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You have to give it up to the GBA. Even as the DS continues its march of handheld dominance over the world, this little guy just won't quit. Its release list is dwindling, and its fan base is quickly making the jump to newer hardware, but still it tries to keep up. In these times where GBA offerings are slim pickings, sometimes an open mind can lead to the enjoyment of games one might not normally play.
Such was the case with Danny Phantom Urban Jungle. Under any other conditions, I wouldn't give it a second glance. I'm not a big fan of the show, though I've sat through a few episodes at my daughter's behest, and there were plenty of other games on my list to try out first; however, my little GBA SP had been a bit neglected as of late, so I decided to give it some attention. I'm a shooter fan, and Urban Jungle seemed like it might be what I was looking for. Unfortunately, it left me with thoughts of what could have been and lamenting at the amount of wasted potential contained inside its tiny cartridge case.
We could just go over the tried and true "licensed game brings nothing new to the table" discourse that seems to come so easily to this sort of release. It may definitely be true that no new ground was treaded here, but the same can basically be said for many games coming out today. No, that's not where this game fails. In fact, the worst things to be said about it are those that are absent, those that could have actually made it supersede its licensing stigma.
It may definitely be true that no new ground was treaded here, but the same can basically be said for many games coming out today.
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Shooters have a reputation for falling into repetitiveness, and Urban Jungle is no different. Standard left-to-right action with few surprises, one initially becomes excited upon discovering that there's an almost Ikarugaesque feel to the gameplay. Sadly, there isn't more than a meager attempt to copy that game's unique gameplay dynamic. As he flies, Danny is surrounded by a force field that can be switched to either red or blue and absorbs matching energy blasts. The more you absorb, the more you charge your ghost-beating attacks, most of which are forgettable. Perhaps the only truly useful power he has is the ability to phase through objects, like in the series. The problem is that the level design doesn't really allow for much inventiveness with Danny's phantom power. In fact, it seems mostly content to just toss wave after wave of the same enemies at you. Even the bosses suffer from this lack of creativity, and you'll find yourself fighting the same ones on several occasions. No strategy is required, and each encounter essentially boils down to a battle of attrition.
Even the presentation lacks any spark of motivation. Bland, repetitive backgrounds scroll by lazily as you take down foe after foe. The DS version is prettier and features some cool-looking on-rails sequences a la Panzer Dragoon, and I'm left wondering why THQ didn't just make the game around them. The GBA could have handled them, and it would have made for a more interesting experience, to say the least.
When all is said and done, fans of Danny Phantom are going to be into this one regardless of its flaws, but those who aren't into the cartoon will be left looking for something else. I'm still waiting for the day when most licensed games will transcend their reputations and do something significant with their material. I guess that day is still a ways off, but hey, at least my GBA got some play time.
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