Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Review (no fat)

by D3 Platform: GBA Genre: Arcade	ESRB Rating: Everyone Release: 2005-11-21	Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Features: Choose between two characters Confront obsessed fans, paparazzi, and robots Unlock new costumes for each character Search for hidden rare items Unlimited continues
	Egamer's Rating: 8 / 10. Reviewed on: 2006-03-05

Game Description

With the success rapidly garnered by the animated show Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, it was no surprise to see a game based on the series suddenly come out. The girls’ latest adventure arises after they stupidly lose their instruments. To make matters worse, their whimsical manager, Kaz, is kidnapped. Because of this, it becomes impossible for the two rock stars to perform, as they literally depend on their manager for everything. Behind all these mishaps is Harmony, their most obsessed fan, who has enlisted the aid of a certain Edwin Blair to carry out his mischievous plans.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! - Gameplay

You choose Ami or Yumi at the beginning of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped!, and each character actually plays differently and has specific moves. As the slow Ami, you will thus rely on her microphone to avoid the various obstacles that impede your progress by using it to acrobatically swing from platform to platform. On the other hand, if you favor Yumi, you can simply ride your trusted guitar à la Silver Surfer to avoid the tons of gaps that make up the game’s several levels. Because each girl has unique characteristics, playing the game at least twice is actually rewarding.

Along the way, you will meet legions of foes that you need to take care of before they harm you. These enemies come in groups and range from unrelenting fans to gesticulating robots. The game boasts hilarious attacks, as the paparazzi’s move consists of taking your photographs. Moreover, Kaznapped preaches non-violent methods of fending them away, as you can never actually kill the human enemies. They are not to be underestimated though because even the fans can be a nuisance, as they’ll hug you until you break out of their hold.

As a matter of fact, you do have the ability to temporarily stun them by playing music, which should enable you to get away from them. The robots can however be destroyed since they are just machines, and you can do so by hitting them with your favorite musical instrument. There’s also the challenge of looking for the girls’ cats Jang Keng and Tekirai, as successfully finding them and lovingly petting them will grant you either a health boost or even an extra life.

There’s more than just hopping forward and displaying your musical talent though, as Kaznapped also requires you to solve puzzles during your crazy quest. These benefit from a neat learning curve without ever getting frustrating. They are often relatively easy to figure out, and even the more difficult ones can be solved without having to pull your hair out. Various items are scattered around the game’s levels, and you’d be wise to collect as many of those as possible. In any case, you may opt to unlock the handful of secrets, which even include new costumes for Ami and Yumi.

In addition to its side-scrolling levels, Kaznapped offers mini-games that take the form of shooters where your objective is to zap a happy bunch of robots away using your tour bus. These mini-games pop up before each level, and actually work well in introducing the more challenging locales. They’re fun and add more variety to the game while sharing the same exciting mood of the regular levels. You also have unlimited continues at your disposal, but however lose all your checkpoint data whenever you reach the dreaded game over screen.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Visuals

While the game uses a splendid color palette that restores the cartoon’s wacky atmosphere, the backgrounds are rather generic in spite of the unique art direction. The character models are excellent though, and the two protagonists are particularly impressive. The game also boasts a fluid animation even with all the action that constantly kicks in during the later stages.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Sound

Obviously, there’s mainly rock music to be found in the game, and Kaznapped makes good use of a variety of tracks that accompany the stages very well. The sound effects are well done too and superbly enhance the game’s atmosphere. While the outlandish audio would feel strangely out of place in any other game, it is actually fitting here.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Overall

This GBA title is excellent because of its appeal to both fans of the show and non-fans alike. Thanks to its zany atmosphere and superb game mechanics, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! even while not being particularly innovative, nevertheless is fun.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! Cost

The game currently retails for $19.49US.