GBA And this is why I love The Sims: Bustin' Out

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Let's rewind a little...

The year was 2005, and an adorably smol Sammy had just discovered a mother lode of GBA ROMs ready for grabbing somewhere on the back pages of her Yahoo! search.

Now, because Sammy knew very little about this whole "gaming" thing (being eleven and all), she went for what she knew... which is why she went buzzword-hunting like a good little drone without free will, already alarmingly conditioned to follow brands and logos like a wolf follows a scent.

This resulted in her blatantly ignoring games she couldn't place (the hell was a "Klonoa"?) and actively seeking the "Bayblades", "Medabots", and "Pokemons" of the handheld universe.

The game that made her squeal like a piglet at the sight of fresh mud, though? "The Sims: Bustin' Out", a gloriously in-your-face offering that seemed to outshine the dozens of ROMs around it.

As a kid, I knew all about The Sims, but I could never play the damn thing because my parents would only buy games if all of us agreed we'd enjoy them... and that was simply not gonna happen in this household, not with my older sister wanting to play shoot-'em-ups and old-school platformers and my younger one not liking video games at all. I was basically laughed out of the room (by both my parents and siblings) when I proposed spending a mini fortune on a game about... virtual lives? I'm sure they thought I meant a Tamagotchi, but the rejection hurt.

Whatever, this was my revenge!

And to say I loved this thing would be the understatement of the century — I played "Bustin' Out" so much that my sister and I nearly came to blows over ownership of the "hot seat" (AKA: the computer), with me spending nearly every waking moment on it, guarding my Sims like the statue of a Golden Retriever and her getting angry at not being able to gossip and chit-chat with her friends (and, yeah, hook-ups) online.

It was... interesting.

I spent nearly a month addicted to this thing, painstakingly questing and keeping a red and tired eye on all those annoying meters that my character utterly depended on to function, getting to know the town and its inhabitants more and more with every hour I sunk into the game, until I began feeling like yet another member of their society. It was quite the fulfilling experience for not-even-tween me.

Sadly, the novelty (and my patience for mini-games) eventually wore off, but damn! I still love the hell out of it and continue to fire it up once in a while just to dick around the virtual town and insult Uncle Hayseed like my younger self so thoroughly enjoyed doing.

Have you played this thing? If so, do you love it just as much as I did/do?

 

[JustLooking123]

I haven't played it yet... but i was always curious about it!
I like to know more about it!

 

[Unassuming_Spook]

Oh yes, I played this. It's an awesome game. The first time I played it I was babysitting a couple girls and one of them owned a GBA with Bustin' Out. The kid who owned it sat on the sofa playing it, she wanted to show me what the game was all about. It got me curious and so I took over her GBA (what she called Game Girl) and started getting hooked. I played a bit of Sims 1 at that time so I was pretty familiar with it.

 

[Appiplyer]

yeah i also love bustin out but since i'm still the little power hungry Appi i remember i just spent my time grinding stat instead of completing the quest so i never really beaten the game yet lol.

Still i would prefer the Sims 2 if it was for the GBA '>'

 

[ArchienineZXAdventArchienineZXAdvent's icon]

Out of context, the title of the game is pretty weird

 

[Appiplyer]

Out of context, the title of the game is pretty weird

I mean the sims was pretty weird game i'm pretty sure there's the sims game in GBA that literally have cussing tutorial

and you know why would you cuss somone? well it's all to make this alien get out from your toilet, so yes you're annoying an alien that's taking a dump.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

It got me curious and so I took over her GBA (what she called Game Girl)

That's incredibly adorable — and the sort of thing I'd do.

yeah i also love bustin out but since i'm still the little power hungry Appi i remember i just spent my time grinding stat instead of completing the quest so i never really beaten the game yet lol.

Some of the quests were bullshit, though — I still HATE the one that has you hounding a guy that spawns in only two locations at a very specific time, with a high likelihood of missing him... why in the world would this be key to progressing?!

 

[Appiplyer]

I guess this is the cue to play it again '>'

 

[azurax]

Ah I have very fond memories of playing it myself. I discovered it around 2019, I think.
I spent 1-2 weeks immersed in the game until I discovered my next Sims game (Sims 2) and then I abandoned this one.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Ah I have very fond memories of playing it myself. I discovered it around 2019, I think.
I spent 1-2 weeks immersed in the game until I discovered my next Sims game (Sims 2) and then I abandoned this one.

Yeah, it was a nice pastime but it could never quite accomplish "full game" status.

Still, it was beautiful for a handheld.