If you enjoyed the old LCD handhelds or digital watch games like Nintendo’s Game & Watch or Tiger Electronic’s offerings, then you might want to take a look at Retro Pocket. It’s a collection of eight retro-styled original LCD themed games. The compilation is available to download for the Nintendo DSi and 3DS.

Each game saves your high scores and has a Game A and more challenging Game B. Pause the game to read the instructions on how to play the selected title. Here is a rundown on the games featured:

Watch Your Head

On the left side of the screen, a construction worker is throwing girders (or are they bricks) to the guy on the right, who you control. You must position yourself on one of the three scaffolds to catch the tossed girders. You can hold three at one time. Press the button to toss the girders in the storage areas in the far right for points. If you miss catching a girder, or have a full load when another one hits you, you’ll lose a life.

Egg Drop

Catch falling eggs and keep them from breaking. You can hold three eggs at a time, so make sure to dump them in the nests on the left and right sides of the screen. In the more difficult setting, you must also press the buttons to scare away snakes with a torch so they don’t eat your nest eggs. You’ll lose a life if an egg breaks or if a snake gets your eggs.

Fireman

This one’s like a cross between two Game & Watch titles: Fire and Spitball Sparky. Your fireman can move across the bottom of the screen, and spray water at fire in the windows of a building. On the sides of the building, a girl may jump out and you must catch her before she lands in a dumpster. If you miss catching her or let three windows get on fire at once, you’ll lose a life.

Whale Escape

Walk across a giant whale while avoiding pesky pelicans and the whale’s blowhole spray. Make it to the other side and wait until the whale opens his mouth, and then rescue the kid inside. Bring the kid back to the boat on the other side for points.

Candy Factory

Three conveyor belts send candy in your direction. Catch up to three and put them in boxes on the right side of the screen for points. Just don’t let the candy fall off the conveyor or you’ll lose a life.

Kung-Fu Hero

Defend the damsel in distress sitting in the middle of the screen by punching and kicking bottles thrown at her by the bad guys. In the harder Game B setting, you’ll also have to watch out for baddies who can cut a rope on a weight directly over her head! If you or the girl gets hit, you’ll lose a life.

Fuel Drop

In the most abstract of the bunch, use the L and R buttons to rotate tanks on the screen. Drops of black and white will fall from the top, so you must rotate the tanks so they match whatever color drops are coming.

Postman

Collect mail on the bottom screen, and you can hold up to five letters. Then travel to the top of the screen to deliver three pieces of mail in three different mailboxes. Avoid the roving dogs and don’t get caught or you’ll lose a life! Only problem is the dogs’ movements are very erratic, which makes it hard to judge where you can and can’t go.

The look of the games is very authentic, but some of the more modern sounds and music keep it from having that true retro feel. It lacks the charm and nostalgia of Nintendo’s Game & Watch series, but for only five bucks, it’s not too bad. Again, if you enjoyed simple LCD handhelds as a kid, or if you liked the previous 3DS downloadable title Johnny Kung-Fu, then you should also like Retro Pocket.

Kid Factor:

Reading skill is helpful for the text instructions, but nearly anyone can figure out what to do just by playing each game a few times. The games start out pretty easy and take a while before getting really challenging, so even the youngest players can have fun without getting too frustrated. Although some kid gamers might get bored quickly with the repetitive and simplistic gameplay. Retro Pocket is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews