🛏️ Received: June 1st, 2020 🛏️
🛏️ Written: July 24th-August 14th, 2024 🛏️
(As played on Game Boy Player)
Year: 1997, 1998 | Developed by: Fernando Velez et Guillaume DubailPublished by: Infogrames
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Image from MobyGames
In 1990, there was a French video game firm called Digital Concept which was founded by the late Fernando Velez and Guillaume Dubail. The first game they worked on together was
Screengrabbed while watching AL82 Retrogaming Longplays' Amiga (QHD) Longplay video on YouTube
Jim Power in Mutant Planet, a run and gun platforming Amiga title that came out in 1992, in conjunction with French co-developer Loriciel. Following Jim Power's release, both Velez and Dubail ended up going their separate ways for the next few years.
During his time apart from Dubail, Velez briefly lent his programming talents to Ocean Software for the Nintendo Game Boy versions of Mr. Nutz and Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues. Come 1996, the two would team up again and start developing games together under their own names Fernando Velez et Guillaume Dubail, effectively replacing their Digital Concept moniker. Among the games they worked on were Lucky Luke, V-Rally: Championship Edition/Edition '99, the Game Boy Color adaptation of Wacky Races, and the Game Boy Advance versions of Stuntman, Astérix & Obélix XXL, and Driv3r.
Image from MobyGames
In 2002, the duo would rename their company as Velez & Dubail Dev. Team and would rename their firm again in 2007 as VD-dev. During the Summer of 2016, Fernando Velez sadly passed away at the age of 46, leaving behind his work partner of more than a quarter of a century. Rest in peace, Mr. Velez.
Images from GameFAQs
in 1997. The following year work went underway to translate it to the Game Boy Color, which would see a release in North American shores on February 28th, 1999 but as an exclusive to Nintendo's latest colorful handheld system. Europe would also see a Game Boy Color edition of The Smurfs' Nightmare in 2000. Developed and designed by Velez and Dubail, produced by Bruno Bonnell, Lionel Arnaud, and Erwan Kergall (exclusively for the Game Boy Color version) with Edith Protiere serving as production unit, sometimes this game would be referred to as simply "The Smurfs 3". With The Smurfs Travel the World (itself sometimes alluded to as "The Smurfs 2") not seeing a North American release in any official capacity, the copyright information would remove "The Smurfs 3" outside of Europe.
Left: Sausage with legs | Right: Pushing a jar with a bouncy cap to the edge of the shelf
In the sidescrolling action-platformer The Smurfs' Nightmare you once again take control of Hefty Smurf from the first '90s game whom you can move left and right, duck down, jump up in the air with the B button instead of the A button, weirdly enough, which is instead reserved for when you stand in front of a door of a Smurf's house or a friendly animal or a well or a dam in order to access the level (provided you have the required item that allows you to
Left: Contending with Smurf-like enemies inhabiting each of the six troubled Smurfs' nightmares | Right: Get rid of those strawberries (in the correct order) to grab the carrot so you can use it to feed the rabbit 🥕
access it) and in specific levels activating a lever while beside it. Through the course of each level there are sarsaparilla leaves for you to gather, small energy fruit flasks to replenish your lost health by one, nettle juice bottles to momentarily render Hefty invincible, freezing potions to stop all enemy activity for a few seconds (and be able to walk past them without losing health so long as they're frozen in place), and should you search thoroughly enough
Left: Swinging | Right: Avoiding being jabbed by a fork's tines
you will find a heart that will augment your health capacity by one (and refill all your lost health in the process). Present throughout are also a large assortment of Jokey Smurf's gifts which you can unveil by jumping up from under it, for which they might reveal either points or a very helpful temporarily helpful items that last a handful of seconds like bubbles which you can ride up or a set of wings that will allow you to fly or spring shoes that will bounce you
Left: Hopping and bopping on bouncing strawberries 🍓 | Right: Riding up on a bubble
high in the air. Due to Jokey's playful nature, you may want to consider moving out of the way should the gift reveal a bomb lest you wish to sustain damage from it after it drops down. You'll notice that the more sarsaparilla leaves you collect, the more the gauge in the HUD will gradually fill itself up, and that is because it will eventually affect Hefty's jumping capability that enables him to reach high places that a normal jump won't allow.
Left: Once the end of nightmare Smurf enemy has been defeated, a door will open up to take you back outside | Right: A friendly bunny rabbit
By collecting anywhere from 16 to 30 of these sarsaparilla leaves, you'll be able to perform a double jump, and should you have 31 or more you'll be able to perform a triple jump, with each subsequent jump helping you gain more altitude than the last. From time to time you'll have to contend with enemy activity, most of whom can be eliminated by jumping on top of them with the exception of the quill-heavy porcupines and sentient flames with mischievous
Left: Mushroom bounce | Right: Water's about to rise
grins. The levels that take place inside the Smurfs' houses are each divided in two separate parts, with the first half culminating in procuring a helpful item or a key that will allow access to the next segment and the second half culminating in a semi-boss battle where you have to jump on them a specific number of times before they vanish thereby alleviating the current
Left: Running underneath a fly | Right: The key is in sight, grab it to return to the Smurf Village
simple three-character password which you'll be given again after clearing every three levels from then on, which is set up differently depending on whether you play the game on easy or on hard mode. Should you lose a life you'll be taken back to the beginning of the level (or segment when inside a Smurf's house) with your sarsaparilla leaf gauge and count reset to zero, and true to '90s Infogrames The Smurfs fashion, losing your last life will bring you back to the title screen for there are no continues of any kind.
Left: Taking down a haunted book | Right: Rook to D-4 ♟️
The visuals in The Smurfs' Nightmare look very solid and appealing to the eye, boosting a vibrant color palette for each respective level and playing field with a fine level of detail here and there. I love how the ground of the Smurf Village scrolls with three individually paced layers when moving left and right, making for a visually immersive parallax scrolling effect with a nice shot of the moon in the star-studded night backdrop, and I like the simple line scrolling effects for the clouds and the dirt at the top of the screen in the rabbit and mole's
Left: Welp, guess Hefty hasn't listened to the late Jimmy Buffett's (RIP, king) "Don't Bug Me" from the end credits of Frank Marshall's Arachnophobia 🕷️ | Right: Hop and bop and tumble
burrow levels. Greedy Smurf's nightmare is delicacy-themed with food splatters and kitchen tools hanging on the wall, I love the subtle bubbles flowing upward and the wavy seaweed in the bottomless well's waters, I like the mountainous backdrop and the straw huts in Astrosmurf's nightmare, I like the flames of the fire lighting the wall and fireplace in Shy Smurf's nightmare, and Handy Smurf's nightmare has got a collection of hand tools adorning its walls. Hefty Smurf is solidly designed in this particular Game Boy iteration and appears to
Left: I got the rope 🪢 | Right: Be weary of the ink spilling from its never-ending supply bottle
have been modeled after how he looked in the first 16-bit The Smurfs platformer as far as the primary set of sprites are concerned (with his standing pose holding his hands behind his back happily looking at the screen as well as his walking and jumping animations), but he does sport a set of new animations this time around for when he's tumbling forward after jumping on enemies if not after having completely performed a triple jump, pushing, swinging, floating inside a bubble, swimming underwater, pedaling on top of a space vehicle,
Left: Take heart, young Smurf 🩵 | Right: Bouncing diagonally across from a spiderweb
and flapping his wings with a majestic sense of grace and fluidity. He still looks endearing and animates in a very solid manner, and he disappears in a puff of smoke should he lose his last bit of health. The rabbit and mole that Hefty ride on have also got very nicely articulated running animations as they run on all fours. The enemy roster is also well-designed and most who can be disposed of will go out in a puff of smoke as well, like sentient sausages with legs, pesky flies, creepy crawly spiders whose leg animation is remarkably fluid, haunted
Left: Don't dawdle too long while in the water and hope that Jokey's gifts contain an air bubble to replenish the meter | Right: Fish
books that fly about facing the ground, intimidating-looking fish, sentient flames perpetually grinning mischievously that bob left and right, porcupines, and mechanical bugs. Special mention goes to the nightmare enemies who closely resemble Smurfs only their disposition is in the service of Gargamel, for there are four different kinds (well, five if you count the one hiding under a large Viking helmet): the red ones with horns, bat wings, and a pointy tail who either wear a chef's hat and apron or appear with a normal Phrygian cap on, indigenous
Left: While riding against the current on top of a friendly turtle be sure to properly navigate around those spiked balls along the way | Right: Sarsaparilla leaves galore
tribesmen in grass skirts who occasional roll into a ball back and forward, and ones fully clad in armor. Depending on the theme of the level based on the Smurf's nightmare, each and every one of them will throw a different kind of projectile towards you that it is of utmost imperativeness that you jump over with enough time: for example, in Brainy Smurf's nightmare the red Smurf lobs heads from a fountain pen at you, in Astrosmurf's nightmare
Left: Roller | Right: Jump inside a crater and you'll find yourself skyrocketed upward
the indigenous Smurf-like enemies will throw clubs at you, in Handy Smurf's nightmare the red Smurf enemies will throw hammers, and in Papa Smurf's nightmare the red Smurfs will attempt to attack you with test tubes. Upon completing the game you get to see Gargamel having a taste of his own medicine as he sweats in bed suffering from nightmares, and you get to see his cat Azrael too... well, his backside, at least.
Left: Behind you! | Right: Pole swinging on top of the mysterious planet's lava, good thing he only descends and rotates slowly down
The Smurfs' Nightmare's music was composed by Alberto José Gonzalez Pedraza on behalf of Bit Managers, making this the second time he was involved in crafting music for The Smurfs since the first 8-bit Infogrames incarnation (having not been involved in Virtual Studio's The Smurfs Travel the World). Like he had done previously, he manages to dial the sound quality up to eleven for this game thereby creating a very impressive Game Boy soundtrack in the process. The title theme based on the late Hoyt Curtin's "La La Song" once
Left: Jump from disintegrating cheese platform to disintegrating cheese platform above boiling lava | Right: Cautiously move about whenever you walk underneath an oncoming meteor shower
again sounds incredible but alters the melody a little bit by adding a resonant tone therein so to make it stand out from the title theme of the first game, the Smurf Village theme sounds simultaneously relaxing and enthralling with its invitingly bouncy melody, the kitchen of danger theme has got a fun carnival vibe going for it, the rabbit ride theme is endearingly spry with a reasonably quick and fun tempo, the library of fear theme sounds appropriately creepy and atmospheric, I like how the flood wave theme sounded like a slower rendition of
Left: Pedal-pedal-pedal-pedal | Right: Indigenous Smurf
the boss theme from the first game but added more of a sense of a highly imposing threat to the melody, the enchanted theme has got a menacingly classical and atmospheric vibe, the mole's burrow theme sounds relentlessly urgent-sounding, and the laboratory of hell theme is so strange and bizarre but is nonetheless still fascinating to listen to. Some of my favorite themes from this game are the bottomless well theme which has got a slow tempo and is beautifully composed perfectly complementing the waters Hefty is swimming in, the
Left: Use those springs to temporarily get you high up above the ground | Right: This game's visuals are good, but that flood wave might be the weakest of The Smurfs' Nightmare's visuals in my opinion--the wave design itself is fine, but it is just a static object that haphazardly moves 🌊
mysterious planet theme sounds absolutely breathtaking which does a very good job at immersing you with its wonder-filled melody augmenting the atmosphere in space and is arguably the most impressive theme in this game, the workshop theme is quirkily bouncy and catchy, and the ending credits theme is such a liberating piece to listen to once Gargamel's scheme has been foiled to the point that it sounds completely refreshing. The sound effects are solid, too, like the spring-like sound for Hefty's jumps, the encouraging cues for whenever a sarsaparilla leaf or special item is collected, the audible bop sound any time you jump off an enemy, and the boom of the bombs that land on the ground, et al.
Left: Just procured a pair of wings that momentarily allows Hefty to soar to new heights, albeit a bit slowly 🪽 | Right: Movement controls are reversed so long as Hefty is gray because of that damn fly 🪰
The Smurfs' Nightmare was a game I was aware of when I was younger, though I forget if I first learned of it on an advertising pamphlet or mini-booklet that came with a Game Boy Color game which featured the image of its cover art and one screenshot from the game proper or if I learned about it on a random screenshot-based website on the internet.
Left: Precariously jumping from moving bouncy shield to moving bouncy shield | Right: With correct timing, hop over the enemy Smurf shielding himself inside a large Viking helmet
However it was that I learned of it, I wasn't really that interested and it wasn't a title I was rushing to try out. That changed in 2020, when I felt a strong fondness for the 16-bit The Smurfs platformer that I played on the Microsoft Windows computer as a kid to the point that I wanted to replay it so bad but none of the 16-bit takes got released in North America.
Left: "You killed my brethren, now stay where you are while I pay you back in kind!" | Right: Gliding
being a pleasant game to play in its own right. One thing I appreciate about each of The Smurfs platformer is that they each tried their own thing: the first game had a simple straightforward approach, the second game (even though I wasn't as receptive to it as far as the 16-bit incarnation was concerned) was a collect-a-thon that had a globetrotting aspect with areas that varied from open-ended to straightforward, and this third installment has got
Left: Dancing flames | Right: Ducking
a mini-hub in the form of the Smurf Village where access to each new segment hinged upon you having a key or outside of that a carrot for the rabbit, rope for the well, a hammer for the dam, and a pair of spectacles for the mole. Hefty Smurf has got a moderate sense of pace in regard to his movements and jumps, for you cannot run like you could in the past games (the closest you get to doing so is after consuming a nettle juice bottle for a few seconds), which
Left: Mindfully operating a bench vise in order to cross the wide gap | Right: With the freezing potion, you can momentarily stop the mallet activity and safely get across without sustaining damage (but only when they're frozen)
might be a bit awkward at first what with the B button being used to jump (in a handheld format where usually jumping is assigned to the A button) but after a while you begin to get into the swing of things and become acclimated to it. The Smurfs' Nightmare has got a mixture of levels that are open-ended and straightforward, and in order to familiarize yourself with the layout (especially since losing a life will send you back to the start) there's
Left: Flier v Fly | Right: Operating the claw to pick up those glasses
going to be a bit of trial and error involved, though in the case of this platformer I do think it's worth it. It isn't necessary to collect every single sarsaparilla leaf there is (though it can be done), but you do need just enough in order to reach higher ground that normal jumps cannot afford you with either double jumps (once you accrue 16) or triple jumps (after gaining 31) when the situation calls for it. The enemies do have a tendency to alternate
Left: Hopping and bopping over a mechanical insect | Right: Hanging on
between moving left and right, but not to the point where it's hard to time your jumps on top of them or to clear away from them altogether if you can. I like the multitude of gameplay scenarios you get to undergo for this game: swinging on poles (upward in Greedy Smurf's nightmare and down in Astrosmurf's nightmare), walking under and carefully maneuvering yourself out of the receiving end of giant forks hopping from side to side, pushing Smurf-like
Left: "Smurf you!!!" | Right: It's a simple design choice for a Smurf enemy, really, but it works (even if they do essentially amount to a palette swap of Hefty but with minor modifications so they don't 100% look and act like him)
chess pawns one spot over to turn over a book gaining access to the next or secret part of the level, pushing an anchor to either disable or turn on the water current, riding on top of a turtle who musters enough energy to fight against the current pushing down, jumping on craters which will spring you high above, jumping from cheese platform to cheese platform which begins to disintegrate once you step on it, running away from a flood wave as you
Left: Dissolving platform | Right: Jump over that grinning bobbing ball of flame
precariously jump on a fly to clear a gap with ample timing and occasionally grab spring shoes to spring yourself up to gain more traction and reach sarsaparilla leaves that are placed up high, grabbing a pair of wings to fly to upper regions in a slow manner for the short amount of time that you have them, jumping on either end of a bench vise lever in order to either bring the movable jaw toward you or away from you and positioning it in a sufficient
Left: When the ground rises, be careful where you run | Right: Beware geysers, too
enough manner that will enable you to cross the wide gap without fail (my favorite of the gameplay scenarios in this game, honestly), and encasing yourself in and hopping from bubble to bubble that begin to float upward from a large potion, et al. I also like the detour from the normal platforming formula as you ride the rabbit and later on the mole, being mindful of the surroundings as you must maneuver them carefully when either the water or the ground rises up and then lowers itself down again. Swimming is a breeze in this game and is pretty fun but unlike The Smurfs Travel the World where you could breathe
Left: Welcome to Papa Smurf's nightmare, the laboratory of hell | Right: Wait for the giant test tubes to bounce upward before moving across
underwater indefinitely, for this game you need to open up the odd Jokey's gift in the hopes that there is a bubble to prolong your time in the watery depths for there is a bubble meter that gradually decreases with each moment spent. The one enemy type that is annoying is the fly if you mistime your jump on top of it or if it touches you, for should it come to that then Hefty will become neurologically confused turning him into a shade of gray with reversed side controls for the next several seconds until it wears off (one moment in Shy Smurf's nightmare might test your patience as there's a fly situated on top of a stone
Left: Bubbly brew 🫧 | Right: Contending with two different Smurf enemies
structure sandwiched by a couple spinning platforms, so be sure not to fall otherwise you have to go through all that again). There are two difficulty modes, easy and hard, with very minimal differences: in the latter difficulty you begin with half as many lives as you start with on the former difficulty, normal enemies take twice as many jumps to take out (literally two on hard mode), and on hard mode they respawn at an unforgivingly quick rate after being ousted (so be sure to not stand in the same spot for too long after that happens, or when backtracking to that spot be weary of their reemergence so try not to be too quick lest you
Left: Smoke | Right: Hopping over a tossed test tube
want to sustain damage because you were caught unawares). In four of the levels (the rabbit ride, bottomless well, flood wave, and the mole's burrow) the differences between difficulty aren't really going to be noticed, and the bosses (if they can even be called that) at the end of each Smurf's nightmare require the same amount of hops and bops in order to take out in both modes. Essentially they are like the Smurf enemies you've faced on the way to the end, the only difference is that these final ones have a stronger resilience against you and they toss their projectile in an angled manner as opposed to a straight line, and disappointingly their
Left: Standing on top of a faced down jar acting like a rocket | Right: Move the pestle to open up a path
strategy is so simple and is the same for each one (jump on top of them, duck from their angled projectile, wait until the space above you is clear, jump on top but in the opposite direction, rinse and repeat until they're gone) but for each new nightmare you are required to land one more hit on these final Smurf foes than the last. The Smurfs' Nightmare is one of those games where the level leading up to the boss is considerably more challenging than the boss that you fight, though in the case of this game I wish a little more effort was put into those fights. Fortunately, the Jokey gifts that contain either the bubble or the pair of wings respawn as well after you used them previously, and on the whole I found this outing to be fun while it lasted despite some of the issues I might have with it.
It doesn't help any that my personal copy crashes in a couple of its levels, plus I think it says something that this sequel wasn't converted to as many formats as the first 16-bit The Smurfs was
Virtual Studio's The Smurfs Travel the World, while I applaud it for trying to be different than the prior platformer and commending some of its ideas, I felt was a disappointing way to cap off Infogrames' 16-bit run of The Smurfs games (my understanding is that the 8-bit game is the superior one). Considering how fairly late it arrived on the SNES and MegaDrive formats in 1996, I don't believe Infogrames was going to chance a third venue on either 16-bit console. I'm happy Peyo's characters got another chance on the Game Boy (later the Game Boy Color), which was still thriving, with The Smurfs' Nightmare and I'm also happy that it ended up getting a North American release like Bit Managers' The Smurfs before it.
Left: Taken damage | Right: With Papa Smurf effectively assuaged of his nightmare, thanks to the brave deeds of Hefty Smurf, he uses his newly acquired potion to give that dastardly Gargamel a taste of his own medicine
In a number of ways, it feels like The Smurfs' Nightmare tried to incorporate what worked best from the first two Infogrames licenses with the simple goal of reaching the exit and the inclusion of open-ended area design layouts for a good chunk of it and weaved these things into this installment with new gameplay elements introduced. While I don't think it holds a candle to either the 8-bit Bit Managers Game Boy game or the first 16-bit Sega MegaDrive game developed by Virtual Studio, I do think this third '90s action-platforming Infogrames distributed The Smurfs game is fairly successful on its own merit and to me makes up for the second game. For as moderately paced as this game is, which admittedly might not be to everyone's taste, I think it does Peyo's license proud and is a solid hour-plus bundle of lighthearted and endearing Franco-Belgian slice of fun while it lasts.
My Personal Score: 7.0/10
● When I first played this game in 2020 I had a feeling, given the North American copy I own, based on the cloud screen that it would be used for the screen that states that it can only be played on the Game Boy Color when inserted on a monochromatic Game Boy or on the Super Game Boy peripheral cartridge on the Nintendo 16-bit console.
● Seriously, it is weird how this game goes about its password system with you being given the first one after clearing the first level, which would imply that you'd be getting one after beating each level, only to actually be given a new password after clearing every three levels after the fact. It's truly very odd.
● For those who are curious, there is a level skip code: on the title screen press left, up, down, down, right, up, left, then after either starting a new game or continuing your progress via password, should you feel the need to skip over to the next level simply press the Select button.
● Been working on this review and the review for Bit Managers' The Smurfs pretty much in tandem, so that I get to publish them on the same day. Taken a lot out of me, let me tell you... 😵💫
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