The ‘Frasier’ Game Boy Game Is Completely Bonkers
With the exception of the Home Improvement game, in which Tim Allen murders dinosaurs with power tools and dynamite, very few live action sitcoms have spawned video games. And while we never got an officially-licensed Frasier game in the ‘90s, that hasn’t stopped people from pretending that we did. Fans have frequently mocked up artwork for fictional games starring Dr. Frasier Crane, which Nintendo foolishly never put into production.
More recently, a Frasier fan on Reddit shared a fake print ad for a vintage Game Boy game about Frasier being tasked with saving his brother Niles from “wine thieves.”
Again, this was just a joke. But while the meme is driving some people nuts, it did prompt one user to point out that there actually is a Frasier-themed game for the Nintendo Game Boy. But it was A) made by a fan, and B) kind of insane.
Game developer Edward la Barbera, who made headlines for shoehorning Tim Walz into Crazy Taxi last year, released Frasier Fantasy, a retro-style, Game Boy-playable role-playing game that’s basically like Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda, if the goal of those games was to obtain grape scissors for a swank dinner party.
Players control an 8-bit version of Frasier as he navigates his apartment and treks to familiar locations from the show, including Café Nervosa, the KACL building and Niles and Maris’ mansion. Much of the gameplay feels very of a piece with the show, but Frasier Fantasy does take some creative liberties when it comes to battling enemies.
For example, when Frasier is forced to journey into the labyrinthine KACL archives in order to deliver a tape for Roz, he’s attacked by a vicious bat! Players are given several options they can turn to for help, which include providing therapy, fleeing and using a “Freudian slap!” Even freakier, once the bat is defeated, Frasier is confronted by a crazed, phaser-toting Noel Shempsky, who, to be fair, did always seem like he was on the verge of completely snapping.
At the risk of spoiling the ending of a two-year-old fan-made game, the final boss is none other than Lilith and, again, players are presented with the same options. Just imagine how unhinged the Frasier series would have been if at any point the famous radio psychiatrist tried to “Freudian slap” his ex-wife.
Following the positive reception of Frasier Fantasy, the developer released a longer “director’s cut” of the game, and also a special Halloween-themed mini-game. All of which was far more inspired and enjoyable than anything in the Frasier reboot.
