🐟 Blade Dash

A Game Boy Classic homebrew made for #GBRetroDev’25 — Heroes of Assembly 2

 

🎮 Description

Blade Dash is a high-speed marine shooter for the original Game Boy Classic (DMG-001). You play as Marlin, a brave swordfish swimming through the seven seas, slicing through danger and dodging the perils of the deep to reach the end of each ocean. Every level presents a new challenge — from drifting jellyfish and ink-throwing octopuses to deadly fishing hooks. Sharpen your fins and ride the current!

Developed entirely in GBZ80 Assembly using the GBTelera framework. This project represents our first playable demo and submission for the international #GBRetroDev 2025 competition.

⚙️ How to Play

Move, dash, and shoot your way through the seas! Collect shells to gain shields and break nets to free trapped fish for bonus points.

🎮 Controls

Action	Game Boy	Emulator / PC
Move Marlin	D-Pad (↑ ↓ ← →)	Arrow Keys
Shoot Water Blade	A Button	S Key
Switch Speed Mode (Cruise / Dash)	B Button	A Key
Start / Pause	START Button	Enter Key

💀 Enemies & Hazards

• Jellyfish (HP 1): Harmless unless touched — avoid the sting!
• Octopus (HP 2): Fires an ink projectile aimed at you.
• Fishing Hook (∞): Instant Game Over on contact — avoid at all costs.
• Nessy  (HP 1): The strongest being in the sea, speedy and deadly.  Can also manipulate the bullets be careful with the Killer Queen of the sea.

🎁 Special Items

• Fish Net: Break it to free trapped fish and gain +50 points.
• Shell: Grants +1 shield, allowing one extra hit — don’t shoot it!

👥 Authors & Licenses

Developed by:

• Mario Giménez López-Torres
  

• Marcos López Mira aka Soc Apaput
  

Studio: Plenly Playable (formerly known as Plainly Playable)

License: MIT License — Full source code included in the download section.

All assets and code are original creations by the authors unless otherwise specified.  

The opening quote is *inspired by* the fictional character **Amador Rivas** from the Spanish TV series *La que se avecina*, used as a humorous reference under fair-use inspiration context.

🧩 Third-Party Content

• Framework: GBTelera (MIT License)
• Music Driver: hUGEDriver (Public Domain)
• Music Tool: hUGETracker (Public Domain)
• Sound FX Editor: gbsfx-studio (MIT License)
• Graphics Tools: Game Boy Tile Designer & Map Builder (Public Domain)

📚 Resources

• Crea tus propios juegos para Game Boy by Alberto Rius Poveda
• Game Boy Coding Adventure by Maximilien Dagois
• Game Boy™ CPU Manual by DP — archive.org/GBCPUman
• Game Boy Development Manual by Nintendo — archive.org/GameBoyProgManVer1.1

💖 Acknowledgments

• Our professor Fran Gallego for inspiring and challenging us to master Game Boy assembly.
• Oddly Playable friends for creative support during development 🍔❤
• Nick Faro for his open-source tools.

🔧 Technical Details

Platform: Game Boy Classic (DMG-001) Cartridge type: MBC1 + RAM + BATTERY (32 KiB ROM / 8 KiB External SRAM) Language: GBZ80 Assembly (using GBTelera framework) Tested and verified on: - Original Game Boy Build version: v1.0 Demo (2025-31-10)

© 2025 Plenly Playable — All rights reserved | Created for #GBRetroDev’25