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'Zelda' Meets 'Alien' in 'Cat Astro Phi,' An Indie Love Letter to Game Boy

by Ben Deitz on December 14, 2010 at 06:40 PM

Cat Astro Phi
Big things come in small packages, they say -- and, as undernourished, nerdy shrimps, we're here to prove that adage correct. Pint-size protagonists have long been a gaming staple, from the compact physique of 'Mario' to the robo-twerp protagonist of 'Mega Man.' This week, we'll take a look at a new generation of microscopic mascots who star in games that are big fun.

From the instant we saw the Game Boy-inspired graphics of 'Cat Astro Phi,' we were in love. The aesthetic of the portable system is perfectly replicated, and we wish we had this sci-fi story during the excruciatingly long family road trips of our youth. In 'Cat Astro Phi,' you must rescue your cat Jonesy (affectionately named after the most famous cat in sci-fi) after he is repeatedly ejected from your spaceship. Jonesy lands on a variety of planets, and you must traverse dastardly dungeons situated on each one to find him. You control your cat-less spaceman using the arrow keys, and fire his myriad weapons with the spacebar. As is the case with the dungeons in 'The Legend of Zelda,' conquering the ones in this game involves finding weapons to defeat level-specific enemies, and manipulating objects to surpass environmental dangers. In addition to finding Jonesy, you must also collect enough fuel cells to get your ship back into space. Not only does it pay loving tribute to all of our favorite old-school tropes, but this dungeon crawler also features one of the best soundtracks we've heard all year.

Cat Astro Phi


Tags: alien, cat astro phi, CatAstroPhi, Game Boy, game boy emulator, GameBoy, GameBoyEmulator, gamesonthego, Legend of Zelda, LegendOfZelda, timewasters, top, videogames

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