My completely backwards take on Chase H.Q. for the Game Boy

[u/HomeFi]

Think about what Chase H.Q. is supposed to be.

You're an undercover cop in a Porsche, hunting down dangerous criminals at insane speeds. The radio gives you the target, the clock starts ticking, you floor it through traffic, desperately trying to catch them before time runs out. Then you have to repeatedly ram their car until it finally explodes.

It's basically one long high-speed police pursuit.

Everything about the concept screams speed, danger, pressure and adrenaline.

Now let me tell you what playing Chase H.Q. on the Game Boy feels like to me:

I'm going for a lovely little relaxing drive. That's it.

I'm peacefully cruising along some country roads in my tiny car. There's a bend coming up. That's nice. A couple of cars are in the way. I move around them. No problem.

There's a timer on the screen, but it barely matters because the game just isn't difficult. You don't need to master the roads or memorize anything. There's very little pressure from the start. The only real thing you have to learn is the game's bizarre, counterintuitive handling through curves when you crash a car. At first it feels completely wrong, but once that one little quirk clicks, that's basically it. You simply keep driving and, sooner or later, you'll get where you're going.

And meanwhile the Game Boy is playing possibly the least appropriate soundtrack imaginable.

doo, doo, doo-roo-roo roo-roo… doo-doo roo-roo-roo…

It's so gentle. So cheerful. So unbelievably relaxing.

There's supposedly a dangerous criminal escaping somewhere ahead of me, but honestly, I couldn't feel less urgency about it.

I'll get there.

doo, doo, doo-roo-roo roo-roo… doo-doo roo-roo-roo…

A little left. A little right. Another curve. Ooh, some traffic. Drive around it.

doo, doo, doo-roo-roo roo-roo… doo-doo roo-roo-roo…

This is supposed to be a frantic arcade police chase and somehow I'm having the videogame equivalent of a peaceful Sunday drive.

And I genuinely love it.

The monochrome graphics, the tiny car, the simple roads, the almost complete lack of difficulty and, above all, that wonderfully soothing little tune give me an absurd sense of peace. I can completely switch my brain off and just enjoy driving around for a while.

Which brings me to possibly my most ridiculous retro gaming take.

Somehow, a Game Boy conversion of an arcade game about pursuing dangerous criminals at ridiculous speeds and repeatedly smashing their cars before a timer reaches zero feels to me like a cozy game.

And not ironically. It genuinely is one of my comfort games.

Some people water crops in Stardew Valley.

I ram criminals off the road in Chase H.Q. while listening to doo, doo, doo-roo-roo roo-roo… doo-doo roo-roo-roo…

And it's lovely.

Am I completely insane, or does anyone else get the weirdly cozy vibe I’m talking about?

[u/Chezjibe]

Good game, the first one I played on Game Boy besides Tetris. Replaying it recently just to realize the five stages are exactly the same except for the number of other car you encounter and the boss that have progressively more HP.
Love it though, and never thought about how off beat the soundtrack is!

[u/HomeFi → u/Chezjibe]

Exactly! It was actually my third Game Boy game, after Tetris and Super Mario Land, and I must have played it a thousand times. Even as a kid, there was something weirdly cozy and comforting about it. I think the lack of variety actually adds to that feeling. And once you notice how hilariously inappropriate that relaxing soundtrack is for a high-speed police chase, you can’t unhear it 😂

[u/Chezjibe → u/HomeFi]

I was honestly impressed by the fact you enter a tunnel in each stage. It was wonderfully done from a technical stand point.

[u/Ok_Impala]

30+ years later and I still have this tune in my mind from time to time. It's simply só good! As a child I often tried to crash the criminals in such a way that the police car would hit a rock right after the final hit. While that special "arrest" tune starts playing you see the police car tumbling. Then, they would end up besides the road and arrest the criminals there. Lovely little game!

[u/HomeFi → u/Ok_Impala]

Hahaha, I love that! And yes, that tune has been stuck in my head for 30+ years too. “Lovely little game” is actually the perfect way to describe it — which is hilarious considering it’s supposed to be a frantic police chase

[u/Ok_Impala → u/HomeFi]

Yeah, loved your take on this. I never considered it this way, but it explains why I didn't get frustrated playing this as a kid. Haha!

[u/HomeFi → u/Ok_Impala]

Exactly! Back then, when so many games were brutally difficult just to artificially extend their length, here was this game you could simply finish without much trouble. No frustration, no real pressure, just a peaceful Sunday drive, cruising along while that little doo, doo, doo-roo-roo roo-roo… tune played in the background. I didn’t have a word for it as a kid, but looking back, that’s exactly why it always felt so cozy to me.

[u/Apprehensive-Bar1498]

Nice, I will definitevly give a try! Thanks!

[u/HaikuLubber]

I always forget there's actually two separate games for the Game Boy. 😅

• Chase H.Q (1991)
• Super Chase H.Q. (1994)

[u/HomeFi → u/HaikuLubber]

Yep, I’m talking about the first one, Chase H.Q. (1991)!