Best Friends

Best Friends is a 2002 Windows 3D platformer where players help the cute duo Petey and Patty reunite across unique, twisting, turning, and sliding boards while avoiding falls, all rendered in whimsical Japanese-inspired cartoon graphics and accompanied by playful speech sounds for an arcade-style adventure that’s simple to learn but tough to master.

Best Friends: Review

Introduction

Imagine a world where the purest joys of gaming boil down to guiding two adorable cartoon pals across precarious, shifting platforms—just to see them embrace in pixelated bliss. Released in 2002, Best Friends by Retro64, Inc. captures this unadulterated delight in a compact shareware package that feels like a love letter to arcade platforming. In an era dominated by sprawling epics like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Morrowind, this unassuming 3D platformer stands as a testament to indie ingenuity, proving that simplicity can deliver profound addiction. My thesis: Best Friends is a forgotten shareware masterpiece, blending whimsical charm, tight physics, and replayable challenges into a legacy-defining gem that deserves resurrection on modern platforms.

Development History & Context

Retro64, Inc., a boutique shareware studio founded by visionary solo developer Michael W. Boeh, birthed Best Friends amid the early 2000s indie explosion. Boeh, crediting himself for design, code, graphics, and sound, wore every hat in a one-man tour de force, supported by composer Simon Burgess’s soundtrack and a laundry list of “thanks” to the Blitz coding community (including luminaries like Mark Sibly and Ola Zandelin). Blitz Basic, a lightweight BASIC dialect for multimedia, empowered Boeh to craft 3D environments on modest hardware—think Pentium III rigs with 32MB RAM—without the bloat of engines like Unreal.

The gaming landscape in 2002 was bifurcated: AAA behemoths pushed polygons and narratives, while shareware thrived on sites like Download.com, echoing Doom‘s 1993 democratization. Retro64’s prior hits like WarHeads, Bugatron, and DemonStar established Boeh as a shareware savant, churning out polished arcade fare amid Tetris clones. Technological constraints—no shaders, basic physics via custom code—forced innovation: levels as “boards” with dynamic twists, leveraging simple vector math for slides and rotations. Released October 1, 2002, as CD-ROM and download shareware, it targeted casual PC gamers craving quick fixes. Boeh’s personal touches, like thanking family (Michaelene, Dad), infuse it with heartfelt authenticity, a rarity in corporate-driven releases.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Best Friends eschews verbose cutscenes for a minimalist yarn: Petey and Patty, two cherubic, Japanese-anime-inspired chums, are separated across labyrinthine boards. Your solemn duty? Reunite them, level by level, in a plot as straightforward as Super Mario Bros. yet emotionally resonant through implication. No dialogue trees or lore dumps—whimsical speech sounds (“boings,” giggles, cheers) narrate their plight, turning falls into comedic pratfalls and reunions into triumphant hugs.

Thematically, it’s a meditation on companionship amid chaos. Each board’s “unique characteristics”—twisting girders, sliding panels, precarious drops—symbolize life’s unpredictability, with Petey/Patty’s bond as the anchor. Dialogue is sparse but evocative: Patty’s plaintive calls, Petey’s determined grunts foster empathy, evoking Pikmin‘s captain-minion dynamic but cozier. Subtext shines in progression: early boards teach trust (simple jumps), mid-game demands sacrifice (one friend distracts hazards), late levels test endurance (relentless slides). No villains, just physics as antagonist—pure, platonic love conquering entropy. In shareware’s bite-sized format, this narrative loop masterfully builds investment, rewarding mastery with feel-good catharsis absent in grimdark contemporaries.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Best Friends is an arcade 3D platformer distilled to perfection: switch between Petey and Patty (3rd-person “other” perspective), navigate twisting boards, and guide them to rendezvous without plummeting. Core loop—scout path, leap gaps, dodge shifts—hooks via “wonderful physics” (per ad blurbs), where momentum carries jumps realistically, boards rotate fluidly, and slides demand counterintuitive timing.

Core Mechanics Deconstructed:
– Character Switching: Instant swaps mid-jump enable teamwork; Petey (agile jumper) complements Patty (precise lander), creating puzzle-platform hybrids.
– Dynamic Boards: Each of dozens of levels features bespoke gimmicks—tilting planes, conveyor slides, vanishing platforms—forces adaptation. Falls respawn mercifully, but precision scales brutally.
– Progression & UI: Shareware structure: free levels tease, nag screens unlock full (50+ boards?). Clean HUD (health? timers?) prioritizes play; no RPG bloat—pure skill gates.
– Innovations/Flaws: Physics rival Marble Madness in whimsy; addictive 5-10 minute levels suit lunch breaks. Flaws? Repetitive restarts frustrate casuals; no co-op (solo-switch suffices). Controls shine on keyboard/mouse, responsive sans analog sticks.

Tricky yet fair, it echoes Bugatron‘s mastery curve—simple grasp, endless tweak. No combat, just navigation: pure, unadulterated platforming joy.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The “world” is abstract boards floating in void—minimalist yet immersive, evoking Qbert‘s isometric peril in 3D. Atmosphere builds via peril: vertigo from heights, tension from creaks/slides, relief in reunions. Japanese-inspired “cute” cartoon visuals—big-eyed Petey/Patty in pastel palettes, bouncy animations—contrast hazards, softening difficulty like *Katamari Damacy.

Visual Direction: Low-poly charm ages gracefully; dynamic lighting (twists cast shadows) maximizes era tech. Boards vary wildly: icy slicks, windy gusts, balloon lifts—each a micro-biome contributing isolation, focus.

Sound Design: Whimsical speech (giggles, “whees”) humanizes duo; Burgess’s chiptune-electronica score pulses urgency/glee. SFX excel: metallic groans, fleshy thuds on falls. Synergy elevates: audio cues (Patty’s call) guide visually obscured paths, forging sensory cohesion. Overall, elements craft cozy peril—inviting yet unforgiving.

Reception & Legacy

Launch reception sparkled for shareware: critics averaged 80% (Game Tunnel: 90%/4.5★, lauding fun/cuteness despite “not enough depth”; Adrenaline Vault: 70%/3.5★, praising Retro64 polish, “slick… tricky to master” amid “sugar-coated” highs/lows). Players: 4/5 (sparse votes). Commercial? Modest—6 MobyGames collectors—but shareware success inferred via sequels/ports (2025 Linux/Mac/Win edition).

Legacy endures obscurely: abandonware darling (MyAbandonware 4.22/5), archived (Internet Archive), GOG Dreamlist pleas for ports. Influenced? Niche—paved indie physics-platformers (Pepper Grinder echoes). Boeh’s oeuvre (Marbles Deluxe) inspired Blitz coders; culturally, embodies shareware ethos amid 2002’s Metroid Prime bombast. Reputation evolved: from “cute diversion” to cult preserve, urging Steam Deck revival per fans.

Conclusion

Best Friends distills platforming essence—reunite pals amid mayhem—into addictive, charming brilliance. Boeh’s solo wizardry, cute aesthetics, physics mastery outshine flaws, cementing shareware pinnacle. In history’s canon, it claims “underrated arcade relic”: 8.5/10. Seek shareware demo; demand modern ports—Petey/Patty await reunion.