Handheld gaming is more than a compromise of power and portability. Whether it’s the ability to play anywhere, multitask or hold an entire console in your hands, it’s a special experience consoles have never replicated. In a world where high resolutions and teraflops reign supreme, we take a look at a portable relic every month and reflect on what makes it memorable. Be warned, spoilers may occasionally populate these articles.
A decade before ultra-violent arcade games likeMortal Kombatand BloodStorm put senators in a tizzy about how their cartoonishly unrealistic acts of violence will turn children into a nation of serial killers, the arcade was a much more family-friendly place. Not only were the graphics incapable of depicting photo-realistic decapitations in 1982, but games also weren’t generally striving for realism. BurgerTime is a perfect example of a wholesome game that has an outlandish premise if one were to try to think about it in real world terms. It was a popular arcade game in 1982 and made its way to Game Boy as BurgerTime Deluxe in 1991.
BurgerTime Party Demo Released Alongside New Year’s Sale
A Tale For The Ages
There have been games over the years that prove it to be a viable medium for storytelling, with a few games possessing narratives strong enough that can rival some of the most revered cinema. BurgerTime is no such game. Which isn’t a knock against it; it simply doesn’t require much of a story. The player controls Peter Pepper, a chef who has an unconventional approach to hamburger assembly. Peter Pepper navigates through each maze of level, dropping burger ingredients until each burger is complete, all while avoiding his enemies. It’s simple, fun and doesn’t need an elaborate plot.
But could a story have improved things? The enemies Peter Pepper has to avoid are Mr. Hot Dog, Mr. Pickle and Mr. Egg. Why are these enemies? Plenty of burger joints sell hot dogs, and pickles and eggs are acceptable burger toppings. Perhaps eggs weren’t considered common burger toppings in 1982, but fried egg as a burger topping is common in many establishments today. But these aren’t even the most troubling questions that arise while playing BurgerTime Deluxe. Why are the eggs, pickles and hot dogs even alive, why are they aggressively trying to end Peter Pepper, and why are they the same size as him? More importantly, what monstrosity are these gigantic burgers being made for?
Time To Make The Burgers
Getting back to the actual game, BurgerTime has been ported to numerous home platforms, but BurgerTime Deluxe is not simply another one of these ports. The original BurgerTime has six looping levels, while BurgerTime Deluxe offers 24 brand-new levels. The new levels change the experience from the original game, but the core gameplay remains the same. Peter Pepper needs to make these burgers and avoid the fiendish food foes that attempt to prevent him from fulfilling his burger-crafting obligations. There are also new enemies and power-ups.
As great as games have become with modern advancements, BurgerTime Deluxe serves as a reminder that there is still a place for simpler games.
Peter moves across the various levels in the kitchen. Ladders are the main means of traversal in doing this. While doing this, he simply needs to reach each burger ingredient so it falls in its proper stacking order while not making contact with the enemies. Peter Pepper is a chef and not a warrior, so his means of defense are limited, but he’s not completely helpless in his endeavors.
One way to stop his enemies is to wait until they are under one of the burger ingredients. If timed correctly, the ingredient will fall on the enemy and remove them from the level for a while. Peter Pepper is also armed with a pepper grinder, which he can use to stun his enemies. While they are stunned in a cloud of freshly ground pepper, Peter Pepper is able to pass through them without losing one of his lives. This may seem like an odd choice for a weapon, but it’s one of the more realistic aspects of the game. There are additional power-ups, like French fries that clear the screen of enemies and candy bars that grant invincibility.
An Enduring Classic
As great as games have become with modern advancements, BurgerTime Deluxe serves as a reminder that there’s still a place for simpler games. Trying to navigate each level to assemble the burgers while avoiding enemies remains enjoyable regardless of what decade it happens to be. With quadruple the levels of an arcade release, BurgerTime Deluxe does offer a lengthier and more varied experience than the original. It’s still not a long game, but there are far worse ways to kill time than running through a few levels of BurgerTime Deluxe. It may not be a game that gets played all the time, but running through a bit on occasion is always fun.
While there are many ports of the original BurgerTime and its other related games on numerous platforms, BurgerTime Deluxe is less accessible. Outside the second-hand market and emulation, the only legit way to get it now is through the Switch Online subscription service through the Game Boy library. While it’s not going to be a life-changing experience, BurgerTime Deluxe is still a fun puzzler and worth playing if one has the means to do so.
