Paperboy is one of my most cherished and memorable childhood games that I have played. I remember when my father bought me the game when I was about 4 years old. This is one of those long forgotten video games, and it's finally my pleasure to review this classic game. However, it is one of the most entertaining, yet challenging games of all time. It is fun to play, enjoy, and you can also play for 2 players in which you can play with friends or a family member. Unfortunately this game never made it to the Wii Virtual Console.
Gameplay. Players take control of a newspaper delivery boy, and must deliver the Daily Sun newspapers to the subscribers in a suburban neighborhood. Players carry ten newspapers in which they can throw it to the white, yellow, and blue houses they pass by while avoiding obstacles such as dogs, skateboarders, tornadoes, angry neighbors, drunks, construction workers, grass cutters, and so on. Players must even avoid bizarre obstacles such as tornadoes and even the Grim Reaper himself.
When players make a perfect delivery, there will be a new subscriber. But if they damage or even miss a house, players will lose customers. Players lose a life when they crash, and if all customers cancel their subscription, the game is over.
Design. The player controls an unnamed paperboy on a bicycle delivering newspapers along a suburban street which is displayed in a cabinet perspective view. I actually loved how the houses were designed as if they were of a typical suburban neighborhood.
History. Paperboy was released on the arcades in 1984, and became very successful among the gamers of the first generation. Paperboy was even edited for home consoles such as Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, Atari, and even the Nintendo and Game Boy got into the action. Paperboy 2 was later released for the Game Boy in 1991. Years went by and Paperboy was becoming only a memory. In the late 90s a 3D version of the game, Paperboy 64 was released, and just like in Paperboy 2 you could either choose a paperboy or a papergirl.
Memories. My father and I used to play this game when I was about 4 years old. My father was not a big gamer but he had his share of playing Mario, Paperboy, but what he played more than those two games was Tetris. My siblings, cousins and I even played this game so much. We competed to see who had the higher score or who beat the game. Then when I turned 6 we had the SNES and played other games such as Mario World, Zelda and Star Fox, oh memories.
Rantings. Enemies that bothered me in this game were the friggin angry neighbors, the construction workers, grim reapers, and the drunks. Also, sometimes the throwing mechanics were way off that I ended up breaking windows.
Good Aspects. This game has high replay value, and it is one of the classic games that many would have enjoyed if this game was in the Wii Virtual Console. I truly miss this game and wish that I could play it again. But at least I can play it in emulators.
Overall. Paperboy deserves my respect after all those glorious years of gaming. But still, the N64 game didn't have great graphics, but it was a good throwback of the old days. Paperboy gets an 8 out of 10
God Bless and Play Hard Gamers!