2 in 1 - Block Buster + Cross High

The 2 in 1: Block Buster + Cross High bundle is a perfect example of how Watara tried to maximize value for its budget-conscious audience. Released in 1992, this multicart offered two very different - yet very familiar - arcade experiences on a single cartridge.

If you’ve ever played Tetris, you know exactly what to expect from Block Buster. You arrange falling tetrominoes to clear horizontal lines before the screen fills up. While it’s an unapologetic clone of the world's most famous puzzle game, Block Buster actually handles the Supervision’s notorious screen blurring better than most action-heavy titles because the movement is grid-based and relatively predictable. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s a solid, functional time-waster.

Cross High, on the other hand, takes players to the dirt track. Rather than a behind-the-back racer, it is a 2D side-scrolling motocross game clearly inspired by Nintendo's Excitebike. You navigate a dirt bike across rugged terrain, managing your speed and adjusting your pitch in mid-air to safely land massive jumps. Considering the hardware's limitations and the chunky 4-shade grayscale screen, keeping your bike balanced and avoiding track hazards can be quite challenging, but it provides a surprisingly decent physics-based arcade experience for a budget handheld.

This release was significant because it proved that the Supervision’s relatively small cartridge capacity could successfully hold multiple distinct games. It set a trend for the system's later life, leading to 4-in-1 and even larger multicarts as Watara tried to compete with the sheer volume of the Game Boy’s library.

Like many Supervision games, these titles didn't have much in the way of music or deep storytelling. You get a basic title screen, a simple "Select" menu, and then it’s straight into the action. For a kid in 1992 who couldn't afford two separate $30 Game Boy games, this budget bundle was a lifesaver, even if the games themselves were fairly generic.

The 2 in 1: Block Buster + Cross High pack isn't going to win any awards for innovation, but it’s an essential piece of the Supervision’s history. It represents the "value-first" philosophy that allowed the console to carve out its niche in a market dominated by giants.