Disclaimer: Please note, The Chromatic by ModRetro has ties to controversial figure Palmer Luckey. NINWR LLC feels it is important to cover this software, but we do not condone the actions or opinions of any individuals involved in its production.

Outside of the Beatmania series, especially outside of Japan, the Game Boy never really had any presence in the rhythm game genre. So color me surprised when 35 years after the original release of the Game Boy not only does a rhythm game come along for Game Boy, it is perhaps one of the most impressive Game Boy games I’ve ever played. Chantey managed to nail down its unique gameplay and tone and present an epic-feeling pirate adventure that makes your rock on the Caribbean seas.

As the sole survivor of a shipwreck because of an enormous Kraken, you are rescued by Captain Angus Greaves. Angus is the great grandson of the legendary Nathaniel Greaves, who sailed the seas with his mighty Tome of the Mariner’s Rhymes, which were said to be powerful enough to win any battle. However, the rhymes were torn out of the Tome and scattered across the Carribean. After you sign on to be part of Angus’ crew you set out to complete the tome and become a legendary pirate in your own rite.

In general Chantey is a top-down adventure game. You travel with your ship across the seas and visit ports across the islands. The game feels fairly expansive, with multiple towns that each have their own struggles and problems. It is amazing at times with how visually striking this world feels. From its storybook cutscenes with some very impressive sprite art, to the way in which the islands feel visually distinct and vibrant. As you try and track down the pages of the Tome, you will run into a cast of characters that are scheming to try and become the most powerful pirate in the region. This can often lead to a battle, which doesn’t involve shoot-outs or swordfights, but rather metal clashing in another way.

At its core Chantey is a rhythm game in a similar fashion to Guitar Hero or Donkey Konga. Buttons scroll down the screen and it is your job to hit them at the right time. The left and right D-pad and the A and B buttons are used in order from left to right. Taken on its face, the gameplay isn’t necessarily inventive or tries to subvert the genre, such as games like Elite Beat Agents or Rhythm Paradise. However, seeing this all come together on Game Boy is quite an astonishing feat. The Game Boy has been home to some of the best chiptune artists for the past 35 years and you can feel this experience in the soundtrack while you fight out your battles. Pirate metal blasting in chiptune style from the speakers never gets old, which is saying something as one of the first fights you're playing is a rendition of Drunken Sailor that fits the system and game just perfectly.

The fights here are especially the highlight, but I found a lot of the writing and worldbuilding to be excellent as well. It feels refreshing for a game this visually impressive to not resort to stats and inventory management. You can take on small tasks such as delivering cargo between islands to earn some additional cash but can also recruit new crew members to grow your band of pirates. These pirates come in handy as their loyalty increases your effectiveness in battle and decreases the bar for clearing the ’hype meter’. You can even build out your own hideout and customize it in the way you see fit on an abandoned island. It is so rare to see such a lively world in a Game Boy title. I will say that there are some quirks, like only being able to save at taverns and a stealth section that really didn’t work for me. But those are really just nitpicks for an otherwise excellent title.

Chantey is such an ambitious title and unlike earlier ModRetro releases, this one absolutely sticks the landing. It’s a fun adventure game that is interwoven with the rhythm gameplay in such a natural way that I just wanted to explore everything the islands had to offer. Graphically it runs incredibly smooth on original hardware and that soundtrack is really an all-timer with some fantastic pirate-metal coming out of those soundchips. It’s not just an easy recommendation for Game Boy fans, but a must-have for any Game Boy collection that will hopefully be talked about alongside the classic catalogue of the Game Boy.