The King’s Return is a brand-new 2D platformer developed for the nearly 30-year-old Game Boy Color, and it recently launched on the console with physical cartridges. The homebrew Game Boy Color title was created by three friends at French indie studio Towea.
The King’s Return is a retro-style 2D platformer that occasionally shifts gameplay in some missions, adding side-scrolling and shoot ’em up elements to the formula. The story follows a king who has lost his crown to a malicious force that has also turned his people into monsters. He now sets out to reclaim his kingdom and recover the souls of his subjects.
The King’s Return Arrives on Game Boy Color with a Premium Package
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Available on Homebrew Factory, the physical edition of The King’s Return costs $56 USD. The package includes the cartridge, a ROM file for emulators, and a full-color manual. However, stock is limited, and the game may not be reprinted in the future. Retro game fans should also note that the cartridge is said to be compatible with both the Game Boy and Analogue Pocket. That said, Homebrew Factory does not “guarantee that the game will work on clones or unofficial systems.”
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
The King’s Return spans six worlds with five levels. Each stage ends with a boss fight, and players seeking an extra challenge can also unlock a Boss Rush mode. Developer Towea Studio has included three difficulty settings, each offering a greater test of precision and reaction time. Despite being a small indie game, The King’s Return also features a couple of collectibles that could keep players engaged for a while.
Towea Studio consists of artists and engineers who have mostly worked on mobile games, and The King’s Return is their first homebrew Game Boy Color game. The team explained the project’s origins, saying, “At first, [The King’s Return] was designed for a monochrome Game Boy, but we quickly realized we’d need more power to really enjoy making it, so we switched over to Game Boy Color.”
Fans of 2D platformers for the Game Boy who lack access to the console or a compatible emulator are in luck. Towea Studio has released a free demo of The King’s Return on itch.io. The demo requires no installation and runs on most standard web browsers. However, the full game is exclusive to the Game Boy Color, and the developers have announced no plans to bring it to PC or other platforms at the time of writing.
