Juju

 
Developer: Flying Wild Hog

Steam Release: Dec 2014

Hours Played: 4.7

Similat To: Giana Sisters / Oozi / Paper Monsters Recut / Rayman Legends

Rating: 4/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Here's fun: take the brilliance and flair behind the gloriously enchanting 2D platformer Rayman Origins, change the art-style to appeal to an even younger audience, give it a further Fisher Price twist so that it's forgiving enough for the youngsters not to get upset every few minutes and then give the whole package a silly little name like Juju! Cynicism aside, this is precisely the winning formula that developers Flying Wild Hog came up with when making the game of that name - and it's stupendous! You play as a puffed-up purple cartoon character (whose name escapes me) while running and jumping your way through 36 delightful levels of platforming fun as you bound your way through a sea of sparkling crystals. You can dash through your foes, have the special ability to make enemies dance, and later to hover a little and to stomp.  
 

BALANCE & PACE

After a cutesy introduction our eponymous hero sets out on the first leg of his journey. The goal of which is fairly simple: collect crystals while running and jumping on various platforms, avoiding the nasties such as frogs, crabs and thorny plants. Give the wheel of fortune a little spin at the level's conclusion to unleash and collect a further cascade of crystals and to thus end the adventure before moving on. Needless to say the game is a veritable box of delights, it runs just as fluidly and is just as fun (although perhaps not as exciting) as Rayman Origins which the game is clearly inspired by and has learned from. As mentioned, in the first world at least, the game is extremely forgiving with the clear intention on the part of the developer to let the player reach the end of each level with the minimum of pain and annoyance.  
  
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN 

Although adults will certainly get a kick out of the game, its target audience is squarely aimed at primary school-aged children. This puts it on a par with other innocent and inoffensive action platformers such as Muffin Knight, Paper Monsters and Oozi. However, its graphics are fantastic! The game sparkles and gleams creating a shining tropical area for world one and an elaborate construction site / adventure playground in world 2. You get a seaside world and a sweet world for 3 and 4; plus a different tune for each! As you'd expect, the colours are bright and vibrant, the elaborate environments magically hold attention and enemies are extremely varied. Ideas for other aspects such as the home-page and even load-screens are lifted directly from (yes, you've guessed it) Rayman Origins. 
   

PROGRESS SYSTEM

The game is divided into four worlds that have to be unlocked as you go. Each world consists of nine levels with a couple of bosses thrown in and take anything from around 3 to 10 minutes You'll get up to three gold coins depending on how many crystals are collected; up to three blue portals depending on how many secret levels you cleared; an alarm clock if you managed to beat the par time (significantly less than 3-10 minutes) and a gold mask for collecting all crystals. With all these goals to aim for plus a recorded best time (if you scroll down at the level-select screen) Juju caters to a large section of fans. Casual players may leisurely complete levels at their own pace while hardcore players are kept happy in being able to speedrun levels if they wish. 

CONCLUSION

Helped largely by those shiny graphics; the humorous objects and animations of the characters in the environment; the fluid movement of your character and those inventive levels packed with bucket-loads of interesting ideas, Juju is a magical offering that will turn you back into a child again. Sure, it's a Rayman Legends for kids but its level designs also reminded me of Castle of Illusion - another great triple A title which again suggests that the developers have gone some way that belies their indie label and the limitations often associated with indie games. Still if it's indie or not and if you, dear reader, are young or old pick this up and add it to your library of action platformers to bring a little bouncy spring into your life