The Original Mobile Games

Genre: Compilation / Arcade

Players: 1

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Review:

The Original Mobile Games, released on Nintendo Switch in 2019, is a family-friendly Compilation of six simple Arcade-style games, with more available through paid DLC. These games were originally all simple physical “puzzles” that you held in your hand and tilted around to try and complete the challenge within them (usually a maze that you need to tilt to maneuver balls through), with the oldest of these games, Pigs in Clover, dating back to 1889.

On that note, it may be best to see The Original Mobile Games not just as a mere Compilation of games, but as a historical piece. Indeed, all of the games included here come with paragraphs of historical information and context cataloging these games and describing their place in history, including pieces of trivia about the games’ naming, history, and cultural significance.

This museum-style presentation extends to many of the elements of the presentation, which seems to have reconstructed the games from photographic reference. This is delightfully demonstrated when looking at a photographic representation of these games, with odd elements of the look of the original games preserved in this package – going back to Pigs in Clover, taking a look at the back of the game reveals an advertisement for the new game Parcheesi from Parker Bros. (Parker Bros. was founded in 1883, six years before this game was released). The games themselves use subtle 3D visuals that reproduce an approximation of the games in these photos, though it’s far from a one-to-one conversion. Still, the games look nice, albeit dated (which, of course, all of them are).

The sound for these games is spot-on too, with the sound of marbles rolling along wood, cardboard and plastic all seeming to be pretty accurate, with the game using rumble to assist with the only simulation. Really, while it’s not flashy, the only fault i can find with this presentation is that the synthesized music that plays in the background as you play these games does not sound at all appropriate for the games, which seem like they’d call for something more period-appropriate.

The gameplay for these games, as with the original games themselves, is largely done through motion-control. Players tilt their Joy-Con, Pro Controller, or Nintendo Switch in various direction to control the direction of gravity to complete all the goals in each game. Players can use the left analog stick to “tap” the game to jolt pieces into movement, but otherwise this is a pretty faithful representation of how these games were originally controlled in real life.

Here’s the thing, though. I’ve said that this is an excellent package as a museum piece. But as a game? This is pretty dull by today’s standards. Yes, it requires some skill and dexterity to complete these games, but all of the games included in this package can easily be completed within ten minutes, and after that the only reason to play them again is to try to beat your previous best time.

I still respect The Original Mobile Games for what it is, and if you view it primarily as a fun look back at a portion of the history of games, this is a fantastic, well-made trip into the past. Just don’t go into this expecting to play some thrilling games, or at least not for very long. Thankfully, the game sells for only $2, so it’s not like you’ll be breaking the bank for this metaphorical museum ticket, but neither will you be getting much more entertainment than you would get from a trip to a museum. So I suppose the question is… would you pay $2 for a quick 10-minute trip to a museum?

tl;dr – The Original Mobile Games is a family-friendly Compilation of six simple Arcade-style games, with more available through paid DLC. These games are all loving recreations of classic handheld tilting “puzzle” games, usually involving navigating small balls through a maze. As a snapshot of a piece of history, this is a wonderfully well-crafted Collection, with lots of wonderful historical tidbits. However, as a game, this is a pretty simple collection that you’ll likely complete in under ten minutes. In other words, this is a game to get if you’re looking for a fascinating history lesson, not for great gameplay.

Grade: C+

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