Tak and the Power of Juju

Written by Chris Reiter  on November 25, 2003

Full Review: Unlike the original Juju Bee candy, licking this Juju hoodoo only gets you an odorless, flavorless taste of shopworn plastic. ::proceeds to remove tongue from game box::

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Who better than Nickelodeon to join the platforming fray? No really. It's as if the genre were meant for them...in a way. Nickelodeon is the TV company that gears their programs toward kids, for kids, and is watched by kids...and grown ups who still live with their parents, and the like. Each one of their shows is unique in some form or another. The Rugrats revolves around the life of one group of babies who confide in each other to battle the maniacal "elder" child Angelica from ruining their fun; Ren and Stimpy are one mildly intelligent and entirely agitated Chihuahua and one really fat cat that's dumber than a cat scratching post -- who together find themselves the butt of many unfortunate situations. Then there's Jimmy Neutron, a boy genius that is misunderstood by his casual parents, mocked by his classmates, and finds adventures with the latest inventions an elementary school student like himself is able to concoct.

For every one of these current or past shows mentioned, there have been one or more video games to compliment the series. Falling under the platform genre, Nickelodeon has found a spot in the genre's evolution throughout the changes of their television channel, and as many times before and once again, Nickelodeon partners with THQ to present their newest of characters. Unlike the other popular mediums, Tak and the Power of Juju is a completely original creation seeing the light of day in its game debut first (and possibly its own show to follow up). Combining a primitive, plant-filled island with the means of magic and an unlikely hero named Tak to back it up, Tak and the Power of Juju is a warm welcome in a genre that's been in need of something else for quite some time.

Once a prophecy was foreseen by a great Pupanunu shaman and then passed down through the ages by each shaman who followed in the last's footsteps. Until the time approached that the prophecy revealed itself, each shaman bred a warrior to fend the village from such an evil. With the High Shaman's election just passing and the current shaman Jibolba now being chosen over the jealous Tlaloc, things start to look grim as Tlaloc has transformed almost everyone in the Pupanunu village into a sheepish coward, or just make that a sheep. The prophecy which was to be now is coming true: the Moon Juju (the magical guardian of the Pupanunu people) would be brought down from power entirely. But Jibolba's secret warrior weapon Lok, who was thought to be in ship shape, is just another wool covered grass muncher. All who remains now is the little guy, the one no one ever suspects is capable of anything, Tak. Informing Tak he must gather the ingredients to restore Lok to his true self as to defeat the dastardly Tlaloc, Tak does so willingly, followed by the Moon Juju's daughter Flora and you, his Juju guide. Watch over Tak and help him help him help his Pupanunu people before the end of the Moon Juju is at hand.

Tak and the Power of Juju isn't exactly the wave of the future when it comes to platforming games, but you'd be surprised by what this puppy is meant to accomplish. The game takes an inexperienced hero in Tak and hands him a couple of simple weapons in which to attack, break stuff, or also catapult jump with. Across an intersecting island, Tak is at times guided by Flora, the mystical fairy creature who becomes something of a sidekick to the otherwise unknowing hero. Creatures Tak will encounter vary, though not by much. Most of the time you'll find small goblin-like things called Nerbils that can jump up platforms, or down them in order to reach your location as quickly as they can, as well as miniature plants that rise from beneath the ground and try to bite Tak as he gets near. Other hazards like spitting, spinning mini-boss plants and exploding cacti can alter Tak's chances slightly, but only a little. See, Tak's attack pattern consists of using a normal club weapon, a blowgun (used in both melee and firing positions), and a metamorphosis of the club, the spirit rattle, all for whacking as fast as you can until the it stops moving. Your common enemy is also dim-witted, which shows in the Nerbil's case's ability to jump off of high cliffs to get at Tak, or in a small plant's inability to evolve in any solid defense measure -- making the game simplified in that respect.

However, Tak and the Power of Juju is not what you think. There do exist a couple aspects that shine a light of benefitting reason in the game toward any form of originality. Tak lives on a single island, and across this same island Tak can wander from spot to spot, accessing balloon powered lifts and wooden elevators to several stages where the real action takes place outside the Pupanunu Island (a hub of sorts). Introduced in some of these levels are wildlife that by every means adds to Tak's progression through the jumping and attacking creatures like mad. Not every animal is your ally, and neither are they your foe. Call them neutral clients working toward your betterment. In an example of how the process of you and animals function in symmetry, you may be gazing in the distance, and then you'll see your next target sector in which to access. But what's this? There's no way you can possibly jump that far. Why, look over there -- a giant gorilla is arbitrarily clutching a banana tree repeatedly, stretching it down far enough that one such as Tak could casually step atop the arched leaves to be flung just the right distance when the simian happens to let go.

It's just not every time that a scenario as easy as that comes along, though. Sometimes you've actually got to breathe life back into that sleeping lump you call a brain to bait any of the level's large and nearby primates into stepping over and working their money magic on a particular branch that needs bending. Tak and the Power of Juju's giant gorillas favor two things: oranges and sheep. Both of which can and will be put to use in solving any riddle behind making it so a monkey does what you want it to do. Grabbing an orange off a close fruit bush can prove useful, by automatically luring the gorilla to a specific tree's resting spot. Grabbing a sheep does the same thing, except differently, as when Tak takes a sheep, he hides underneath its wool, making it so he's disguised as a sheep himself. This kind of operation has an advantage in other areas as well, when some tribesman guard, who Tak at times will encounter, stands in Tak's way unless it was a woolly critter wobbling right by the unsuspecting bouncer's nose. Other interactive characters, such as rams that headbutt Tak to far reaches, rhinos Tak can ride on top of to break down wooden barriers, and smaller monkeys that squat in trees and react to your blowgun's acorn ammo by throwing objects at whatever moving thing is closest to them -- whether it's a Nerbil army you want beaten or a sheep resting on a treadmill you need to open a sliding door, all add a level of depth to the otherwise modest adventure.

You can't call a platform game a platform game until you give it items to cull. While Tak and the Power of Juju doesn't exactly focus on picking up items other than those out of necessity (such as the 100 Yorbel spheres Tak will need later on in the game), there's a heaping helping of item hauling to put inside your fanny pack here. Most common to Tak's trek are feathers. Feathers are sorted by their different array of colors for different purposes. Actually, attached to Tak's head is a feather itself. Its reason for being there is primarily to warn you of how low Tak's health is by revealing more purple when his life meter drains and at a fuller yellow as it increases (although, you can just as easily press down on the L3 switch to receive an charted percentage). Nabbing feathers, which are everywhere, juices your health up a notch or more. Certain feathers, like orange ones that lay still in a trail all around, knock your life up a decent, albeit not extensively amount. Golden feathers revitalize Tak all the way, whereas purple ones, which can be found in breakable pots or taken from defeated enemies, can aid Tak only a little -- but on the other hand relate more for powering magic in which Tak will eventually learn to harness. Although collecting feathers is necessary if Tak wants to stay afloat in this platforming boat, it's not totally essential as when Tak dies, he respawns at the last checkpoint, making it so you never really have to worry too much about Tak's health care plan.

Easy comes as easy goes, as Tak is one simple little guy to operate. In a result of the wisdom issued by Flora through on-screen dialogue and also an intuitive controller layout, Tak is quite an easy game to get into for anybody. Tak's few skills involve moving and rotating the camera with the analog sticks, to jumping with X, attacking with square, and picking up objects or entering the blowgun mode through a press of the triangle button. Also from selecting L1, Tak can switch between the two weapons he's got on hand. Those are the primary functions anyhow, as Tak will eventually find himself engaging in stunts that no other Pupanunu can do (they're sheep, remember?): from flying around inside a chicken suit to hopping on a wooden board as to glide, grind, and even power boost his way down sandy or snowy mountain ranges. The gears in the control designs barely change dramatically, however, so making use of Tak is never a problem. What does detract from the game's overall fun, though, can be attributed to the way in which finding your trail around the island hub or any segment of a level can become a bit confusing with having no on-screen map to follow. There are sign posts that point the way and even highlight which area they're sticking at if you stand restless on the screen in one spot momentarily. Other than that, it's an easy habit to become forgetful or bewildered by the game's directory setup (especially since Flora, your "Northern Star" for everything, vanishes shortly from sight early on).

Cartoons on Nickelodeon are one thing, yet Tak is no cartoon character. In fact, Tak's world is that of a computerized one, much in the same sense as the Jimmy Neutron series. With Avalanche, a relatively unfamiliar developer pulling the strings behind Tak's creation, it's a refreshing change of pace to see a product that looks so good from one of the lesser known development houses. More so than anything, the FMV footage reeled rarely (unfortunately) takes funny scenarios and mashes it up with finely fitting blobs of CGI to expand on the twisted tale of Tak. Anything outside the brilliant FMV footage is still great to peer upon, although not as much (but that's always a given in any game). Where Tak slaps every other visual element that's not CGI is probably in the fluid sets of animations that give characters a whole new meaning to cartoon life. Tak may appear to be just a tiny cave man looking guy, but when Tak's spinning in midair with a blur effect following through, to surfing the mountain range and hitting a snag that leaves Tak going face first with his arms and his legs spread out right into a mountain side, you can tell right away the developer has a proven method on how to express its own brand of humor.

Aside from all the wacky moves Tak or even certain enemies can pull off, the game's overall content is definitely something of an eye opener. Crisp, clean, and clear, Tak's worlds to explore flings this errand boy into a jungle terrain (complete with vines to swing on and zipline across), a murky rock-filled spot, and even a chicken resort by the sea side where the unprocessed poultry cluck along a grass-covered alignment of skipping stones. Amongst the differences in locations, there are Tak and the range of enemies or helpful figures he will face on his quest. The short answer to whether character models appear decent enough on the screen is yes, whereas the long answer would be no -- since character models stand out at least better than just decent. Detail included into character models may not be much to stare at, with minimal amounts of texturing, but nevertheless they each have a certain quality about them. Sheep have their woolly coats' all frizzled and blood red eyes always twitching about, Nerbils have their stout ears and their mousy bodies always hopping through and through, and Tak has his undergarments, pot belly for a chest, and purple face painted, large schnozzle, and feather waving head to check out in this magically delicious game element. Additionally to all the well-balanced factors in this great to look at, albeit a bit straightforward by design, game are the special effects that slide a hint of reality where footprints indent into the soil, releasing dust whenever Tak moves around, and shadows that move apprehensively to the colorful character models that make them happen.

"Attitude" comes to mind when thinking about what Tak's sound designers wanted Tak to sound like. They wanted to give Tak a fresh face and a character that can say, "I may not be a muscular warrior, but I'm down with it." That's what Tak's about when he generates his lip muscles...sort of. Speaking lines from within the game are portrayed most of the time in a comedic fashion, appearing whenever you come across a cut scene (which isn't often), or whenever Flora tips Tak on what to do or where to go (which doesn't happen often enough), and the rest of the time when Tak puts swinging weapon to enemy ass. Dialogue spoken by a true hipster like Tak derives in the triumphant form of, "Who's da man?" to, "That'll leave a mark." and, "Owned!" Fortunately Tak doesn't go out of his way to repeat the same wording over and over. However, his range of verbal abilities isn't that widespread. Considering the slang phrases Tak's open mouthed dictionary is related to what's in the "now," some may tire of the limited sessions of speaking Tak does during his attacks to instead become the "then."

Music and audio on the other hand affect the game of Tak in a lesser manner. Or at least you're not going to notice either quality a whole lot. Reasonably, Tak's music score is set to a very subtle level so that the quite tolerable adventuristic rhythm you'll find good in all but will hardly concentrate on, as it's like a whisper when compared to all the loud happenings around it. Audio effects too are in a way a subject that's been pushed into a corner, being that their nature isn't a broad one, but they're present enough to be likable in the small selection of them that there are. Clubbing creatures, running and jumping about, being tossed and landing on your face first, and even the squeaky racket of Nerbils is a small grouping of continuing sounds you'll recognize most of the time, in catering a repetitive but fair result.