Game Boy World

Another journey into Game Boy obscurity, Taxan's Serpent is an updated take on the classic old Snake game that has appeared in countless variants through the years. To my knowledge, though, this is the only one that involves snake-seeking missiles and serpentine war robots.

[@J-52]

Items appear inside closed loops. Their exact placement is random, but you can make an effort to try and spawn more. Also, the missile and dagger affect the speed at which you die if you become trapped. If one side of your opponent is blocked by your tail, it can be tricky to keep them there if they are daggered, because they take longer to die, especially if they have used missiles on you.

[@JeremyParish]

+ChannelJ52 Man, I wish the manual had explained, like, any of that.

[@jacobyne]

Jeremy Parish You can also box the enemy snake inside you if you have enough size. If you circle it and close the box, you get an instant kill. The enemy can kill you this way too.
About the items, the bigger you are, the chances of getting more items is higher (110 being the biggest you can get and 20 the shortest). It's possible to spam items while in size 20 but it's difficult. White items make you bigger and dark ones make you smaller, they range from 2 - 9 with a special one, M, which can make you either grow to 110 size or instantly make you 20 size, depending on which color you get.
If I remember correctly (haven't played this in over 10 years), in the hardest modes (levels 1-4 on the right option), the enemy can "rewind" itself if boxed (he displaces his head to his other extremity) in order to escape being killed, which makes him much harder to kill. In level 3 and 4 those snake missiles appear on screen, bouncing around and if they hit you it's certain death after 3 seconds or so.
I think the correct translation for Kakomun Hebi is Snake war, that's what it was listed as in my cartridge.
Don't forget to warn people not to watch this in 60 fps since the game used a fickering techinque that alternated the snakes and background to be seen "at the same time" on the GB , making it hard to watch with the 60fps option.

[@FloatingSunfish]

Used to play this game as a kid and absolutely loved it.
The goofy facial expressions on the snakes as they neared exploding was also a nice touch.

[@H34D5H07]

I have played this game a lot on my gb. The 2 player vs is fun, as for the powerups the white ones make the snake longer while the black ones shorten it. The number on it is the decimal of length to be added or substracted. The current length is on top for both players. Anything with a symbol is a max length change. Boxing your snake makes powerups appear. Boxing your enemy in kills it with no 5 second delay. The second mode is faster, then third makes the enemy go to the tail when blocked. The fourth is the faster third mode. Then theres the leech mode - if a leech hits your snakes head youre done. Overall its like a difficulty ladder. Theres always a more challenging mode :-)

[@Mossydeerbones]

I love this freaking game. I've been actively waiting for your video on it a+

[@Hilipinapixili]

Out of all the games in my 36-in-one cart, this one was my absolute favorite. I played it SO much, probably twice as much as all the others combined (though admittedly there were quite a few stinkers in there).

[@Kafei2006]

That's it, that's the game I remember from that pirate cartridge all those years ago. Must admit I spent quite a bit of time playing through this. It was loads of fun for what it was, at a time and age when I didn't have much else to play.

[@clydefrosch]

me too.
was it a 101-in-1 cart? did it have most games multiple times, with stuff like unlimited lives/energy and such?

[@Doommaster1994]

While it's true, this game is based on the game Snake, this game in particular is actually based on the computer game Replicart, which was developed by Dual a few years earlier under their Klon name.

[@TonyTheTiger94]

I remember playing this game on a bootleg gameboy cartridge, good memories man the amount of times I die and have that damn fly buzzing over me.

[@clydefrosch]

how many games in one was yours?

[@clydefrosch]

of all the games on that old 101-in-1 bootleg, i probably played this and the tank game (battle city?) the most.
really wish some friend hadn't stolen this from me...

[@SocietyofSteve]

I'm going to have to get a screen grab of that "I have won the war" screen.

[@MyPhobo]

Does anyone else think he is talking about some kind of erotic karate when he says "Karateka?"

[@DragoonEnRegalia]

Missed your chance to make a Hitchhiker's Guide reference, JP.

[@MrJWTH]

Interestingly the strobe effect only appears when the video is at 60 FPS.

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, that's the point...

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

This is the furthest back were going?
Just you wait Jeremy. You'll be hitting Lunar Lander soon.

[@JeremyParish]

The best laid plans, man

[@tatertot64]

Someone must have commented this, but the Game and Watch Gallery games often let players use left as left, and A as right to simulate the original game hardware, where left and right inputs could be distinctly separate inputs on opposite sides of the screen. While it makes less sense with Serpent (maybe it's to remind you that you're essentially controlling a vehicle? But then that still doesnt quite explain left and A) analysis of legacy control options for Snake-likes might help explain this odd choice.

[@THEmuteKi]

Fascinating! Is the coloration from the Super GB the default palette the game loads? It's a rather appropriate one, IMO.

[@JeremyParish]

+the_muteKi No, the standard SGB palette is the red-brown one that shows up a lot. I switched over to this one because it seemed more fitting, as you say.

[@THEmuteKi]

Jeremy Parish ALL HAIL THE SUPER GAME BOY

[@Sp0UtDuDe03]

+the_muteKi No, no, you say it as, "SUPER GAME BOY RULES."

[@rowtow13]

I kind of want to play this.

[@j.r.goralczyk4182]

I agree man this looks fun

[@jojevismclain2475]

Jeremy, keep up the good work. do you know where I can find the original retronauts theme song? would take me back to that long commute to college!

[@160rpm]

WE ARE THE ALPHA FORCE.

[@hecosean]

I actually love the arcade version of snake and its variants. There was even a 2600 variant I used to own called Tapeworm. But this version doesn't sound too good as you said because the power ups seem misguided. Maybe speeding up an opponent is good for multiplayer but horrible for an AI opponent. Also thanks again for the 60 fps vid. The screen flashing effect is non existent without it. And is another small but meaningful reason why 60 FPS is great.

[@JeremyParish]

Sean697 The game wouldn't have become so ubiquitous if it weren't fun!

[@MistyeyedNStarrified]

I find Snafu for Intellivision to be the best of this type.

[@MetaBuddha]

looks like a nice twist on snake

[@josecn9251]

are another versions of this game for another systems or only for GB?. tHANKS.

[@goiabexp]

i found a copy of the japanese version at a flea market for 5 dollars

[@jamesmoss3424]

I will play serpent. 😀👍🎮

[@kaksikymmenta3]

I prefer Wit's and deLuxe Moposota.

[@remusmasterplaydohmakersbe8545]

I see a Tron

[@yerk55]

Oh man, you must have had a completely different experience with this game, not knowing how to attempt to spawn powerups.

[@elrincondelukas]

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