So, now that you're firmly entrenched in the belief that Boulder Dash is an outdated, cumbersome relic of yesteryear that isn't worth your time or money, let me tell you why you're wrong. Would've made more sense to have that functionality be just a bit more accessible, but C64 games are required to be a little loopy here on the VC, it seems. You'll need to jump into the game's Operations Guide and read the instructions to get a handle on how to properly choose your desired difficulty level and starting stage - and if you get stuck in any of the levels and need to restart, you'll find that it's necessary to launch the virtual keyboard, track down a small, hard-to-see key in the bottom-right corner and give it an IR pointer click to activate it. Like other Commodore 64 games to come to the Virtual Console, Boulder Dash relies on an on-screen, software-emulated virtual keyboard to handle some of its functions while the rest are oddly re-assigned to buttons on the Wii Remote. You've got no storyline setup, cutscenes or anything of the like to frame out the experience or introduce your hero (as opposed to later versions of this same game, which did contain those features), and the interface is likely to trip you up at least once or twice before you get used to its particular quirks. Then, to complete the trio of presentation issues, this version's difficult to navigate. And the music is no better, as while some C64 games that have hit the VC have been home to incredible soundtracks that sound on par with some of the work being put out by modern chiptune artists, this game's main themes feel disjointed and scattered. You've got a non-descript hero with a body that's basically blending in with the boulders and dirt around him, limited animation and a selection of enemies (though not seen directly above) that tax your imagination to envision as what they're actually supposed to be. Impromptu Eye Test: Can you actually find the hero in this screenshot? Seriously, look at that screenshot. Because Commodore 64 Boulder Dash, while a classic, is a really ugly game. It's interesting, too, that the Commodore 64 version was the one selected to represent the game - it's certainly the most classic of the game's many editions, but it's still a bit surprising that we didn't get the more colorful and visually appealing NES version instead. So Boulder Dash is certainly well known and notable, and its arrival on the Wii's Virtual Console has been anticipated for a while. Then, again, the core Boulder Dash concept began to be revisited after the turn of the millennium in various revivals, remakes and updates that saw it arrive on the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS, various mobile phone platforms and more - a new iPhone version just dropped about a month ago, actually. But those early games proved so popular that the design was picked up and ported again and again through the rest of the '80s and into the early '90s, appearing on past Nintendo platforms like the NES and original Game Boy. It first arrived on the scene around 25 years ago through early home computer versions, like this Commodore 64 edition. This is a game you've undoubtedly heard of before, as it's one of the most prolific puzzlers in the history of the video game industry.
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