ModRetro’s Chromatic Bundle Got Me Back Into Cartridge Gaming

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 6, 2025 5 Views 10 Min Read
ModRetro’s Chromatic Bundle Got Me Back Into Cartridge Gaming



I can’t remember the last time I had so many Game Boy cartridges I could play without first blowing all the dust away to ensure they worked. Now I find myself with a nice little collection of six shiny new games, all from ModRetro’s Chromatic Release Title Bundle, and I took them all for a test drive over the Christmas holidays.

The games come with traditional paper manuals, complete with note sections at the back. I’d forgotten how much I appreciate flicking through the glossy pages of instruction booklets. I’d also forgotten how nice it felt to curl up anywhere at any time —in an armchair, by the fire, at a relative’s house, or in the car— and chip away at whatever game I wanted.

At least now I can play in the car in the dark and still be able to see thanks to a backlit screen.

ModRetro Chromatic handheld being played on a bus.

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Patchy Matchy Puzzle Surfing

As I settled into the holiday season, I wanted something easy to pick up and play to relax with, so I went for Patchy Matchy Puzzle Surfing first. You can’t really go wrong with a match puzzle game, though it ended up being less relaxing than intended due to my own competitiveness and my husband trying his hand at it. Ultimately, it became a battle to see who would get the highest score, and I’m sad to admit, it was not me.

If you’re not confident in your Patchy Matchy skills, you can adjust the number of rows you start with and speed, allowing you to get the hang of it with less pressure. But eventually, the pressure will come. As the speed picks up and you’re dealing with popping bubbles and aiming for combos, you’ll inevitably end up howling as your latest run for a perfect score is thwarted by one wrong move. But the beauty of games that are easy to pick up and play in short bursts like this is that you can always have just one more go.

Traumatarium Penitent

Traumatarium NPC asking if you'll help a fellow adventurer.

After suffering severe losses in Patchy Matchy, I thought I’d sign up for more frustration with Traumatarium Penitent. I’ve never played the first title, Traumatarium, but knowing it’s inspired by Fighting Fantasy books and Warhammer Quest 1995 appealed to me. There are three dungeons in total, and you’re given passwords as you progress, so you can return to the area where you were last on subsequent runs… providing you had the good sense to write the passwords down. Now that’s a gaming throwback.

It didn’t take me long to die, which I fully expected. It’s part and parcel of dungeon crawler RPGs like this, and my cycle of death, rinse, and repeat reminded me of all the difficult retro games from yesteryear that I failed to beat. Shadowgate is my white whale from childhood that I never bested, and now Traumatarium is the latest to get added to the pile of games that got the best of me.

Toki Tori Ultimate Edition

A Toki Tori level.

I don’t tend to play many platformers these days. We’re so spoilt for choice that I left my platforming days behind on older consoles when I only had a handful of games to choose between. Despite that, I was keen to go back to my roots and play a classic platformer just like I did as a kid. But I underestimated Toki Tori.

It’s not just a platformer where you progress from A to B in levels, it’s a very clever puzzle platformer. Each level has you collecting eggs on various ledges and in nooks and crannies with a range of tools available. The problem is you have a limited number of times you can use each tool, so you have to work out the perfect path without getting stuck or running out of tool uses. Oh, and all while enemies roam waiting to strike.

The option to be able to freely look around the level is invaluable in planning your perfect route, but sometimes things don’t go to plan until you properly put them into action. It originally launched for the Game Boy in 2001, but it entirely passed me by, so I’m glad I’ve finally made up for lost time with the Ultimate Edition. Toki Tori quickly became my favourite of the whole Chromatic launch pack as I sat there obsessing over solutions to each level.

In The Dark 2

A mysterious virus threatens to wipe out the Galactic Federation’s Chief Neural Core, which would put a stop to intergalactic travel and leave humanity adrift from one another in different locations. As Ikalo Pann, you’re on the trail of the virus’s creator and put a stop to his awful plan.

From the opening cinematic, I didn’t expect the puzzle gameplay to be at its core. You’ll travel to different planets, and on each planet is a terminal that houses an abundance of maths problems. Each puzzle is a grid of spheres and the aim is to ensure they are all unlit at the end. It starts with some spheres already lit, and interacting with any sphere causes the surrounding spheres in cardinal directions to also switch to the opposite state. Fortunately, the grids don’t require a perfect minimum amount of moves, but it will tell you when you pull off such a feat.

Thus began a new obsession that my husband shared as we swapped the Chromatic back and forth after getting stumped on different puzzle grids. It’s the perfect game for a handheld, reminding me of my childhood when I’d sit for hours playing Tetris. ‘Just one more attempt’, you tell yourself, and even when you’re ready to tear your hair out, it feels impossible to admit defeat.

Dragonyhm

Playing a pixel RPG on a retro handheld just feels right. It brings back so many memories of playing old classics like The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. All these years later, I still go into every house, speak to every NPC, check every container, and wonder if there are still secrets I’m missing.

Dragonyhm follows Kris as he goes looking for his missing father and famed Yhmszindr, Kurtis. The dragons that were once sealed away to allow the world to prosper in peace have begun to awaken, and it’s time for Kris to follow in his father’s footsteps, quite literally.

It has everything I love in an RPG: an intriguing world, challenging dungeons, puzzles, and lots of minigames. It also has trading cards as a cute little collectable, which immediately became something I obsessed over. I feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface of Dragonyhm so far, but I’ll definitely be going back to it for some more.

Tales Of Monsterland DX

Tales of Monsterland DX came in a clear cartridge, which as we all know makes it infinitely cooler than the rest. It’s an adventure platformer that revolves around a village stranded due to a broken bridge, a mysterious tower deep in the woods, and the presence of ferocious monsters. I saved the best for last.

As the hero, you unlock different monster forms with unique abilities to help you progress through the game. You’ll have to overcome different monsters roaming around, but more importantly, ensure your platforming skills are up to scratch. I’ve lost count of the number of times I plummeted to my death because of an ill-timed jump. I’ve used up all my hearts. I’ve used up all my continues. I’ve felt the bitter taste of seeing that Game Over screen. For now, I’m sulking in defeat and playing other Chromatic titles, but one day I might strive to unlock all the monster forms and save the village.

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