Sound:  
The sound, on the other hand, was really well-done. Treasure Planet has some of the best examples of what the GBA is capable of aurally. Never did I need to turn down the volume or even get headphones. The GBA's speaker didn't hamper the sound quality and the music was well-written to boot.

Occasionally some levels featured the same music as the over-world area and it could get repititious, but it's a pleasure (tranet) when developers put some effort into the sound department.

Gameplay:  
Hope you like pushing blocks and flipping switches!

Most of this game features Jim pushing blocks, flipping switches, and sometimes pushing blocks ON to switches! It's all very exciting...

The developers obviously wanted a Zelda-style game, but focused on only a few aspects. Push the blocks over the switches, take the elevator that now works, go to the next room, push some more blocks.

Jim does learn new abilities during his quest, but they don't really make anything easier. You only learn the moves when the developer has added the new elements that you need the move for.

For example, there are no long-jump puzzles until you learn the long jump. There are no giant rock cubes until you learn a super punch to get rid of rock cubes, and since you can't revisit previous levels, there's none of that show-the-player-an-unattainable-item-to-make-them-want-to-keep-playing strategy.

Speaking of the cube rock super-punch, don't try using it on enemies because it's only as strong as the regular punch, and you get hurt when you run into them doing it.

There's very little room for the player to be creative in this game. I realize I'm older than the target audience, but what's the point of getting a new ability like the super punch if I can only use it on blocks that were only put there to make me use the super punch? Why doesn't it plow through enemies or find secret passageways? It's because this game has very linear, concrete thinking.

Basically there's only one way to do each room's puzzle. You push the blocks around until they fall into place. The only times you can mess up and have to start over are when fireballs destroy an exploding block- and that's usually a matter of timing, not problem-solving.

Speaking of timing, the solar sail levels are just excersizes in memorization. If you take it slow you're liable to miss a jump, so you need to keep a good pace. However, the overhead perspective doesn't let you see what's coming, so you wind up playing the level over and over until you've memorized a safe path. Mode 7 still looks cool- it should have been used.

Control:
The controls in Treasure Planet take some getting used to. The game is played at an angle so Jim walks diagonally even though you're pressing up, down, left, and right. Oh, I just reminded myself of something- Jim WALKS diagonally. When you first start the game you start pressing the buttons to see which one makes him run. When you realize none of them do, you constantly feel like yelling at him to get his ass moving.

It's very disconcerting to see someone walking everywhere in a videogame. Even if he was moving the same speed it would have been better to animate him running or at least have his arms moving. He's like Molly Shannon's character on Seinfeld, who walked like she was holding two suitcases.

Back to the controls, to flip through Jim's available special moves you have to hold L and keep pressing A, which keeps you from jumping. Pressing L alone should have changed what move he was going to do.

Multiplayer:
No multiplayer options.

OVERALL:
Treasure Planet proves to be a very adequate experience for an older player, but offers good puzzle-solving for younger fans of the movie.

There were a few oversights- once I fell through the floor and couldn't get out, and when the camera shows you key items in the room it leaves you vulnerable to attack, but for the most part the game is very straight forward.

 

The Lowdown on  Treasure Planet Aesthetics: Average Control: Average Gameplay: Above Average Multiplayer: Sound: Awesome Innovation: 3/6 Lasting Appeal: 4/6 Rating Explanation Overall: Above Average! "A Quality Game"