New Game Plus - A Retro Gaming Podcast · New Game Plus

Episode 474: Wendy: Every Witch Way

·58 min·5 clips

Dustin reveals how Wendy's gravity-flipping mechanic transforms a simple platformer into a puzzle adventure.

This episode features hosts Dustin, Kenny, Charlie, and Nolan discussing the 2001 Game Boy Color platformer *Wendy: Every Witch Way*. The hosts debate the best video game names, with suggestions including *Contra Hard Corps*, *Metal Gear Solid*, and *Final Fantasy*. They introduce *Wendy: Every Witch Way* as an action-platformer developed by WayForward and based on a character from the Casper franchise. The game's core mechanic allows Wendy to reverse gravity, letting her walk on ceilings to solve puzzles and navigate levels. Players collect stars that serve as health, points, and upgrades for Wendy's wand, increasing its spread shot. The game features four worlds with 16 levels, including bonus side-scrolling shooter stages where Wendy rides her broom. Enemies include slugs, shield-carrying pigs, and late-game foes that can control gravity themselves. A surprising insight is that the game cleverly integrates its gravity-flipping into nearly every puzzle and enemy interaction, avoiding repetitive design. The hosts note the game's visual polish and readable level design, especially impressive for the Game Boy Color's small screen. They criticize the lack of boss fights and the short length, as the game can be completed in under an hour. The hosts express disappointment that the "Hard Mode" only shortens level timers instead of adding new challenges. They appreciate that the game stands independently from its Casper license, feeling like a neutral, whimsical adventure. The soundtrack is deemed mid, with one dungeon track particularly grating, and sound effects that interrupt the music. The tone is conversational and analytical, blending nostalgic critique with genuine appreciation for clever game design. The hosts engage in humorous tangents, like debating space gravity and childhood mirror games. This episode will appeal to retro gaming enthusiasts and fans of puzzle-platformers or hidden gem handheld titles. Listeners seeking deep narrative analysis or modern game coverage might want to skip it.

As heard by us

A gravity-flip game chat with real design teeth under the jokes.

New Game Plus treats Wendy like a compact design problem with a sharp edge. Most of the discussion stays on how the gravity-flip mechanic changes each room: spikes jump from floor to wall, platforms force awkward choices, and later enemies start using the same rule back on the…

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Why you'd press play

If you like platformers that keep turning gravity into the puzzle, start here.

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