ButtUglyMartians BKM Battles: A Quirky GBA Game That Deserves More Love

Introduction In the vast library of GBA games, ButtUglyMartians BKM Battles (henceforth referred to as BKM Battles) often flies under the radar. Developed by a relatively unknown studio and lacking the marketing muscle of Pokemon or other big names, this quirky little gem is a game that deserves way more attention than it gets. At first glance, BKM Battles appears to be a run-of-the-mill RPG with an oddball premise - you play as a gang of misfit martian misfits trying to fend off an invasion of their planet. But once you start playing, you quickly realize that there's so much more to this game beneath its goofy exterior.

A Delightfully Weird Story that Keeps You Hooked

The story of BKM Battles kicks off with the martian protagonists getting booted out of their homeland on the planet Marincia for...reasons that aren't entirely clear at first. Before they can get too comfortable on their new adopted planet though, the diabolical Dr. Wart shows up with his army of dim-witted henchmen to try and conquer everything in sight. What ensues is a zany, joke-a-minute adventure across multiple planets as you recruit more ButtUgly martians to your cause, uncover the truth behind Dr. Wart's nefarious scheme, and ultimately save the galaxy. While the overall premise is pretty standard hero's journey stuff, the game's humor and sheer randomness in how events unfold make for a story that's anything but generic. The star of the show is undoubtedly the game's wildly imaginative cast of characters. Each new martian you recruit is more bizarre and hilarious than the last, with personalities that veer from endearingly dim-witted to laugh-out-loud crass. The developers clearly had a field day coming up with ideas like Cedric, the cultured martian who speaks in a hilarious approximation of Shakespearean English or Dr. Galaxo, the mad scientist whose frantic technobabble hides surprising wisdom.

Surprisingly Sharp Writing for a 'Weird' Game

What makes the characters and story of BKM Battles so engaging though is the sheer quality of the game's writing. Sure, the humor leans heavily on bodily function gags and crude insult humor as you'd expect from a game about "Butt Ugly Martians", but there's also a willingness to go to surprisingly cerebral places. One minute you'll be chuckling at the latest fart joke, and the next philosophical ideas around the nature of existence and the folly of war are being slipped in. The writers strike a masterful balance between lowbrow and highbrow humor that keeps you laughing and giving you unexpected food for thought. It also doesn't hurt that the writing is consistently clever, with a bottomless well of witty banter and tongue-in-cheek references to keep you entertained. From sly nods at popular culture to inventive new insult comedy, BKM Battles consistently delights with its dialogue.

Quirky but Addictive Gameplay that Finds Freshness in Familiar Mechanics

While the story and characters are the main stars, BKM Battles gameplay is no slouch either. At its core, this is a fairly traditional turn-based RPG with random encounters, a familiar menu-based battle system with attacks, magic, items etc. However, the game takes this familiar foundation and tweaks it in delightfully unusual ways. For starters, rather than having preset character classes, BKM Battles lets you mix-and-match unique quirks and abilities for each of your recruited martians. So you could create a healer/mage hybrid that also happens to have incredible defense. Or a warrior that can shoot laser beams from its eyes. The possibilities for unique character builds are wonderfully open-ended thanks to the sheer range of wacky powers and traits to choose from.

Turn-Based Battles With a Riotous Twist

Combat itself follows the same turn-based structure as most classic RPGs, with your team taking turns to attack, defend, use items/skills etc. But the addition of goofy slapstick animations for every single action gives even basic battles a gloriously silly spectacle. Watching two martians trade insults and literally get into a slap-fight is just inherently hilarious. And then you have over-the-top special skills like one martian inflating itself into a blimp-like form and crashing down on enemies or another spontaneously pulling out a giant fork and shoving it into an enemy's face. The laugh-a-minute combat antics keep even random encounters feeling fresh and silly in a way that few other RPGs can match. And for tougher boss battles, the developers pulled out all the stops with multi-stage spectacles filled with comic pauses and setpieces to behold. Complementing the turn-based battles is a versatile strategy layer that lets you plan out each operation before heading into combat. You can choose different squadrons of martians to take into battle, equip them, set up customized battlefield configurations and more. While not as ridiculously in-depth as something like Final Fantasy Tactics, these pre-battle strategy elements add a nice extra layer of depth and customization to the experience. Having to think carefully about team compositions and battle prep gives the overall gameplay loop more longevity.

Budget Charm Meets Inspired Artistic Vision

Given that BKM Battles was a relatively low-budget project from a little-known studio, you can't expect Breath of the Wild levels of visual grandeur here. But what the graphics may lack in technical 'oomph' they more than make up for with oodles of personality and artistic inspiration. The colourful, slightly rough-around-the-edges 2D sprites and environments wonderfully capture the irreverent spirit of the source Butt Ugly Martians cartoon. Each new area you explore is bursting with visual gags, hilariously crude humour and whimsical background details. Whether it's the excessive displays of martian underpants flying around in cities or sneaky jokes tucked away in every corner, BKM Battles' world is a treat to soak in. The developers put a wonderful amount of love and effort into cramming as many jokes and artistic flourishes as they could into the world. Particular highlights include delightfully gross enemy designs (somehow Dr. Wart's gang of thugs lurch between hilarious and repulsive) and inspired location design like the delirious interdimensional hub area. While sparse at times, every environment has a hearty helping of personality.

Audio Design That Elevates the Quirky Vibe

Complementing the visuals is an equally memorable and quirky audio design. From the butt-rock guitar riffs of the main battle theme to the snappy quips and insults bellowed out in classic Butt Ugly Martians style, the whole sound package is an irreverent riot. While the music, effects and voice work aren't always of the highest technical quality, the commitment to getting the tone and vibe right is admirable. Each sound cue drips with the same vulgar but clever sense of humour that defines the game. My personal favourite audio highlight is the cheeky narrator, whose dry quips and hilarious asides as you progress through the story elevates the comedy game to new heights. His impeccable delivery and talent for witty improvisation encapsulates the game's self-aware, laugh-out-loud appeal.

An Underrated and Unabashedly Niche Gem

As the old saying goes, 'they don't make 'em like they used to'. In the age of AAA open-world epics and quasi-photorealistic graphics, ButtUglyMartians BKM Battles feels like a delightfully crass, punk rock relic from a bygone era of gaming. This is a game made with silliness, irreverence and heart as its driving forces rather than chasing focus-tested mass appeal. Its humour is deliberately lowbrow and crude, walking a fine line between being insightful and just plain puerile. The gameplay is decidedly old-school and the graphics/audio clearly come from a place of doing the most with limited resources. None of these are knocks against BKM Battles though - in fact, these rougher, niche qualities are what make the game such a unique gem. In an industry that often trends towards sanitized, marketplace-friendly affairs, BKM Battles is unabashedly weird, messy and non-conformist. It's a game made by a small team for similarly warped sensibilities and that singularity of creative vision is precisely what makes the experience so refreshingly distinctive and engaging for the right gamer. If you're someone who can stomach (and indeed revel in) a healthy dose of crude juvenile humour, BKM Battles is an irreverent lark that doesn't overstay its welcome.

For Fans Of...

While hardly the most technically impressive GBA game out there, ButtUglyMartians BKM Battles more than makes up for its lack of cutting-edge audiovisuals with an intoxicating blend of clever writing, hilariously crude humour and addictive gameplay hooks. From its madcap story filled with delightfully batty characters to the endlessly entertaining turn-based battles, BKM Battles radiates the playful creativity its zany premise promises. This is a game that proudly wears its weirdness and vulgarity on its sleeve while also exhibiting moments of real wit and intelligence. If you're a fan of quirky, self-aware humour games like Conker's Bad Fur Day or the Sam & Max series, you'll definitely find a lot to enjoy in BKM Battles' riotous antics. And RPG fans that don't mind their dungeon crawling and strategy mixed with an extremely silly sense of humour will be well-served too. While ButtUglyMartians flew under the mainstream radar when it first released, in hindsight it absolutely deserves to be considered a cult classic of the GBA RPG library. It's the kind of delightfully niche game that's very much a product of its developers' unfettered creative vision rather than cynical market-testing. If you're tired of gaming's increasingly homogeneous output and want a title that truly dares to embrace its strangeness, BKM Battles is one of the GBA's true hidden gems. An acquired taste to be sure, but one well worth acquiring for those who can appreciate its puerile charms. A filthy good time.

Other GBA Games to Check Out

If you enjoyed ButtUglyMartians BKM Battles and want to explore more quirky and underrated GBA RPGs and adventures, here are a few other hidden gems to check out: Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 & 2 - A pair of charming action RPGs with great worldbuilding and addictive combat. Lunar Legend - An underrated sci-fi platformer RPG hybrid with a terrific story and clever humour. Riviera: The Promised Land - Beautiful sprite art and a Gothic fantasy story with tactical RPG gameplay. Very unique and compelling. Altered Reality: Guardians of Reality - Weird and wonderful adventure game with a mind-bending interdimensional plot.