This was fun! I liked seeing all the different monkey bosses and incorporating the hud into the background was a nice touch. It's quite tricky but this concept of aiming for the outside instead of the boss was nicely realized here, great submission!
Play game
BANANA BOSS's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #30 | 3.760 | 3.760 |
| Gameplay | #33 | 3.760 | 3.760 |
| Overall | #35 | 3.820 | 3.820 |
| Authenticity (or, Creativity in use of resolution) | #52 | 4.080 | 4.080 |
| Graphics | #65 | 3.680 | 3.680 |
Ranked from 25 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Themes
I used Unconventional Weapon and All Systems Have Broken. The idea was to be redistributing the horded bananas to topple the broken system.
Tools
GDevelop and Piskel. This is my first LOWREZJAM so I tried to work with what I was most familiar with.
Lessons
Oh a lot actually. Just to name a few : Using Bitmap fonts, how to NOT draw primates, and how tiny 64x64 really is. I also learned I still need to get better at time management.
Comments
I adore this! I love that your goal isn't to hit the enemy but to bring bananas to the people. It's a light bullet hell—a banana hell. One of my own making when I whiff and my own banana comes flying back at my face. My heart is in the right place but my aim is very bad, hahah.
Displaying the UI elements right there in the background / on the actual ground is a very clever touch, sound effects are solid, music is fantastic—that dirty jazz is somehow, hilariously, perfectly fitting.
All in all, a great game. Well done.
Submitted
GastronautNow that you mention it, Banana Hell might have been a more fitting name:) The bananas smacking yourself in the face is definitely part of the charm.
I'm glad you enjoyed the music from Holizna! It's very very good. I tried my best with the UI to get something to work in this resolution, so I'm glad I ended up on the BIG BANANA in the end. Thanks for all the kind words and I appreciate you stopping by to play!
Fun little boss-rush game! Very challenging once the bananas start flying about all over the place but good fun trying to learn the monkey patterns and avoid them. Plus I liked that you also have to avoid your own bananas if you miss. I also like that you included the health bar as a giant banana in the background - clever!
I managed to get 'Banana Boss' rank - is that good?
Also, I'd heard Holinza's funk collection before and love that stuff so it was awesome to hear it in your game :D
Submitted
A Pond BeyondYeah that collection by Holinza is amazing. It took me a while to find something I thought fit the game and when I stumbled upon that I knew it was right.
'Banana Boss' is the top rank for the normal mode so it's definitely good:) There's 3 ranks for the regular mode and 3 other ones for the hard mode.
Thanks for playing and stopping by to the leave a comment. Glad you enjoyed the game and I really appreciate the feedback!
Loved the game, nice difficulty curve too. I was a "banana collector" which... sounds like quite a low rank hahaha. Couldn't beat hard mode though. Congrats on the great submission!
Submitted
Click Click... BOOM 4096I can hardly believe I won, the white monkey before the boss has killed me so many times. Anyway, this is definitely outstanding in terms of gameplay. It made me keep retrying but not in a forced way, I wanted to see all the monkeys there are, but also to get good at this novel and fun yet unfair gameplay. Sound&graphics are great too (and I don't think you can draw a better primate at this resolution and scale), if only lacking a bit in terms of authenticity.
And, I can see the symbolism behind throwing bananas into the light, for we must all strive to... Oh, it's about redistributing hoarded bananas? Hmm, ok, fair enough.
Submitted
Magic MirrorHaha, yeah that white monkey could have definitely used a few more balance passes. Glad you had an amusing time playing through it all, I tried to make the most of what I could within the time frame I had. At some point I definitely went into the whole "Oh crap I need to submit this" mode and tried to clean up as much as possible.
I'm very new to doing anything within this resolution, what were the bits that were lacking in terms of authenticity? Thanks again though for playing and I appreciate the feedback!
Everyone has their own understanding of authenticity so don't take anything I say for granted, and I could be wrong. There is some modern feel here like transparency in the background (or I only imagine that's what it was), and I think that movements of objects were smooth (not locked to pixel grid) but I could be hallucinating and who cares anyway.
Oh I see, that's fair. I didn't take away from anything I read that there couldn't be more "modern" bits. My only understanding from the jam page was to make sure that it was 64x64 resolution but I can see how those other things could play into the authenticity. Thanks for the explanation and everything, I'll definitely keep that in mind going forward and for the next jam!
Really fun to play gameplay loop, my only big criticism is the audio level, on basic usage, this is EXTREMELY loud to the point of almost hurting my ears.
Not sure how relevant diagonal throws are, you can probably trickshot a few next to the gorilla, but other than that it is perfectly doable with just the base 4 directions.
Got hit 20 times, probably not the best result x)
Submitted
Pico TowersYeah, I originally had corner goals in the game and obstacles that made diagonals throws necessary but later cut them out. I could've (maybe should've) disabled the buttons, but ended up just leaving them in for the jam. When playing I usually only use the base 4 directions as well.
As for the audio, apologies for that! I was messing around with trying to get a volume slider in before submitting and couldn't finish it in time. I usually keep my computer sound relatively low and didn't realize how loud the audio must've been. Definitely something I'll keep in my going forward.
Glad it was still a fun gameplay loop for you, and thank you for the kind words and feedback!
a mantra to live by.
Maybe I should add in the bread of blood as an alternative weapon.
Made me want to go get a banana irl, jokes aside, this game was a lot of fun to play. I really enjoyed the challenge of dodging all the projectiles on screen. The fast-paced action kept me engaged and made each moment exciting. Great job on creating such an entertaining experience!
Submitted
Eternal FighterI 100% agree with you about the diagonal throwing. I actually had it in there originally because there were goals that appeared in the corners...BUT when I scrapped that I just kept the buttons in when maybe I should've just disabled them? Glad in the end you at least were able to find humor and enjoyment in the game:) Thanks for the feedback!
Awesome, I love it! Really cool concept for a boss rush. I don’t think I’ve ever played a boss rush where you’re not actually trying to hit the boss, but I think the core mechanic of throwing bananas into the light felt super good. It’s like “indirect combat”, it’s really cool; I might steal that someday…
Boss variety was great too. I was surprised by how much mileage you were able to get from just changing up the movement and projectile patterns between bosses, but each fight felt quite different. The music changing between bosses was great too.
Ended my first run with 17 hits. Tried hard mode, but got taken down by the big gorilla. I might come back to this to conquer hard mode. Also I loved the minimalist UI with the banana in the background for the player’s HP bar. All-around great job! I really enjoyed this one.
Submitted
Clash MasteryOh please steal! I was trying to think of something that was a little more indirect and "non-violent" in the traditional sense sooooo this is kind of what came out as a result.
I also didn't have any real experience with making bosses or a boss rush type mode before so this was a definite learning experience for me. I wish I would've had more time to make more complicated patterns and varieties to the attacks but a lot of my work on the jam consisted of just a couple of nights during the week. I was however happy with how it turned out in the end and just glad I was able to submit something into the jam.
17 hits is pretty good! If you get around to trying Hard Mode again best of luck! It's definitely...challenging. Thanks for kind words about the game and acknowledgement about the UI, it's been great getting good feedback about that. And thanks again for playing!
I loved the amount of character you were able to create with no text or dialogue. Having each boss have a unique look and move set really goes a long way in making the interactions with them more memorable. My favorite part is the music changing for each boss. Not only are they all bangers, but they make every boss feel super important and unique. Great job!
Submitted
Peace to the MeadowI'm happy you felt that way about the bosses! I'm really new to messing around with making my own assets and it was a fun challenge. Finding the right music for what I was going for though took a LONG time but once I found this funky album from Holizna I knew it would be a perfect match. Thanks for playing and I really appreciate the kind words and feedback!
This is a pretty fun game. It's challenging but also very forgiving at the same time with how easy it is to recover hit points. On my playthrough I was constantly fluctuating from almost dead to full HP and that really gave it the frantic feeling I think you were going for. And also, I love your UI! I think that was the best way you could've implemented the health bar. It's always obvious but still unintrusive. I enjoyed this one. Highly replayable!
Submitted
Chickpea's Mini Quest for CakeHaha, stumbling upon the idea to implement the health bar like that after banging my head against the wall for hours attempting to put together UI without obstructing anything was truly a liberating experience. And you're right, I was definitely going for that chaotic and frantic feeling BUT hoped the health recovery would balance it out.
I am very grateful for your kind words and thanks so much for all the feedback!
Nice concept and experience to play your game. I very like how all necessary information (UI) is implemented, always visible and not disturbing in such low-res. 👍
Submitted
Space GathererReally fun game, monkey sprites are cute! It's really interesting how when you throw a banana, you still take damage upon touching it. It makes the game a little more hectic, and I like that! Definitely a game worth high rating.
Submitted
Rocky's Pocket Dungeon
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.