A pure and demanding puzzle game, minimalist and ruthlessly addictive. Each room is a small logical puzzle to solve. Timeless in concept, still perfectly playable today.
Your verdict
Category
Puzzle1 player3+
Description
Puzzle game in which Lolo solves rooms by moving blocks to reach the exit. Published by HAL Laboratory, released in Europe in 1989. Lolo pushing hearts and blocks in closed rooms to reach the chest and enemies to neutralize. First Adventures of Lolo on NES, an addictive puzzle.
Adventures of Lolo review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
The first instalment fixes a readability that would never change: a regular grid, a round blue character, enemies with simple, immediately identifiable shapes, hearts to collect. Nothing is drawn to decorate, every element on screen having a function in solving the current room.
This European version of the first Adventures of Lolo, by HAL Laboratory in 1989, distills the puzzle mechanics that established the series on the NES. The PAL run is smaller than NTSC, yet the title stays accessible, complete copies around 87 euros. Its collecting appeal rests on HAL's founding role in console puzzle design, shortly before the studio turned to Kirby, making it a sought milestone of their European catalogue.
Is Adventures of Lolo still worth playing in 2026?
A puzzle game from HAL Laboratory, Adventures of Lolo locks the hero in rooms where you must collect hearts and reach the exit by moving blocks, trapping enemies and exploiting their behaviours. Each screen is a self contained puzzle of impeccable logic, where the slightest placement error blocks progress. The clarity of the concept and the rising difficulty make it a peak of thinking puzzles. For a retro brain teaser fan, someone curious about a HAL classic or a player after cerebral challenge, the title keeps a timeless intelligence.
