Finding The Missing Floppies: A Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (EU eShop Only)

It's not often that I get to review point-and-click style adventure games on the Nintendo Switch, and I have quite the interesting one for you all today. Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love is a game that recently released on the Nintendo Switch EU eShop by way of developer Ktulhu Solutions, and publisher Sometimes You. We'll get more into its release history in just a bit, but we're going to be looking at it here today, and see if it's worth my initial excitement of getting to play a game of this genre on a console. We're also hopefully going to see if it's a good game in general as well, but I'm getting ahead of myself There's a lot to go over in this one, so let's dive in!

Before I go too far into the review, there are a few points that I want to make clear. First of all is the fact that as of this writing, Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love is only available on the Switch eShop in EU regions. I didn't know this when I requested a review copy, but figured I'd review it anyway since accessing other eShop regions isn't all that hard on the Switch. Next up, this particular release has a title that's different from when it first launched on Steam last year. I found it strange that I wasn't about to find much info about it or its developer, and then I learned that its original title was actually Jerry Wanker and the Quest to Get Laid. That title makes a lot more sense considering the subject matter and its inspirations, but I can understand why it was changed when it arrived on a more mainstream platform like the Nintendo Switch. Lastly, this game is also censored in terms of its content. It's my understanding that the original Steam release had an option to uncensor the game's nudity, which was censored by default, and that has been removed here. The Switch version still has a lot of sexual content that easily pushes it into M-rated territory, but it's pretty much all implied rather than shown. That said, there are a couple moments here and there where I think the game "slips up", so I totally believe that there was meant to be a way to play it uncensored at some point. This may seem like it adds up to a game I might not want to review, but its premise intrigued me enough that I chose to stick with it. I guess we'll have to see if that was a good choice or not once we go more in depth.

Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love (Which I'm simply going to refer to as "Jerry Anker" from now on.) places you into the shoes of the titular hero named Jerry Anker. Jerry is your typical sex-obsessed (maybe?) virgin who is characterized in the same vein as Larry Laffer from the Leisure Suit Larry series. There is the fact that Jerry seems quite a bit younger than his inspiration, but I honestly felt like that made the character and subject matter feel a bit less creepy than if a middle aged man was going about his same actions. Anyway, back to the story. Jerry lives in the town of Blueball Falls, and it just so happens that the hottest girls in town are throwing a party right next door. You see, Jerry has a strong crush on his neighbor Olivia, but she is currently involved with a jerk named Bobby. After some prodding from a talking poster, Jerry investigates Olivia's house by way of a telescope. He sees Olivia and Bobby together, and vows to somehow win her over. This of course means he has to go to the party, so that's his next move. Unfortunately for him, he promptly is beat up by Bobby, and Bobby's friend Cliff. Not all is lost though, as one of the other girls attending the party, Cliff's sister Alice, convinces him to not give up hope. Getting into the house isn't going to be easy, but Jerry is determined to find love one way or another. What follows next are a series of adventures that see Jerry help out other residents of Blueball Falls in the hopes of eventually getting into said party, or at the very least attracting the attention of a girl. I'll leave the plot there so I don't give away too much for those who may wish to experience the story first hand, but rest assured that it wraps itself up in a way that is both satisfying and conclusive.

Considering that Jerry Anker is a point-and-click adventure game, it makes sense that the focus is largely placed on the story. Jerry has several goals to meet if he wants to find love, and there are plenty of side stories that he gets to take part in. Scattered throughout the game are all sorts of pop culture references, and several that remind one of the original Leisure Suit Larry games. Fans of that series might see a lot of similarities with the original game. Even though it's a bit more complicated, both games have the same goal of eventually wooing three women. (The third one I haven't mentioned so far is Olivia and Alice's friend Sofia) Getting to the end of the storylines with each of the three girls doesn't end in quite the same way though, as you have to remember that this is a censored release. There's some implied... fun... but it mainly things usually wrap up in a scene that is at least amusing.

Those expecting a long quest might be disappointed though, as Jerry's adventure is rather short. There are some optional goals to uncover, but this isn't a game that will take you several afternoons to complete. Short games aren't necessarily a bad thing though, since the quality of the story and characters can usually make up for any shortcomings. The problem here is that there seems to be a lot of missing or inconsistent triggers for puzzles and events. I was able to clear several puzzles early on simply by going for obvious solutions, and I found that I had essentially sequence broke the game. There were several times Jerry referred to characters I hadn't met yet, and quests I hadn't yet been given. Confusion aside, I simply moved on with the game, but I never could shake the feeling that I had missed integral parts of the story on accident. It also wasn't until halfway into the game that I realized that you could examine items, locations, and people for more clarity and flavor text. This is mainly due to the odd console controls, but I'll get to that later. Admittedly some of the story jumps I experienced were brought about by my own actions, but I don't think I've ever played an adventure game where things were this easy to break. Thankfully I use the term "break" loosely, as I don't think there is a way to actually get stuck. Despite these issues, I did enjoy the story, and ultimately grew to like the setting and characters to the point where I hoped that this was just the start of a full series even before I completed it.

Moving away from the story a bit, the other big aspect of a point-and-click adventure game would be the puzzles. I personally found that most of Jerry Anker's puzzles were easily solved, with some only being difficult due to the fact that the game didn't always do a good job of introducing them in the correct order. While most puzzles come at you one at a time, some puzzles are introduced early on, but aren't solved until the very end of the game. Most solutions were easy enough to figure out though, and you could also try every possible solution until you get it right through brute force. I did do that exact thing a couple times, but I mostly was able to progress without having to resort to such cheap tactics. While I wouldn't call the game's puzzles particularly intuitive, there was a simplicity to everything that made the game flow very smoothly. There aren't too many locations to visit, and your inventory management never gets too crazy, so there aren't exactly tons of options open to you anyway. There are some locations that you have to keep going back to even though you think you're done with them, but that's just the way things go with adventure games sometimes. At the very least I can say that there aren't any red herring items, or puzzles that have multiple solutions, so you don't have to be concerned about being stuck in the game for too long. Though the experience might change from player to player, I was able to beat Jerry Anker in about two hours. I imagine that most fans of point-and-click adventure titles will be able to do the same, and that's a great length for a game like this.

Though I have mostly positive things to say about my experience with Jerry Anker, there are some negatives I want to point out. Besides the progression breaking issues I mentioned earlier, my biggest complaint with the game would have to be its controls. This is a game that's clearly meant to be played with a mouse, and the console port does nothing to hide this. I never quite got used to what button was meant to do what, and this is rather amazing when you consider only two or three buttons are ever used. Going from the main screen to your inventory, and then back again, is far clunkier than it should be. There is also an item combination mechanic that is access via a workbench in Jerry's home that I always fumbled through. Admittedly, this isn't an action game where precise controls are required, but it did make me wish I had played it on PC instead. I also encountered a couple bugs during my time with the game. There were a couple inventory items I was able to collect more than once, and there was one optional item that was invisible on screen. I only learned about said invisible item after I looked up a guide for the Steam release in the hopes of finding an item I was missing. I then saw it, and was able to pick it up even though there was no visual indication the item was even there. As for the extra inventory items, those just took up space, but were otherwise harmless. There's also no player-controlled save system, and the only way to play the game again is to reset all progress from the credits screen. None of this made me dislike the game, but it did make everything feel just a bit less fun.

Visually Jerry Anker is a great-looking game that features designs and animations that are as smooth as they are colorful. There is probably an acquired taste to the visual style, but I personally thought it looked great. Jerry is truly the updated Larry Laffer, and all the characters came off feeling unique. Main graphics aside, there are also comic book style cutscenes that occur whenever you complete a big puzzle. Even though I would've preferred fully animated scenes, I was still impressed. The game is also fully voiced, and I was shocked to find that the cast of all unknowns pulled off performances that rival mainline Leisure Suit Larry games. Actually, I've played some games in the series that have voice acting far worse than what's on display here. My only real complaint as far as the presentation goes would have to be the game's music. There isn't a single track in the bunch that stood out to me, and this sort of game cries out for a memorable main theme. That said, the music isn't actually BAD, just not very good either.

Even though I had a great time with Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love, I'm not sure if I can give it a full recommendation. I can't help but feel that if one was going to play this game at all, it might as well be the Steam release. Censorship of the visuals aside, you at least get to play the game under its real name. I didn't mention this earlier, but I hate that they changed "Wanker" to "Anker". I hope that they keep the Wanker name if this ever gets a US release, but that of course leads me to the other big issue with this Switch release. Playing this at all outside of the EU is quite the chore, and even I had a bit of trouble setting up an account to do so for this review. I guess if this kind of game interests you, and you have access to the Switch EU eShop, then pick it up. It's a fun point-and-click adventure, and the story is fun and entertaining. Everyone else though? You're better off grabbing it up on Steam. (Which is a worldwide release by the way!) Anyhow, that's all for now. See you in the next one!

Check Out Jerry Anker and the Quest to Get Love on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Jerry-Anker-and-the-Quest-to-get-Love-2696013.html

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Story: A
Gameplay: B-
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: B-
Value: B

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A fun point-and-click adventure in the style of the Leisure Suit Larry series.
+ Even though the subject matter might not be for everyone, the story and characters are both well-written.
+ The puzzles are all fairly easy to figure out, while still requiring a bit of thought on the part of the player.
+ The voice acting is surprisingly great considering the indie nature of the game.
+ Rivals most recent Leisure Suit Larry games.

+/- This game is only available on the EU eShop. Picking it up in any other region is possible, but does require some extra work.

Cons:
- It's very easy to accidentally sequence break the game. This probably could've done with a bit more testing in the development phase.
- Though I found it to be the right length for this sort of game, most people will be able to clear this one in about two hours.
- The controls are surprisingly wonky in spite of only using a couple buttons.
- This is a censored version of the game, right down to the title, and that may put off some people.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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See you in the next one!

#JerryAnker