Cuphead is one of those throwback releases that you either love or hate. It is a callback to the “good old days” of gaming. Back when things were tough, tutorials were rare, and you were on your own most of the time. Couple that classic with one of the first portable platforms for an interesting mix. That is what we have with Cuphead: Game & Watch Edition.

Cuphead hated and loved by many

Cuphead is not an easy game. It is tough and unforgiving. Much like the games it was calling back to. Go ahead, load up Contra or Mega Man on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Get ready to see the game over screen, a lot, in games like this.

For those that have not read my review of Cuphead, it is a run and jump action game. You are not defenseless as you can shoot as well. Where things go awry is level design and enemies. They will eat you alive if you are not careful and skilled in your attempt to progress.

Game and Watch style game play

The Game and Watch line of portables from Nintendo used primitive screens. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology was decent for the time but quickly showed its limitations. Nintendo worked this tech for all it was worth. There were several releases over they years in the Game and Watch line.

The games were quite limited as the screen only had so many places anything could be. This meant absolutely no animation as everything popped in and out as needed. You could cheat somewhat by holding these LCD games at a certain angle to a light source. This would give you a look at all the possible placements everything in the game could possess.

Tiger Electronics would use the same tech to milk their customers for even longer. The tech was no longer impressive, and releases were dismissed by everyone but the most broke gamers.

Bringing Cuphead to LCD

According to Indie Retro News, this port was a three-man job. Simon Delavenne, At0mium, and Heelio were instrumental in bringing Cuphead to an LCD screen.

What they have created here is an interesting take on the original game. You have three platforms you can stand on. Cuphead can jump and move to an adjacent platform. The enemy can send up plants onto the platforms and shoot projectiles from its mouth. Your job is to avoid all that stuff by moving left, right, and jumping.

Go ahead, give Cuphead: Game and Watch Edition a try. It is free to play in your browser. Now, I wonder if someone will make this a physical release like Hasbro is doing using Tiger Electronics style tech?

Carl Williams

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