User Rating: 4.3 | Mahou no Pumpkin GBA
When I was first given this game, I thought, "Hey look, an RPG for my new SP!" Man, was I wrong. It turns out this game was probably released as a "must have" kind of accessory for owners of the GCN version (after playing the GBA version, I think the GCN version probably sucks). The game is obviously developed for tykes ages 3 to 8. It is definitely meant for younger audiences. Gameplay gets a barely decent rate. The platform idea is a classic, and the engine seems solid, but the game is easily hampered by cheesy storylines. Graphics earn a low grade as well. Art seems to be akin to Earthworm Jim, in that the graphics look hand-drawn, but this is not enough saving grace. The backgrounds are drab, as well as the characters' simple design. Sound is at a decent score. The music sets a proper mood, ans every character action has an appropriat sound effect to accompany it. Value? Not present. Only a hardcore platform veteran or a mother looking for an appropriate game for the little ones would set a high value on this game. Normally, I am inclined to platform games, being one of the first of the "Mario Generation," but Nintendo seems to have gone awry when allowing their seal of approval onto the game's packaging. Oh, Mario, where art thou? But, I digress. All in all, I would only reccomend this game to the very young and impressionable, as the game seems to instill a healthy (and, in my opinion, quite natural) fear of the real bogeyman, not the junk we must deal with in reality.
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