Wendy: Every Witch Way

"An Extremely Fun Game for Young and Old"

Wendy: Every Witch Way at first might seem like a kid game at first, due to the fact that the main character is a little kid witch. Playing the game for the first time, older kids might find themselves ashamed for playing a game which was targeted for younger kids. But after playing the game for a while, anyone will realize that the game can be for young and old alike. WayForward Technologies, the developers of the game, did a real good job of making the game cute for younger kids and made the game fun for older kids.

This game is obviously aimed for younger crowds, which you can tell from the front cover. The main character is Wendy, a cute little blond witch girl. She is a familiar character for some kids; she appears on television, comics, and cartoons. The developers of this game have some experience in games about witches, since they are the same ones who developed the game on Game Boy Color Sabrina: The Animated Series.

The game features 12 levels, which are divided into four worlds. Bonus levels are added after you finish the worlds. There is also your usual password save option. This game is also compatible with the Game Boy Advance, with the new technology coming out. 3 new levels are available when you play it on the Game Boy Advance, which is attempting to appeal users on both handheld consoles.

Story (8/10)

Little Wendy accidentally opens up a chest containing magic stones, and they escape when they are given the chance. The stones run off to a floating castle, and the flying castle becomes grounded by the stones. Gravity has now gone haywire, and Wendy must now rescue the stones that everything can become normal again.

The story was obviously well-thought out, and is creative unlike some games where the story is just thrown in. The story definitely appeals to younger kids, with an absolutely imaginative story. The story actually might seem a little kiddy to older audiences, but anyone has to admit it is pretty good.

Graphics (8/10)

The graphics in the game are overall well-made, but there is nothing about that graphics that really sticks out in my mind. The most surprising thing about the game is the smoothness. Sometimes there is a lot going on the screen at a time, but the creators of the game produced an extremely well-made game engine. With all the enemies and the gravity switching, I still have not had a problem with the speed of the game.

The graphics are also well thought out. The colors are tasteful, while still being appealing to younger kids. The scenery also matches and appeals to young kids. The twenty-one different monsters are drawn creatively, and look unique in their own way.

Game Play and Controls (8/10)

This game has twists from your normal game that make this game fun. WayForward Technologies decided to make this game different than the normal platform game, which are plentiful on the Game Boy Color. Wendy can reverse gravity in this game, which adds a strategic aspect to the game. At times, it is crucial to the game that you flip the floor and the ceiling right. Sometimes it is simple to tell when to flip the floor to get through some parts of levels, such as to avoid spikes or such obstacles. But in some levels, it is challenging to figure out which way to flip those floors, because it can be like navigating through a tricky maze.

The game features 21 unique enemies that you will encounter through the levels. Every enemy has there own strengths and weaknesses, which are thankfully covered in the manual of the game. This adds more challenge to the game, because some enemies will or will not respond to what you do to them. It takes some strategy to figure out what to shoot at and from what angle. You do have ammunition, so it keeps from players from shooting everything that moves.

At the end of each of the worlds, you enter a bonus level. In these bonus levels, you ride a broom in a side-scrolling shooter. The bonus levels are fun, especially after you get through the challenging and strategic levels. They provide a break from thinking to complete action.

The controls are easy to grasp learn of. The directional pad controls the direction in which Wendy goes, and the A button causes Wendy to jump. Wendy fires her wand when the B button is tapped. Changing the gravity requires you to press two buttons, but they respond well together and quickly change the perspective.

Yes, most of us have to admit we will probably never buy another Game Boy Color game since of the release of the Game Boy Advance. But this game, being released in September 2001, tries to appeal to users of the Game Boy Advance by adding 3 levels that are unlocked only on the Game Boy Advance. When I popped the game into a Game Boy Advance, I was most disappointed by the fact that the graphics remained unchanged. The three levels are challenging, but they still are kind of regular. Still, this is a bold and creative move by the developers to appeal to both portable handheld consoles

The game might seem hard actually by what has been said about it, but at the end most of you will realize that the game is not that hard. Younger kids will take a long time to beat this game, but I honestly am not that good of a video gamer and it still took me a little over an hour to beat the game. The game is aimed for younger kids, so that could explain why the challenge is less for older kids. The levels are not as long as you would expect them to be. There is a hard setting above the normal setting, but the hard setting provides not that much of a difference in difficulty. I am not at all saying the game is not fun, just a little short.

Sound (7/10)

There is your basic and regular sound in this game. There are no problems with it, but there is nothing distinctive about it. The sound effects are cool and are well rendered. The background music is lively, and would is perfect to define the mood of the level. Younger kids will enjoy the sound. To make the sound better, they should have added some more lively tunes in the background sound of the game.

Replay Value (3/10)

This is the one aspect of the game that is relatively weak. Remember, your quest is to rescue the stones; nothing else is required of you. That means there is no reason to really play the game again to get anything. Thankfully, there is a hard skill level too. I was still disappointed though, because the only difference between the normal and hard difficulty setting is the number of enemies. Playing the game for the first time is fun, but beating it for the second time just for the heck of it can get boring.

Rent or Buy?

One thing to remember is that young kids will enjoy the game, with the fun story, cool scenery, and strategic game play. Fans of Wendy from the comics or cartoons will enjoy how this game has turned out. This game would be a good buy for fans of Wendy.
Older kids might not find this game too challenging, and with no replay value those kids will probably throw this game in their closet. Teenage boys especially would probably be embarrassed to be caught with this game, even though it is fun. I would recommend renting this game definitely, but buying it would not be a good choice.

The Final Word?

As I finally wrap up this game, we have to remember the time this game is coming out in. The Game Boy Advance is obviously better than the old Game Boy Color, and this is going to be among the last of the Game Boy Color games that are yet to be released. This is a good game, and I praise WayForward Technologies to make a game out of the loveable, blond witch. This is a good game, and this game rates highly on my scale even though it had a low replay value and difficulty. This game rates high on my scale because of its cool story, decent graphics, and extreme fun

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/01, Updated 10/10/01