6) Adventures of Lolo
Last Title: Adventures of Lolo (Game Boy, 1995)
HAL Laboratory is perhaps best known for its excellent Kirby games, but the development studio is also responsible for the puzzle series Adventures of Lolo. The original NES Adventures of Lolo tasked players with guiding protagonist Lolo to solve a number of environmental puzzles to rescue Princess Lala. The goal was to collect all the hearts in each stage, which opened a treasure chest that in turn opened the door to the next room. Stages were littered with moveable blocks and items, as well as enemies of varying lethality that blocked Lolo’s way to the hearts. The game started easy enough, but the further the players progressed, the more taxing and tricky the puzzles became.
Adventures of Lolo games feel like a mix of Kirby and the Zelda series’ dungeons. Amping up the complexity of the puzzles, adding more variety to enemy types, and maybe even beefing up the combat a little would go a long way towards reinvigorating the franchise. To be clear, beefing up the combat doesn’t mean focusing more on it, just making it a little more visceral. The Adventure of Lolo series has a cerebral quality to it, as its clear during gameplay that the focus is on solving the environmental puzzles and not fighting. Incorporating a level editor of some sort to let fans in on the action would be another smart addition, especially if fan creations could be shared online. It’s a shame that this series has sat dormant for so long, as its charming characters and brain-teasing nature are a great combination.