What Is It?
While most people are introduced to new games by reading magazines or renting random titles, I came across the Adventures of Lolo in a very unorthodox manner. It all started when I needed to buy a brand new TV to get the most out of my recently purchased Sega Genesis, the peak of video game performance back in 1989. I searched every nook and cranny looking for the perfect TV to play Altered Beast on, walking through every store in my area at least once. After hours of backbreaking shopping I found myself walking into the local Video Only to see what I could find. But it wasn't a TV that I found; it was a completely empty store with one middle-aged employee playing Adventures of Lolo on a gigantic television set. I don't know if it was the fact that this guy was playing games at work or the enormous size of the TV, but there was something about that moment that stuck with me. The creepy old dude spoke so passionately about this one game, a puzzle game that really made him use his head to get from the beginning of the level to the end. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before, a cute adventure game that had these crazy (yet engrossing) puzzles. I was so jealous that this guy was able to spend his day playing this one video game, and after I left his store (with my brand new TV in hand) I knew that I needed to run out to the local game store and buy this game. Of course, looking back at this situation I actually feel sorry for the guy. Here's a man who clearly worked at the world's worst Video Only location, a tired old store where nothing gets done and nobody comes in to shop. He wasn't making money while playing games at all, the truth is he was probably broke from working on commission. What a crummy, crummy job he had. But no matter how depressing his life was, at least he had good taste in Nintendo games, because Adventures of Lolo is an exciting puzzle game that everybody should own.
Does It Still Hold Up?
Not only does Adventures of Lolo hold up, but it also paved the way for some of this year's best puzzle games. Where would titles like Crush and PQ2: Practical Quotient 2 be without those bizarre adventures Lolo got into? While this appears to be a simple game, there's actually a lot of planning involved in going from level to level. Best of all, this game is insanely difficult ... it will even have those brainiacs that whizzed through Crush and other recent puzzlers scratching their heads (and searching for clues in the FAQ). While some of the Lolo sequels improved on the theme, it's hard to deny the brilliance that is Adventures of Lolo.
Is It Worth The Money?
With 50 brain-busting levels, Adventures of Lolo is a great value. The problem with a lot of old 8-bit games is that they are all pretty short, when it comes right down to it most of the NES games on the Virtual Console can be completed in no more than an hour or two. But Adventures of Lolo is long; you'll definitely get your $5 worth. While the graphics and sound are obviously outdated, Lolo proves to be one of those puzzles games that is both challenging and endearing at the exact same time. That's a hard tightrope to walk, but Lolo manages to make it from one side to the other thanks to its great character and amazing puzzle designs. It may not have the name Mario in the title, but Adventures of Lolo is definitely one of those games you need to pick up this week.
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