Dewy's Adventure

"Rather average game"

Konami really doesn't seem to be having much success with their Wii titles. Elebits hit with some minor critic praise but no one listened. Now the latest platformer for the Wii has come out and the critics pretty much ignored it. Do they know something we don't?

Dewey needs to save all of his friends from an evil baron who wants to pollute the world. It's a very basic story of good vs. evil and with an environmental message to boot! Oh and don't forget those nestle water ads in between stages.

Dewey has no shame since he's a droplet of dew. Sadly Konami has no shame either as they deliver some of the blandest visuals yet to grace the Wii. Textures don't seem to exist; the worlds look like a generic 3D map creator was used. Not all is bad in this little dew drops world though because the bosses look pretty shiny and offer some of the best graphics on the Wii. So who knows what happened with the rest of the game.

Dewey has cute little squeals. Imagine children on a play ground and you get the idea of the sound effects. The music is whimsical and fits the game nicely. Fans of Katamari or Locoroco should feel right at home with the music. The game also uses voice work for the story telling bits. It gets the job done but it's nothing to get excited over.

Dew might be a droplet of dew but boy does he control like a... droplet of dew? You hold the Wiimote line you would a normal controller. Tilt it to slide Dewy around. It works pretty well and offers 3 sensitivity levels. You jump with the 2 button. You shake the Wiimote up and down to cause and earthquake and shake it left and right to create a gust of wind. Besides that you use the d-pad to raise the temperature so Dewy's surroundings can change.

The problem with the control and perhaps the biggest problem with the gameplay itself is that the game features a lot of precise jumping and the controls feel a bit too sensitive to maneuver those jumps like you should. It's very easy to find yourself falling off a ledge or sinking into a puddle of water all because of a jump.

Besides that Dewy has a very interesting idea going for it. You need to change the temperature to change your surroundings. Bringing it down will freeze everything and allows for your most common attacks. Raising it up allows for it to get hotter and you to use lighting which is used to stun an enemy.

With so few skills it never becomes a problem figuring out how to hurt an enemy. Most can be killed with the frozen attack while sometimes you may need to stun or wait for an opening.

The game does feature some puzzles and some hidden items. The puzzles are pretty basic and a few are actually done really well. What really comes to mind in terms of the puzzles though is the ice world. Instead of having your normal level changes you end up raising the water levels by freezing and unfreezing the water. It allows for bridges and platforms to rise up. Its little things like those that keep you thinking. Sadly it was one of the few times I had to think about the levels.

The game also offers some fun boss fights but the game boldly tells you what to do. It even pauses the game, makes the weak spot flash and if you're not doing it right it flashes a message as a hint.

The game itself isn't overly long. Maybe 5 or so hours. Within each stage are 100 little friends to save but most are placed in obvious areas. Besides that you can unlock new items and even take pictures.

The coolest feature is the ability to create your own stages using preset levels. While a great idea it's very limited but what extends it is the fact that you can send them over wifi to friends.

The game also features some challenge levels for both single and multi-player but I didn't mess around with those.

Either way Dewy's Adventure will become one of those sought after hidden gems that will drive the EBay prices right up. However, I find that with such shoddy jumping controls and a major focus on jumping really hinders the game. It's worth a rental. Or if you're a collector it might be smart to buy this one now. You never know how it will turn out but with so few copies in stores it can be tough to find this game even so soon after its release.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 6/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/07

Game Release: Dewy's Adventure (US, 09/25/07)