This review was originally written on 09/09/2018.

Technical Information

Developer: Free Lunch Design
Publisher: Free Lunch Design
Release Date: 2000

Happyland Adventures is a retro platformer with that cute pixel art that warms the hearts of the most nostalgic players.
Your mission is to rescue some strange little creatures called Happylanders.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the game as a whole

Graphics and UI

The UI and graphics are simple and very reminiscent of NES and Master System platform games. But since it was made in the year 2000, I thought there could have been more detail in some areas, like the background of each stage, for example.

The Happylanders’ designs are really strange, there’s one wearing a Jamaican hat and another that looks like a little butt! lol

There’s a tutorial option in the menu, explaining in a single image what everything in the game does.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

The game’s music is okay, but unfortunately, it’s the same throughout the entire game! There comes a point where it gets tiring :/
The sound effects are pretty cool, with a cartoonish and somewhat comic vibe.

Gameplay

I remember the first time I played it, I was still a child, and it was through one of those CD-ROMs sold at newsstands that came with several demo games, shareware, etc.

As soon as you find the Happylanders, they start following you, and you must lead them to a specific area of the stage. Upon reaching the minimum number of rescued creatures, the stage exit opens, and you can proceed in the game.

The game is fun, although there are no bosses and all enemies always follow a standard movement pattern. The fact that the game has many fake walls and a timer ended up balancing everything.
The level design is good too, with each stage, the difficulty increases progressively.

Replayability and Game Retention

The game is very short! 🙁 Once you beat it, you don’t feel much motivation to play again.