I leave the BOXBOY! 3DS trilogy more pleased than how I entered it, all thanks to its fabulous finale BYE-BYE BOXBOY! Despite failing to rid the series of its fiddliness, BYE-BYE BOXBOY! emerges well ahead of its predecessors by invoking their best aspects: BOXBOY!'s creativity and BOXBOXBOY's intensity. Gone are repetitive mechanics you've long-since learned, replaced by fresh ones like jump-boosting wind, box-buoyant water, weighted scales, and plenty more. On top of that are irritation-free escort quests (!) and four excellent new box powers that change how you traverse levels. Throw in some truly challenging bonus worlds, and BYE-BYE BOXBOY! becomes precisely the puzzle-platformer I wanted out of HAL.
However, I have to be honest—my brain's rotted a bit since I first played the series. I read my previous entries and nearly all of my criticisms still apply. The box limit sharply alternates between generous and cruel, mechanics can have unintuitive rules (eg no snaking in water), the front half of the game is too simple, and the performance-focused grading system remains an ill-fit for the experience. And yet... I wasn't really bothered by any of these... hence the rot. I've grown used to the roller coaster difficulty curve, the game's reliance on phantom boxes, and needing to restart a stage because I don't have enough boxes left to reach the final crown. While I recognize that these problems are no less prevalent in BYE-BYE BOXBOY!, they're somehow less irritating to me now, roughly as intrusive as an ant in my kitchen. Whether that's because I took a break between the games or I've just grown numb to the fiddliness, I'm unsure of—I'm just glad I didn't have to keep an ongoing list of mechanical eccentricities (besides the no snaking in water.)
Perhaps I owe my blind enjoyment to the bevy of new mechanics, each one keeping the gears in my brain turning. While there's still too many tutorial levels for my tastes, it's offset by the experimentation that comes with each strange new gimmick, pushing you to discover the ins and outs of how they operate. This is especially true for the new box abilities, which are easily my favorite part of the game. They're quick to understand but hide a lot of neat tricks, similar to what it was like getting the double box sets at the end of BOXBOY! Except instead of one game-changing power you have four, with each being better than the last. And as soon as you get a grasp on one it's time to move onto the next world—and the next mechanic.
I didn't truly appreciate BYE-BYE BOXBOY! until I reached the end, where the postgame worlds nearly doubled my playtime. I had multiple zen moments here as seemingly impossible puzzles gradually unfolded from "no way!" into "oh that's how!" Most of the stages took multiple attempts, lasting anywhere from three to thirteen minutes, with the worst offenders being 19-6, 20-5, 21-7, and 21-8. These stages were not only tricky to figure out but came saddled with painfully precise box limits, forcing me to develop new ways to cut corners. Although I managed to figure everything out on my own, I definitely wouldn't fault anyone for getting stuck here and dropping the game. For me though, it was puzzle nirvana.
Luckily, for the less intrepid there's the new challenge worlds: single-screen puzzles with a nifty restriction, like no throwing boxes, snaking, or even jumping. They're not as stupefying as the postgame worlds but they can occasionally throw out a solid stumper like C4-5 and C5-8. I like that these act as clever glimpses into more ways that HAL could play with the BOXBOY! formula, though I doubt a full game could be made from them like the dual box mechanic was. Still, the challenge worlds offer a diverse set of puzzles that play with your understanding of BOXBOY!'s usual mechanics—which is true of all of BYE-BYE BOXBOY! and is likely why I enjoyed it so much.
Overall, the BOXBOY! trilogy is an entertaining and cute set of games, although I'm unsure if I'd call them "essential." They're worthwhile puzzlers for the 3DS in any case, rivaled in my mind only by the Pushmo titles (which I remember being far more delightful and less confounding, but it's been a while). I also have to give kudos to BYE-BYE BOXBOY for achieving the rare feat of ending a trilogy on its highest note, closing out not with a whimper but a planet-sized bang. I've not played BOXBOY + BOXGIRL yet, but BYE-BYE BOXBOY has ensured that I'll go into it with a smile on my face...
... Likely because I'm finally immunized to its befuddling quirks.
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Images obtained from: nintendo.co.uk, michibiku.com, darkstation.com, 2dradar.com
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