Conker’s Pocket Tales Review

To start with a bit of impressive consideration for those that haven’t leapt over to the Color crowd, Conker’s Pocket Tales functions on both Original Game Boy as well as the Game Boy Color, with a monochrome offering for the former and an entire spectrum waiting for the latter – given that both versions differ in their design and controls, it wouldn’t be overreaching to say that there are two games masquerading as one here, which can be revisited for a bit of a replay bonus if you’ve mastered everything.
Aside from some obvious aesthetics, which version you prefer is entirely subjective; though the color offering does add a save feature that can be accessed on-the-fly which can’t be done in its noir counterpart, and given the difficulty experienced later on might send you in favor of color.

There isn’t anything too groundbreaking with the narrative, it’s your typical damsel-in-distress plight that get’s the game moving and provides some incentive to see it the way through, though it is a treat to watch it play out on screen during an era where most of the inciting bits are squirreled away in the manual. Conker’s world is also filled with a supporting cast of Acorn citizens; some are good, others are bad but all of them manage to set the tone with some cheeky dialogue appropriate for the current ‘era’ that Conker has found himself in – it’s little touches like these that really breathe life into Conker’s adventure.

Right, that’s the overview taken care of, let’s get down into the nitty-gritty. Pocket Tales was intended to be something of a sister-title to Twelve Tales, and the initial romp of present gathering and keen exploration does seem to hark towards the collect-a-thon genre. The lack of dimension however, is where Pocket Tales sets itself apart; there are scarcely any platforms in the game and where Twelve Tales would have players jumping, bounding and sending Conker soaring, the Game Boy Color version has players taking on block-sliding puzzles in the meantime.
For those that are disappointed that Conker might feel less dynamic as a result can take solace in the fact that Conker’s Pocket Tales is filled to the brim with a good variety of baddies, traps and a clever RPG system which does help to break up the puzzles when things are feeling monotonous.

The variety of the worlds is also one of Conker’s stand-out features, as you’ll be expected to conquer the challenges in a spooky forest, a western frontier, a tropical island and an Aztec temple just to name a few.
Each world is complemented with its own unique musical score, which in traditional Rare fashion is masterful, varied and doesn’t suffer from compression or lack of technical prowess on the Game Boy. The only detriment to the soundtrack is that it can be interrupted with dialogue and screen transitions, which causes the song to restart from the beginning. Because of this, the tune may loop through the first 10 seconds again and again depending entirely on the action on-screen. Despite this, the soundtrack never feels tired and it’s still a joy to hear and a joy to play through.

Each location provides its own unique scenario and confrontation with a boss character that is equally as diverse. Given the unpredictable nature of each setting, you’ll be anticipating the next world before it’s been announced, and it helps the game from feeling stale when you’ve moved on from one world to the next.

Along the way you’ll be tasked with gathering acorns for health and conkers for ammunition which serves to make Conker feel more RPG-like than anticipated, which each threat becoming more lethal as the game continues, keeping things from feeling too easy and adding to the sense of progression as you get nearer to facing off against the Evil Acorn.

Presents and Invitations serve to unlock future worlds as well as improve your overall ranking in Pocket Tales. It’s these additions that really set Conker apart, as completionists will naturally strive to collect all of the missing Presents to earn the best title in the game.

During the adventure, Conker amasses an arsenal of tools, such as a pickaxe, a torch and a saw – these items can be used to take care of obstacles within the worlds they’re found in, but Rare has added some cheeky extras, with bonus presents to be found using later tools in the earlier stages. These optional objectives not only reward exploration, but have you revisiting your favorite worlds with a new perspective on a location you had thought you had previously conquered.

While the final bonus ranking in the game is offered in the color version if you’ve collected everything in a single play session without saving, Conker’s Pocket Tales is very much an adventure that you can sink a few minutes or even hours into at a time just exploring and attempting to find everything there is to collect. There’s lots of replay value to keep the game interesting, with varied mini-games and secrets to find, making Conker’s Pocket Tales a solid adventure with a polish that Rare has become renowned for.