Bit Boy!! is a video game by Bplus for WiiWare

WiiWare

WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...

. It was released in Europe on July 3, 2009, North America on July 13, 2009 and in Japan on March 30, 2010 as Bit Man!! by Marvelous Entertainment.

Gameplay

Players control a cube named Kubi, who they must navigate through a series of increasingly complex mazes in order to rescue his friends. Players must also avoid monsters that roam the mazes, though later in the game they are given a limited ability to attack them.

The game's levels are spread across the setting of several "Bit Generations", which are generally representative of video game console generations

History of video games

The history of video games goes as far back as the 1940s, when in 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a United States patent request for an invention they described as a "cathode ray tube amusement device." Video gaming would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and...

. Each Bit Generation sees changes in graphics, sound and level design that are intended to invoke the aesthetics of the games from that particular generation, however in general the gameplay remains the same throughout.

These Bit Generations, presented in the game as fictional installments of a series of Bit Boy games, include:

• Bit Boy, representative of second generation
  History of video game consoles (second generation)
  In the history of computer and video games, the second generation began in 1976 with the release of the Fairchild Channel F and Radofin 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System....
  
  -era games
• Bit Boy 2, representative of third generation
  History of video game consoles (third generation)
  In the history of computer and video games, the third generation began on July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of both the Nintendo Family Computer and Sega SG-1000...
  
  -era games
• Super Bit Boy, representative of fourth generation
  History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
  In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
  
  -era games
• Bit Boy 3D, representative of early fifth generation
  History of video game consoles (fifth generation)
  The fifth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores...
  
  -era games
• Bit Boy 64, representative of late fifth generation
  History of video game consoles (fifth generation)
  The fifth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores...
  
  -era games
• Bit Boy Wii, representative of sixth
  History of video game consoles (sixth generation)
  The sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox...
  
   and seventh generation
  History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
  In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
  
  -era games

The game is played using with the Wii Remote

Wii Remote

The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...

 held sideways or held upright to simulate an arcade joystick

Joystick

A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...

. After completing a Bit Generation, the score attack-based "Warp Mode" is unlocked for that particular era.Beating the last level of the game in either Classic Mode or Warp Mode allows the player to play through all levels again in the Turbo Classic Mode and Turbo Warp Mode respectively.

Development

With Bit Boy!!, Bplus wanted the game to "spark true retro feelings in all gamers, regardless of age", which led to it being set across multiple video game generations. While the first three Bit Generations feature increasingly detailed 2D graphics (including the use of the authentic NES

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

 color palette in Bit Boy 2), the latter generations evolve from using simple polygonal shapes and blurry textures to complex models and sharp photo realistic textures to illustrate the evolution of the three dimensional visuals.

Reception

Official Nintendo Magazine thought it was an interesting idea but was executed poorly.