Timeball
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| Timeball | |
|---|---|
 TurboGrafx-16 cover art | |
| Developer | Now Production |
| Publishers | TurboGrafx-16 NEC, Hudson Soft X68000, Game Boy Broderbund, Tonkin House |
| Programmer | Manuel Constantinidis (original game) |
| Platforms | TurboGrafx-16, Game Boy, X68000 |
| Release | TurboGrafx-16
|
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
Timeball is a puzzle video game released by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16. The object of the game is to guide a ball along pieces of track by moving tiles like a sliding puzzle. The game's name in Japan is Blodia, an anagram of Diablo, the title of a computer game upon which Blodia is based. Versions of Blodia were released exclusively in Japan for the original Game Boy and the X68000. A spin-off titled Blodia Land: Puzzle Quest was released for the Famicom, replacing the ball with cartoon dinosaur-like characters. These versions were developed by Tonkin House and published by Broderbund.
Gameplay
[edit]
The grid on screen is composed of tiles. Some tiles have a piece of road, and a black tile represents "the void", an area where one can drag the tile nearby in order to complete a road which will be taken by a ball that will follow the path. Players must arrange the tiles such that the ball traverses all sections of track. The ball can be sped up by pressing a button. If the ball reaches a tile without a piece of track, it falls out of play.
The game also includes a level editor which allows for the creation of custom puzzles. An earlier "prototype" version without the level editor was published for the TI-99/4a and other computers as "Diablo" in 1985.
Release and reception
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| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Aktueller Software Markt | 3/10, 3/10, 7/10, 8/10, 6/10[1] |
| Famitsu | 7/10, 6/10, 8/10, 8/10[2] |
| Gekkan PC Engine | 80/100, 80/100, 75/100, 85/100, 80/100[3] |
| Génération 4 | 80/100[4] |
| Power Play | 76/100[5] |
Timeball was released as Blodia for the PC Engine in Japan on February 23, 1990.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Da raucht die Birne". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). May 1990. p. 42. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
- 1 2 Famibo, Tofuya; Mizuno, Bucho; Morishita, Mariko; TACO•X (March 2, 1990). "新作ゲームクロスレビュー" [New Games Cross Review]. Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 95. ASCII Corporation. p. 14.
- ↑ "発売直前 REVIEW 1/31~2/28". 月刊ＰＣエンジン (in Japanese). March 1990. p. 119. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Bloodia [sic]". Génération 4 (in French). No. 21. April 1990. p. 70. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Blodia". Power Play (in German). May 1990. p. 122. Retrieved August 1, 2026.