With the Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi Show a hot Cartoon Network property these days, it was inevitable that some sort of licensed videogame would show up with the wild pair. This being their first Game Boy Advance title, D3 Publisher of America could have taken the safe route, slapped together a simple rhythm or puzzle game and left it at that. Fortunately, they got Japanese developer Altron to whip up a really solid and fun slice of platforming action, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped!, a game that manages to capture the stylized look of the show while giving kids of all ages the chance to control the rockin' duo.

The plot is pretty simple stuff and fits the wacky spirit of the show perfectly - the girls have just returned from an exhausting tour and are taking a TV break when their Number One Fan, Harmony, waltzes in and demands to go on tour with the girls. When they refuse, Harmony goops the pair up with gooey candy and swipes all their instruments, as well as their manager, Kaz. Freed by their cats, Ami and Yumi set out to retrieve Kaz and their gear from captivity. If these girls only had a doorman or maybe some beefy bodyguards and Harmony took her Ritalin on a regular basis, their lives would be undoubtedly easier. Then again, we'd be playing and reviewing that simple rhythm or puzzle game if this was the case.

Actually, there are some puzzles here, but they're of the "how the heck do I get to that part of the level?" variety. There's a playable tutorial that's recommended, as it not only shows how to use Ami and Yumi's different skills, but completing it also unlocks it on the Backstage menu. Yumi (the cute one) carries an electric guitar and can use it to whack baddies, grab onto ledges and do an Air Guitar Slide, which is good for traversing large gaps. She packs a mean kick and can also push or pull some blocks and smash others to get to new areas. Ami (the other cute one) can double jump and fly, by spinning a microphone, as well as using that microphone to swing from hooks suspended in the levels and whip enemies from a distance.

Running or attacking enemies builds up the change meter and the Jam Session bar, which allows an Ami/Yumi musical super attack that pacifies any enemies within range of the musical blast. You need to switch between the two girls during each level, as there are actually a few brain-teasing moments that require you to swap out the girls as fast as the change meter builds. World Tour mode is where you hop on a plane and zip from place to place, tracking down Harmony and your stolen stuff. She's littered some of the levels with Kazbots, metal versions of your yappy manager that need to be taken out for points or avoided whenever possible.

These bots shoot bouncing balls that can come back and knock your life bar down, so you need to move quickly. You also need to be on the lookout for fanboys, photographers and indigenous native residents of each area, who need to be handled with care. Hitting them costs you points, but a musical blast from Ami or Yumi (by holding down on the d-pad and pressing the right trigger) allows you to paralyze these folks briefly before they can do any damage. The adjustable difficulty allows anyone to hop in and play, although some younger players may be stymied by a few of the maps where quick timing is necessary to survive.

Altron has come up with some nice variety in the gameplay and level design, as each map gets trickier and trickier to navigate. While you can complete some of the early levels pretty quickly, seeking out the girls' pet kitties, Jang Keng and Tekirai, gives you an extra life or a heath boost when you find and pet them. Between each new spot on the map, the girls get to fly and blast enemies in a cute horizontal scrolling shooter. It's no Gradius, but the action is fast, the enemies keep coming and the bosses are pretty hilarious to watch as they bob and weave about.

The graphics mimic the show's offbeat look perfectly, with plenty of bright colors and stylized characters doing their thing. Ami and Yumi have a nice range of different animations, from crawling and running to the way they grip ledges. One particularly amusing routine to watch is Ami trying to push or pull a block that's normally a Yumi item - as she's not as strong as her pal, she looks as if she's about to get six hernias as she strains herself! The intro screens look like title cards from the show (a nice touch) and fans of the show will be smiling from the moment they switch on their systems. The music is all light, bouncy retro-sounding tunes derived from the show's soundtrack, along with what sounds like some original material pumping out from the GBA's speaker. The real Ami and Yumi show up in still pictures in the opening cinematic, on the start screen, some menus and the save screen. The goofy pre-cartoon banter the gals share is missed a little, but it's not that big a deal, as it doesn't take away from the game at all. It would have been cool to see some video compression in the opening cinema, like in Majesco's GBA video cartridges, but I'd imagine it would add to to the development costs to do this.

As for negatives, there aren't really any major drawbacks to be found here - a good thing for a new licensed game that bodes well should a sequel get green-lit. The only thing I noticed was that once in a while, in areas with charging animals, one of them may not notice you for a second or two, allowing Ami or Yumi to avoid a hit - but that's actually a good thing in the tougher levels.

Altron and D3 have a real chart-topper for fans of the show with Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! The levels are short enough for quick play while traveling and battery backup means you can save as you go (no passwords!) I had a blast playing this one and it'll be interesting to see where D3PA has the girls show up next. I know D3 has a Nintendo DS game on the way (a "Rock & Roll Brawler", according to the press release) so we'll definitely have to get our hands on that one and give you the word on whether it's as cool and fun to play as what's here.

Reviewed by Greg Wilcox for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).