Introduction: Whenever a game lands on my desk I generally have some idea of its origins. It could be a TV show, a comic, a book, a movie, in fact just about anything. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! was slightly different though. I couldn't even pronounce it to begin with (I was put right by my niece) but it turns out that it's actually a Cartoon Network show. The plot revolves around two very cool, but very different, pop stars as they travel from gig to gig or just hang out in their hometown of Tokyo. Ami is the peppy, positive and resourceful one. Yumi is the hard-rocking, no-nonsense cynic with an absolutely infallible sense of cool. Together these superstars take the world by storm with musical talent, trend-setting style and humour. If you've taken the time to read this review you are probably already aware of all this so, what's the game like?

GamePlay: The game takes place at various locations throughout the world with the two girls trying to locate their stolen instruments and kidnapped manager, hence the title. This is played out over some incredibly well designed environments and although you have to select one of the girls to play at the beginning of the level you can swap them whenever you wish. This is because Ami and Yumi have very different abilities and while Ami is more agile and can not only jump higher but also use her microphone as a grappling hook, Yumi is much stronger and can use her guitar for a variety of rock inspired moves. You'll need these skills too as your path is blocked by everything from robots to rather enthusiastic fans. While the robots are easily dispensed of it's important not to hurt the fans, as this will lose you precious points. Instead you can either blast them with some guitar music or a few lines of a song. This freezes them for long enough for you to sneak past them although groups of fans may require an impromptu jam session. There are also some simple puzzles that can involve, for instance, pushing blocks and flipping switches so if you do happen to find yourself at a door with no obvious means of opening it, seek out the boxes.

Outside of the platform action there's also a fast paced side scrolling shoot'em up where your tour bus transforms into a space ship in order to take on all manner of giant foes. This is not the type of mindless add-on you'd expect. Not only does it add a much-needed break from the platforming action it's also genuinely challenging in its own right. Longevity is provided with a host unlockables including alternative costumes from the girls, time attack modes and some pictures from the TV show. It's also all saved automatically and although it's some time now since we've seen the dreaded password save it's still nice not to have to even think about saving your progress at the end of each session.

Control: Given that the control system is one of the most complicated I've ever come across on the GBA, this is the one aspect of this title, which will undoubtedly turn some gamers off. Clearly the developers were well aware of this so the first few levels are a 'forced' tutorial explaining all the various moves. It's still a lot to take in though and you'll find yourself constantly referring to the manual in the early stages of the game.

Graphics: Visually the game is incredibly stylised. You'll either love or hate it but you can't ignore the fact that this game looks considerably different from similar games on the market. The backgrounds are strangely angular and the sprites sometimes positively wooden but that in no way detracts from the game's charm and while other tie-ins might be criticised for this approach it does seem to work here.

Sound & Music: For a title that has music at its core this is strangely disappointing. For starters we were expecting an all out rock soundtrack but instead the game delivers a collection of ambient tunes which in no way reflect the gameplay. The sound effects are also instantly forgettable so we'd urge you to turn the sound down completely and put your favourite CD on.

Final Comments: This first Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi is something of a rarity in GBA titles because not only is the whole thing aimed towards girls but also it's actually surprisingly good. Don't get us wrong, there's nothing new here and the production values are far from the highest we've encountered recently but the game design is both fun to play and incredibly rewarding, if not a bit challenging from time to time. If you're a fan of the show then it goes without saying that this is a must purchase but for everyone else I'd urge you to give this a chance. You might be surprised.

Pro:Challenging, Unique Visuals.
Con:Maybe Too Difficult For Some Gamers.
Final Score:7.7


Reviewed by: Andrew Blanchard