Shrek SuperSlam

"Holy Gingerbread, a playable 3D fighter on the DS! Now if we could get something that didn't radiate that kiddy feeling."

Yes, I know I've been getting corney with my one-liner thought lines lately. And I really don't know what is worse, "Holy Water, Batman" or "Holy Gingerbread." Pick one or don't, but even though they make you groan, both apply to games you have to play to believe.

Yes, Castlevania is one that you must play to believe. The gorgeous graphics, the orchestrated music, the hours of game play. The game has to be experianced to see why so many have loved the 2D series so much.

And it's ironic that the Nintendo DS's first good 3D fighter (heck, the first good fighter released in the US) has a kid's license tacked on top of it. The license in this case is far more universal, being that it is Shrek, but as with any licensed game product, it falls under heavy scrutiny.

So why is it that I found the game to be so much fun? It was not because the graphics. They were anything but awful (though the still shots were far from appealing during the story scenes), but anything but beautiful. The backgrounds were filled with somewhat bland yet detailed enviornments, with numerous objects all along the way. The locations all take inspiration from either various fary tale-esque lands or directly from the two movies from the series (personal fave - Poisoned Apple). Though the graphics are not much, at least lighting is good, and there is a deffinate mood to be felt in each area.

Oddly enough, for the most part, the music matches each level, though I never could get a feel if the music was for a character or for the level itself. There is a sound test, though I never felt like using it. I don't know if it was because the music was never memorable or if it was the lack of control options for the sound test itself (touch screen only, and I was too lazy to use the stylus or to grease up the screen), but it is far from the dreck that was in Marvel Nemesis DS.

Oh, and about the controls - meh. There was a punch button which could be used for a three button combo, oh. Wait a sec. By punch, a mean a standard attack. See, for whatever reason (probably because there are a few non-humanoid characters, namely Donkey), you have a button for attacking, a button for a special move, a hard attack, a jump button, the touch screen to adjust the height of the camera (which never really made a difference that I could tell), activating one of three stage items you could pick up, and... That's it.

Now, this sounds pretty good, right? Here's where it hurts - the game play. For the most part, it's a 3D brawler slash fighter, which is far from bad. Were it not for the seemingly-random special meter, it would be fine.

Except that the Special Meter is the key to victory. See, you have to hit your foe like mad, keep attacking, build up the meter, then perform a combo (which can be taught to you in the Fighting-for-Dummies-masking-as-a-Tutorial mode), and if you did it right, you sling them across the field. Note that whoever performs the most specials wins the match, and you can only hope it is you.

Now, there is a story mode, which would appeal to... ah, who am I kidding? The so-called story mode is a crock, but at least the fighters are worth using, given that they are the chraracters from the movies. There is no real difference I could find between characters, which means that the usual strategy of who to use based on weaknesses and strengths is moot, but at least you can unlock at least six or so others.

Speaking of unlocking, I found that you need to catch "French Flies," which, when added up, allow you to unlock things in the Bonus section for a set ammount of Flies (FYI, the Flies are made to look like your average French artist). With these, you can unlock movie artwork, more characters, more costumes (some of which are unlockable by having the GBA Shrek Superslam in the GBA slot), and other random goodies.

There is an obvious multiplayer mode, but given that it is multicard, I won't even try it. At least this is kid friendly and will be more easy to find than, say, Castlevania.

In all, this is a pretty good fighter, if not for the combat issues and somewhat bland graphics. If they took the graphics from Viewtiful Joe or Ultimate Spiderman and added a good control scheme, then this would be nice. Heck, a 2D SNK/Capcom-style game would be great with the unlockables here. Yet, it is far from a glorious fighter, yet just right for the little uns.

Final Score: 7 of 10

* Best Features: Unlockables, characters, arenas
* Worst Features: Simple Combat, Story
* If You Liked: Marvel Nemesis DS (just try it, you might find it better than I did), Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance/Tournament Edition (both GBA)
* Guilty Pleasure: The look on people's faces when you tell them this is actually a pretty good fighter; most think it's licensed crap

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/05, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Shrek SuperSlam (US, 10/25/05)