BurgerTime is one of my favorite games. This is mainly due to the memories of playing it on the NES with one of my friends. I’ve written about the series as a whole, but I want to focus on the Game Boy version of the game this time.
The version on the Game Boy is called BurgerTime Deluxe. It’s a better version of the NES game, but not as good as the arcade. I like the arcade version the most. The Game Boy version looks nice and is a bit easier than the other versions I’ve played.
I could see myself enjoying this when I was little if I had known about it. It’s one of the many games that I missed out on because I didn’t get a Game Boy until the mid-90s.
TLDR: BurgerTime Deluxe is an excellent version of this classic arcade game.
History
BurgerTime was developed by Data East and released in 1982. From there, it was ported to everything! Except for Sega, they didn’t get a port of it. I guess it had to do with the licensing deal that Data East signed with Nintendo in the mid to late 80s.
Data East went bankrupt in 2003, and G-Mode Corporation bought up the rights to many of their games. This included the rights for BurgerTime.
There were a bunch of sequels and clones of BurgerTime. I use the word sequel lightly because how do you come up with a sequel to a game with no story.
Sequels
- Peter Pepper’s Ice Cream Factory
- Super BurgerTime
- Diner
- BurgerTime Deluxe
- Flinstone’s BurgerTime
- BurgerTime Delight
- BurgerTime World Tour
- BurgerTime Party!
Clones that I could find.
- Mr. Whimpy
- Burger Chase
- Burger Time (With a space between the words!)
- BurgerSpace
- Barmy Burgers
- Chip Factory
- Burger Boy
- Basic Burgers
- Lunchtime
Gameplay
This is a reimagining of the arcade version instead of a port. The NES version was a port of the Arcade game and was altered to fit on an NES cartridge. BurgerTime Deluxe doesn’t do anything too different from the arcade game.
I think that’s what I like about the series. They don’t change much from one installment to the next. You have a simple goal, even if it’s a little strange.
BurgerTime Deluxe is a single-screen arcade game. The only goal is to get a high score. I like this kind of game, and it works well for the Game Boy. You can play it for as long as you want.
You have to walk across the burger parts to get them to fall to the bottom of the screen. While doing this, you are chased by Hotdogs, Pickles, and Eggs. Each has its own pattern they use to trap you.
The AI of the enemies is similar to the ghosts in Pac-man. That is where the similarities between the two games end. You have more opportunities to fight back against the enemies in BurgerTime.
You can drop the parts of the burger on the enemies to temporarily kill them. This removes them from the playfield for some time. You can also lure them onto a part of the burger before you drop it to send the enemies a few levels below you.
You also have pepper which can be used to stun the bad guys. However, this is in limited supply, so don’t go crazy with it like I did when I first started playing the game. I guess I never saw the icon which told me how much I had. It’s been about 30 years, so I don’t exactly remember what I was thinking back then.
The strategy I learned was to get the enemies to follow you. Then lead them over one of the burger parts to drop them down a few levels. You also get more points this way, and since that High Score is what you want, this is a good way to get it.
You can also get extra lives during the game. In the arcade, you have to acquire enough points; here, you can pick them up. You can also pick up extra pepper during the game.
Visuals
It’s a nice-looking Game Boy game. The sprites aren’t as clear as the arcade version or some of the newer versions of BurgerTime. I think the Game Boy version looks nicer than the NES version.
I didn’t try it out on a Super Game Boy or the Retro 5, so I’m not sure how much better it could look in color. It still couldn’t look as good as the arcade, though. I think the arcade game and the newest version, BurgerTime Party, are the best-looking versions of the game.
8/10
Pros
- This is an easy game to pick up.
- It looks good.
- If you like the arcade game, this is a fun one to play.
Cons
- If you’re looking for a story, this isn’t the game for you.
- Just one game mode.
- I can see it being boring for someone now.
Final Thoughts
I have a lot of fond memories of playing BurgerTime. As I got older, I could always go back to the game and play it for a bit. It’s one of those easy to learn but hard to master games from the early 80s.
I remember going to a friend’s house and playing the NES version. I’m not sure why he had it, and I doubt he knew why his parents bought it for him. He also had a bunch of the LJN games that have been the subject of AVGN episodes.
When I started collecting games, BurgerTime was one that I went out of my way to get. Even though it’s not the best version, it’s a challenging game. I’m sure the friends I went game hunting with looked at me weird when I picked it up. They already looked at me funny for collecting NES games.
Anyway, as I got older, I found this version. BurgerTime Deluxe is an excellent version of this arcade game. I had a lot of fun with it. I would recommend the Switch version over it because that one is easier to get a hold of.