J.J. & Jeff

"Average At Best...."

JJ & Jeff, a sidescrolling platformer from Hudson Soft, WOULD be a strictly ho-hum, if not even sub-par, affair if it wasn't for the game's quirky sense of humor, which at least distinguishes it slightly from other titles of the same genre. Whether this game is worth the six dollar price at which it's available through the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console is questionable (especially if you have yet to download other, more noteworthy TurboGrafx 16 titles); however, judged on its own merits alone, JJ & Jeff is, fundamentally, a barely-average 2-D platformer with just enough character to make it capable of providing a few hours' worth of non-committed entertainment on a rainy day, assuming you've got nothing else to do.

You play as either JJ or Jeff (duh). They're a couple of wisecracking detectives who one day receive a mysterious phone call asking for their assistance in locating a wealthy man who's been kidnapped.Apparently, doing this requires one to walk to the right, dodging attacks from birds, dogs, and random rolling boulders, while also taking the occasional break to gamble on slot machines...because that's just what JJ (or Jeff, depending on which character you select -- and it really doesn't make a difference) proceed to do upon accepting the mission. Whether you choose to play as JJ or Jeff, the other hero will pop up at various points throughout the game to offer tips, health refills, or just random taunts, and this is where the game's character emerges. While the jokes are hardly AAA material (in fact, they almost exclusively involve bodily functions), the interactions between JJ and Jeff can produce a few grins...even if the undertones of sexual tension concerning these two "friends" are a bit creepy (am I the only one who senses this?).

Anyway, let's break it down:

Graphics: 6 out of 10

While no one would call the visuals in JJ & Jeff impressive, they're at least clear, and appropriate for the kind of game this is. Plenty of color is used, and the character designs, especially for the two heroes (who sport massive, caricature-like heads on scrawny, but well-dressed, bodies) are well-handled. The environments COULD use a little more variety, and the characters' movements are hardly fluid...but overall, the graphics in JJ & Jeff get the job done just fine.

Sound: 8 out of 10

Oddly enough, I really like the music in this game. While the songs are admittedly rather repetitive, they're still quite catchy, and fit the game well. The rest of the audio in this game mainly consists if your standard, generic bleeps and blips -- nothing offensive, but certainly nothing special.

Story: 5 out of 10:

Well, you know the story already -- JJ and Jeff are trying to rescue some rich guy. Really, beyond that, there's not much else to reveal. We aren't told anything more about our heroes, or their backgrounds. Who are the villains? What motivates them? Who knows? And, really, who cares? JJ & Jeff features the bare minimum story elements, and that's all. I give it points, however, for the amusing dialogue exchanged between our heroes from time to time.

Gameplay: 5 out of 10

JJ & Jeff actually plays a bit like another Hudson title on the TG-16, New Adventure Island. Our characters' movements are similar, and the same "constantly depleting health meter that must regularly be replenished with randomly-placed pieces of fruit suspended in mid-air" system is used here. Of course, unlike Adventure Island, JJ & Jeff offers no weapons or other monotony-breaking enhancements for our heroes to use in their quest (other than a mostly-useless pepper spray each character automatically carries with him), and the boss fights are not even remotely as interesting. The controls are also far from tight -- this game uses that annoying control nuance of having your character slide for a few steps after you've stopped pressing the directional pad, which can lead to frustrating deaths from time to time.

On the plus side, however, the gameplay in this title is simple enough to allow for a relaxing gaming experience, yet challenging enough to keep you awake and vaguely entertained. You'll make it a little farther each time you play, as you memorize the level designs and master the nuances of the game's controls. In that sense, JJ & Jeff is like many, many other 2-D platformers of its era -- simple, fairly easy, and not to be taken too seriously.

Overall: 5 out of 10:

JJ & Jeff is the sort of game that you'll pick up for ten, maybe twelve, minutes at a time, when you've got that much to spare, and have already completed other important tasks for the day...like, say, checking the expiration dates on the bottles in your medicine chest, and making sure that all of your compact disks are in their proper cases. It's nothing special, but it does offer a modest amount of passive entertainment, when you're in the mood to play a video game, but don't want to have to pay attention. Personally, if find titles like this to be oddly comforting from time to time, but would never claim that JJ & Jeff is anything more than average.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/08

Game Release: J.J. & Jeff (US, 05/28/07)