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What Friends Are For received first place in Game Boy Showdown 2023! Thank you for your support!

What Friends Are For is a puzzle platformer for the original Game Boy. It was developed in GB Studio for Game Boy Showdown 2023. Switch between friendly and unfriendly modes to use your enemies to solve puzzles and platforming challenges... or are they your friends? The game features 5 unique levels lovingly made in a week by Shin, with an awesome dynamic soundtrack from Beatscribe.

What Friends Are For V2.0 is now available! Featuring Game Boy Color compatibility, improved performance and better accessibility, V2.0 adds a coat of polish while keeping the original game intact. If you want to play the original jam version, it is still available to download below.

For feedback and updates on more Game Boy homebrew check out Shin's Twitter.

Assets used:

All other assets in V1.0 were developed within the week of Game Boy Showdown 2023.

StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5
Rating
Rated 4.3 out of 5 stars
(18 total ratings)
Authorshin
GenrePlatformer, Action, Puzzle
Made withGB Studio
Tags2D, 8-Bit, Cute, Game Boy, gb-studio, Pixel Art, Retro, Singleplayer

Download

Download
New updated version- What Friends Are For V2.0.gb 512 kB
Download
Original jam version- What Friends Are For V1.0.gb 256 kB

Install instructions

Run the .gb file in the emulator of your choice, or upload to any flashcart to run on hardware. Playing on Game Boy Color or an emulator in Color mode will significantly increase performance and eliminate slowdown. If you are playing on emulator, I recommend the BGB emulator. If you are playing on hardware, the .gb file is 256KB and uses saves, so make sure you are using the appropriate flashcart.

Development log

Comments

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Man that secret level is brutal

Cute game, pretty unique mechanic too.

yo is that fukin temp bot

btw shin will you participate in gbjam12, if so i would be happy to assist you with the art

very interesting and original mechanic had a lot of fun

this was so cute! i love the mechanic of making the enemies friendly vs not to get through each stage. the friendliest level was tough...!

Like the game mechanic in this one. Did a run on the newer version and the bonus level too. 

Great game, what an awesome concept. Love the design, art, music and controls. Really enjoyed playing it!... Until this point }:(

Must have tried a good 30 times and  just gotta give up now, unfortunately. Can't figure it out, that or I have and just can't get the timing right. Would have been nice to see the end of the game.

Congrats on winning, well deserved!


Your game has very unique and interesting gameplay. I like how it’s a puzzle platformer! The style is also super cute! ^-^

This was so cute!!

( 1)

BIG congrats on first place in the showdown, shin!!!! wonderful job and i look forward to seeing what you do next!!!

( 1)

Congratz, Shin! :) Well deserved first place in GBS Jam! :D

Very, very nicely done! Great graphics, fun gameplay, and the reactive music blew me away. What an amazing feature!!

( 1)

Awesome puzzle platformer!

( 1)

I really liked the idea of good cheer turning your enemies into helpers. Congrats

( 1)

Had a ton of fun until the very last room! T.T </3

I'm practicing to be a QA Game tester and have some notes if you want them. <3 Google Doc Bug report

( 1)

Amazing level design and mecânica.