Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi The Genie and the Amp
Posted August 4, 2006
I'm only going to say the complete title once because I even have a tough time speaking it. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp is the latest title to cash in on this Cartoon Network show, and in releasing it they wanted to usher in a new genre which was dubbed "Rock and Roll Brawler".
Real life rockers turned animation superstars Ami and Yumi have lost their ability to rock and create good songs. They then come into the possession of a genie that sends them around the world and through time in a search the best musical notes to rock their way around the world. Sounds like it could be a Tenacious D song doesn't it?
Gameplay:
Genie and the Amp plays like any generic side scrolling fighter that came out in the early days of 8-bit home consoles; this time however, the developers have tried to add onto the title in a way that only the DS can offer. That is controlling the fighting action onscreen with the stylus.
The touch screen contains (for each character) a small section of the guitar for the player to strum on, with each string mapped to a specific attack. While in theory this sounds like it has potential to be pretty interesting, the reality of it is that it's a clunky and frustrating way to control a fighter. Not long after starting the training level, did I quickly put the stylus away and opted to use the face buttons for the attacks instead. Even when using the more intuitive method of attacking, the game was an outright button masher with very little redeeming quality.
Each level boiled down to the same thing; move selected character through the screen and attack the baddies that come your way until you reach a boss. There was one redeeming thing in the game however, that would be the inclusion of the "crane game" that you'll run into once in a while which lets you win new outfits and equipment for Ami and Yumi.
Because the band that this game is loosely based on contains two leads, you can control either Ami or Yumi. Both characters control is essentially the same, with some stat variations as the only difference. But as the game progresses you can upgrade them with homemade sushi so the differences become non-existent very quickly.
Graphics:
Bright colorful and reminiscent of the cartoon series that the game is based on describe the title accurately. For those who may know what this means, it's a cell shaded look that works quite well on the DS (and obviously the Lite). Some jagged edges are noticed around some characters, but nothing that really detracted from the look of the title.
Audio:
A tinny J-Pop soundtrack accompanies this title, while to some that may sound fantastic; I found it to be a little irritating while playing this title. Strumming on the guitar strings to attack created pseudo-chords which indicate that you are striking a target, those sounds combined with the background music create a chaotic and ultimately distracting sound which you'll quickly want to turn off. I can't find much in the sound department to rave about, but I am sure that the target audience will get a kick out of the sound effects.
Conclusion:
First of all, I'm a little confused as to who this title is targeted as I guess I'm not sure the demographic that watched the show on the Cartoon Network. My immediate guess would be the younger girl crowd, but then why try to get them to play a game that is based around fighting? While that may seem like a stereotype, I think that this title could have done a lot more to attract that type of gamer had they taken an approach that wasn't so reliant on the fighting aspect, like maybe focus more on the collection rather than the beat downs to find items.
Real life rockers turned animation superstars Ami and Yumi have lost their ability to rock and create good songs. They then come into the possession of a genie that sends them around the world and through time in a search the best musical notes to rock their way around the world. Sounds like it could be a Tenacious D song doesn't it?
Gameplay:
Genie and the Amp plays like any generic side scrolling fighter that came out in the early days of 8-bit home consoles; this time however, the developers have tried to add onto the title in a way that only the DS can offer. That is controlling the fighting action onscreen with the stylus.
The touch screen contains (for each character) a small section of the guitar for the player to strum on, with each string mapped to a specific attack. While in theory this sounds like it has potential to be pretty interesting, the reality of it is that it's a clunky and frustrating way to control a fighter. Not long after starting the training level, did I quickly put the stylus away and opted to use the face buttons for the attacks instead. Even when using the more intuitive method of attacking, the game was an outright button masher with very little redeeming quality.
Each level boiled down to the same thing; move selected character through the screen and attack the baddies that come your way until you reach a boss. There was one redeeming thing in the game however, that would be the inclusion of the "crane game" that you'll run into once in a while which lets you win new outfits and equipment for Ami and Yumi.
Because the band that this game is loosely based on contains two leads, you can control either Ami or Yumi. Both characters control is essentially the same, with some stat variations as the only difference. But as the game progresses you can upgrade them with homemade sushi so the differences become non-existent very quickly.
Graphics:
Bright colorful and reminiscent of the cartoon series that the game is based on describe the title accurately. For those who may know what this means, it's a cell shaded look that works quite well on the DS (and obviously the Lite). Some jagged edges are noticed around some characters, but nothing that really detracted from the look of the title.
Audio:
A tinny J-Pop soundtrack accompanies this title, while to some that may sound fantastic; I found it to be a little irritating while playing this title. Strumming on the guitar strings to attack created pseudo-chords which indicate that you are striking a target, those sounds combined with the background music create a chaotic and ultimately distracting sound which you'll quickly want to turn off. I can't find much in the sound department to rave about, but I am sure that the target audience will get a kick out of the sound effects.
Conclusion:
First of all, I'm a little confused as to who this title is targeted as I guess I'm not sure the demographic that watched the show on the Cartoon Network. My immediate guess would be the younger girl crowd, but then why try to get them to play a game that is based around fighting? While that may seem like a stereotype, I think that this title could have done a lot more to attract that type of gamer had they taken an approach that wasn't so reliant on the fighting aspect, like maybe focus more on the collection rather than the beat downs to find items.