it Felix Jr. game and released it for the Sega Genesis console.  As the old saying goes, the best form of flattery is imitation, right?  With that in mind, let’s take a look at Handy Harvy, a homebrew title created in BasiEgaXorz, a BASIC interpreter for the Sega Genesis.

Handy Harvy is currently a work in progress but so far, based on the video releases, it is coming along nicely.  The developer, “elusive” a member of the Devstar forums, has been keeping people updated regularly on the development.  From the beginnings of a building that was just a little too “pristine” to one that is more “lived in” and run down a bit- just right for repairs, we can see Handy Harvy taking shape.

Much like Fix it Felix Jr, Handy Harvy is a 2D side view, single screen affair- think Rampage in reverse.  Instead of destroying everything, you are instead tasked with repairing it.  That may be different for gamers that are used to simply destroying everything on the screen but it works.

Handy Harvy is being developed using BasiEgaXorz, or BEX for short, which is a BASIC interpreter for the Sega Genesis.  There are a lot of newer games that use this BASIC interpreter for not only the Genesis but also one for the Atari 2600/7800/Jaguar.  These interpreters have allowed a whole new breed of game developer to stand up and take on the challenge of creating new and interesting games.  As these developers get used to the limitations of the BASIC programming language they are able to produce more visually impressive games, such as Handy Harvy.

Head over to the Devstar forums to say hello to “elusive” and check out his other developer videos for Handy Harvy.

Carl Williams

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