| Introduction
For those of you who haven't tuned into the adventures
of Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles yet 'what on earth
are you watching?'. Simple story lines, intriguing characters
and retro style animation made the Powerpuff Girls an
instant hit when it was released some years ago and
things show no sign of slowing down. BAM! are not new
to this license and have already released Playstation,
PC and 3 Gameboy Colour titles but this is their first
outing on the GBA. The sheer amount of experience they've
had with this title should guarantee a unique and playable
title but as with so many TV series inspired games it
could simply turn out to be a waste of time.
GamePlay
The Powerpuff Girls are out to save the world again
and this title will initially have you battling over
six levels in order to discover Mojo Jojo's terrifying
creation. Every level has the same objective : get to
the end with at least one of the girls intact and collect
the allotted number of jewels. This can get tricky as
the jewels are deposited when you destroy a robot which
means you can find yourself ignoring a fair amount as
you come under increasing fire. It's worth remembering
that not everything has to be destroyed, sometimes dodging
on-coming fire is a better route to success as everything,
initially at least, scrolls from left to right and nothing
is really out to get you. I did say 'initially' as by
level three you'll encounter some droids who want nothing
but your demise and then it's either them or you.
On completion of a level you are given a piece of
Mojo Jojo's blueprint and it's onto the next stage.
It must be pointed out that not all stages have an 'end
of level boss' which is both surprising and refreshing,
it does link into the story line though so you should
know what to expect on any given stage. After collecting
all the blueprint pieces it's time for the final challenge
and, without giving too much away, make sure you have
a good rest before you attempt this one!
In addition to the mindless blasting there is an
element of strategy which should be employed or you
could find you'll have an incredibly short game. You
control all three girls and keeping them all healthy
and happy is of utmost importance so giving the character
with the least health extra energy is always a wise
choice. Then there's the question of 'power ups' so
while bestowing Bubbles, for example, with all the extra
'punches' and 'eye beams' will make her a great asset
to the team, using her all the time will deplete her
health and once she's gone your team becomes less effective.
Finally, but just as essential is locating the secret
passages as these can allow you to bypass the worst
of the battles and collect bonus items. Ignore this
and evil will reign supreme.
Controls
The control system is a little intimidating at first
and as with all shoot'em up's you'll find yourself getting
zapped on quite a few occasions as the action starts
to heat up. A little practice helps and switching between
the controls will soon be second nature. Everything
is very responsive allowing you to dodge as many lasers
and robots as you destroy initially. All your Powerpuff
Girls can punch, throw and fire an eye beam and they
can be switched via the shoulder button. There's also
a 'super attack' which can only be activated by combining
all 3 girls but which is usually necessary to deal with
the 'end of level bosses'. One aspect of the game which
must be applauded is the battery save and though with
only seven levels it's hardly a necessity we love it
anyway.
Graphics
The in-game visuals, like the TV series, have a wonderful
retro feel about them and even though all the levels
are quite lengthy the backgrounds remain suitably different.
The Powerpuff Girls and their numerous foes are wonderfully
animated and, importantly in these types of games, there's
never any slowdown even when there's loads going on.
The intro and cut screens demonstrate once again just
what can be accomplished with the GBA and a little imagination
and the scrolling cityscapes with overlaid characters
are very effective in telling the story. This is all
packaged together with a neat interface making cycling
through the various menus simple and the whole game
self-explanatory.
Sound & Music
The intro and cut screens are accompanied by some
quality, clear samples from the series. Sound effects
and dialogue have been seamlessly woven together and
provide a fully immersible audio experience to accompany
the fantastic visuals. The actual in-game music is also
excellent and although it uses the GBA's sound chip
you'll be hard pushed to tell the difference as the
quality is just as impressive.
Final Comments
This is possibly the first Powerpuff Girls game on
any of the GameBoys that will truly satisfy fans of
the series. It's rare that a game catches the entertainment
values that make a series so watchable in the first
place but this title does it and does it with style.
Even if you have no interest in the cartoon and are
simply looking for a good side shooter, I'd urge you
to give this a try. Good Movie/TV tie-ins are not exactly
plentiful in the computer entertainment industry so
don't let this game pass you by.
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