Nester's Funky Bowling

A long time ago a spunky little boy named Nester ruled the pages of the American Nintendo Power magazine's comic section. Conceited as ever, Nester is breaking into the new genre of video games with the first Virtual Boy bowling game.

Shine your shoes and buff your ball, you're going bowling! Nester and his twin sister, Hester, treat you to a fantastic game of knock-the-pins-down. This 3D bowling experience is fast paced and red hot. Both bowlers are competitive and very involved in their games. You'll agree as you witness some of their Funky expressions. The only question is: are you up to the challenge?

I think they should have at least put in a comic intro to compliment Nester's past, but alas the extremely funny in-game animations make more than up for it. Top stuff when you see how much Hester and Nester gesture and put up funky expressions after you've thrown the ball! Some are 2D others 3D, but most notable some of those animations even come with crystal clear voice samples, who have a nice American accent to them. (Editors Note: most Americans do not sound like Nester OR Hester, thank you very much).

In this game you get to choose from three different soundtracks which you'll hear while bowling. But ultimately you'll get enough of the music when you try to concentrate on throwing a strike, thankfully there is an option to turn the soundtrack off.

It's nice to see the game follows the all the laws of bowling and keeps a frame-by-frame scoring, for the novices. You'll also get plenty of options to set to your own liking. Including the 1 Player or 2 Players modes; Challenge mode, and much more! Just before the game you can enter your name, select your player, choose with handed you are (left- or right), and even select the weight of your ball!

The most fun option of all is that the game has a 1-2 alternating players option, so you and a friend can compete against each other. This is a welcome change from the lone time behind your Virtual Boy without others knowing what the heck you're doing.

The player, bowling ball, and pin movements are all as fluid as they would be for real. A big thumbs up for all the perfectly performed 3D positioning and environment, even though it comes down to just that one bowling alley. But in the end you have to love the sweet sound of a strike! And THAT'S what you will want to come back for. Hope you win that cup.

In short Nesters Bowling is definitely a worthwhile game for bowlers, and even those not into bowling. Funky Bowling with Nester & Hester is as funky as bowling can get ... I think it's only funky fun for a funky little while, but a funky little while at that.