The Cartoon Network is home to a slew of original cartoons, and one of its biggest hits is the grrl-power phenomenon, The Powerpuff Girls. The Powerpuff Girls are the benign creations of their father, Professor Utonium, who created the three sisters by combining sugar, spice, everything nice, and, of course, Chemical X. Blossom, the leader; Buttercup, the feisty tomboy; and cute blonde Bubbles fight crime in the city of Townsville with their superpowers when they're not attending elementary school. Like countless episodes before it, Mojo-Jojo A-Go-Go pits the three lovable heroines against the sinister simian Mojo-Jojo and his numerous cohorts. Mojo has stolen the city's jewels and has waged a full-on assault on Townsville, so in true 2D-shooter fashion, the girls need to fly through levels of intense shooting action to apprehend him.
As they soar through Townsville, the Powerpuff girls do battle with their laser eye beams and their fists, which act as a powerful short-range attack. One girl takes the front, while the other two wait patiently behind as nonparticipating wingmen (er, women.) The lead girl can also pick up objects like light posts and mailboxes to use as weaponry. Some of these objects act as clubs to sweep away all nearby enemies, while others can be thrown in arcs to destroy the foes. The girls can pick up a variety of power-ups along the way, which enhance their own offensive abilities, giving them more powerful blasts and multi-directional shots. You can rotate the girls in and out of the front at will so that when one of their health meters starts to dwindle, you can have one of the other sisters take the front. The girls in the back slowly heal, so rotating them frequently can keep them all in good condition. The girls can also collect a special move star, which enables them to perform a triple attack either to destroy a boss or to get through a particularly tough stage.
Despite the comical nature of the subject matter, Powerpuff Girls gives you an experience similar to that in old-school shooters like Gradius. There are tons of projectiles to dodge onscreen, and while the power-ups are somewhat limiting, the game does challenge you to perform certain tasks. Each enemy destroyed drops a pellet, and to successfully complete a stage you much collect a minimum number of them. The end of each stage is marked by an enjoyable boss battle, and the bosses can vary from Mojo himself in true mechanized Dr. Robotnik fashion, to other more-colorful and often giant-sized enemies. Sadly, there are some instances in which the collision detection feels off, which can spoil the fun of an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable shooter experience.
Powerpuff Girls: Mojo-Jojo A-Go-Go is a sharp-looking game that uses the look and feel of the popular animated TV series. The girls and backgrounds are colorful while remaining relatively simplistic and easy to recognize. The enemies have a distinct sci-fi cartoon space villain appeal to them, and it's nice to see that the humanoid foes bear a resemblance to Mojo himself. The audio effects are standard shooter fare for the most part, with a forgettable-sounding laser effect nearly drowning out the generic-sounding music. There are small snippets of voice, such as the narrator's introduction to the city of Townsville, but otherwise the visual and audio presentations are merely a notch above passable.
There are lots of little touches that add to the overall experience in Powerpuff Girls: Mojo-Jojo A-Go-Go. There are hidden areas and warp zones strewn throughout the seven levels, which give you something to look for during some of the longer, more repetitive stages. The girls in the back ranks will often do nifty little things like pull out pom-poms and cheer, or toss a ball up and down in boredom. Best of all, the game makes excellent use of the license by including snippets of material from the show that fans will immediately recognize. One particularly great special move has all of the girls pulling out their instruments and rocking out while the boss enemy haplessly watches. If so inclined, fans of competitive play can also link up to compete with other Powerpuff players, which adds considerably to the game's otherwise negligible replay value. While the game can't be recommended as highly as the incredible cartoon it's based on, Powerpuff Girls: Mojo-Jojo A-Go-Go is a capable shooter in its own right and can give fans of the intrepid trio something to do in between episodes of their favorite show.
