Game played on: PlayStation 3

Also available on: Wii, Xbox 360

Is a remake of a game for: 3DS

When a mascot fighter game comes out, such as Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL, I always hear many legions of gamers cry out that the game is obviously a rip-off and no one should buy it. All this says to me is that there are not enough mascot fighters yet for everyone to realize this is in fact a genre, not just something done by Super Smash Bros. and not allowed by PlayStation or Cartoon Network or Small Arms or any other game companies and titles I can't remember right now. What I'm getting at, is that when this game was first announced, I had no problem with what the promise was. Personally, I'm a fan of Cartoon Network's programming, and earlier this year I finally bought the game and tried it for myself.

It's alright.

I spoil that now as the common opinions of the game tend to only be in two camps: You hate it or you think it's okay. For the same reasons, actually.

First let's get into what the game is supposed to be. Punch Time is meant to be a crossover fighting game for many of the popular cartoons from Cartoon Network. Most of the shows featured were no longer airing at the time, the only exception being Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. With that in mind, the game sort of feels like a celebration of Cartoon Network's past, their successes all coming together and letting us know how much they've appreciated our love for them.

However, not every former show received the love. It has been pointed out by many fans before me that both Courage the Cowardly Dog and Ed, Edd n' Eddy were not in the game. I've heard there were trademark or copyright reasons behind this, the Eds couldn't join in because they technically belong to AKA Studios for example, but I have no idea if this is true or not. They could have just glanced over them, or felt they had enough characters already.

I read one forum post about someone being infuriated that Flapjack and Chowder were playable when the Eds and Courage were not. I like those latter shows more as well, but, come on, it's nothing to be that riled up about. Granted I think this person didn't like Chowder or The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, but this is a forum post, they may normally be okay with those shows as far as I know. Even if I didn't like those shows, which I do, even more than I did when they originally premiered now that I've gone back to them, again, I still would not think it's worth getting riled up about.

You know what I'm riled up about? Every stage in this game is related to a show, baring the final stage, typical for these types of games. However, all of the shows related to the stages, also have characters you can play as. This is a missed opportunity. In Smash Bros. or PlayStation All-Stars, stages could be used to represent franchises that didn't get a character to represent them. Here, that is not the case. Not only that, but out of all the characters, only two of them are from franchises that are not also represented by a stage. Captain Planet and Johnny Bravo (Let's not count the also unlockable younger Ben Tennyson, I'm counting Ben 10 as it's own franchise and we also had Vilgax, older Ben, Kevin 11, and some stages). Bravo was an assist in the 3DS version, meaning in that version, the assists had one character to represent something different from the stages, but we'll talk about assists in a second.

Imagine how many more shows we could have gotten from stages. Picture it: Camp Kidney. Charles Darwin middle school. If you didn't want the Eds, I would have been happy fighting in the Cul de Sac, or Nowhere Kansas would have quelled some complaints as well. Some of you may say that Camp Lazlo or My Gym Partner's a Monkey don't need to be represented in this game, but I fully think they should. This is a celebration of the channel, put everything in that you can. Put in the live-action shows no one liked, put in Out of Jimmy's Head, get Hanna-Barbera characters, get the dubbed anime you used to air on Toonami, get Tom. Tom could be the next narrator, and that's not saying Space Ghost was a bad narrator nor a bad idea, just a thought in case they go somewhere different. Make the cross-over big enough that you add in Kid's WB characters. People would lose their minds if you did that, and everyone knows Warner owns both, I can imagine this happening. Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes air on CN, and I've already seen how open to Warner is with cross-overs thanks to LEGO Dimensions.

What I can't imagine happening is a cross-over with Nickelodeon or Disney Channel. Disney and Viacom aren't part of Warner, stop acting like it in forum posts. It won't happen. I did see someone say they'd like to see Ash Ketchum on, and I can picture that considering where Pokemon played on both CN and Kid's WB. It'd be weird as I'm almost positive a lawyer or someone would prevent Pikachu from appearing as well, but hey, I'd still be for an Ash Ketchum without his Pokemon in a fighting game. It'll work or it won't, and I'm fine with either due to how cool and hilarious it would me.

To get back on track, let's discuss the assist characters. They are, hands down, the best use of assist characters I've seen in a mascot fighter. Each one either does a lot of damage, or heals a lot of damage. Sometimes, they screw you, because they can damage anyone in the area including you, but they can still be worth it. Now, where they really shine, is when you activate a certain assist with a certain character. Their powers combine and they unleash an incredibly powerful attack. Many of these do better damage than the character's special move, and most of them outshine what the assist would normally do. Some of them made sense, other combinations came out of nowhere, and that only added to the joy of what was happening.

Speaking of, I never realized how much the candy pirates from Codename: Kids Next Door and the characters of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack had in common until this game realized it and had the two meet. It was one of those "OH!" moments that made this game worth playing as a CN fan.

Now, mechanically, as a game. Here's the problems:

Many characters control fine, but there is no balancing. This game, while having a local multiplayer (no online but I don't consider that a downside), was clearly built with single player in mind only. Some characters just don't do much damage, and others are practically unstoppable. I found I liked playing with Flapjack a lot, but once I played again in hard mode, I never really used anybody other than Aku and HIM. Kevin 11 is overpowered and recommended by many for hard mode as well, and I saw why. Granted, yes this means the characters you figured would be powerful are hilariously fun in how overpowered they are, but this is a game I would like to play with other people, and all that would happen (I assume) is that whoever picks Aku or HIM would be the winner by default. Monkey was the only exception, in my opinion. I figured a superhero would be really useful, but I ended up hating this control scheme and just kept playing as Flapjack.

One small grip I found was with a section of the unlockables. Stages and characters were fine, minus the previous complaints, it was the bonus videos. All short, which is fine, but the one for Johnny Bravo was just the the opening theme, and that made me wish each show had that as an unlockable as well. That's the kind of thing people scour YouTube for, it's nice to have an official source for it. Ever hear the Ben 10 theme? If you have you'll know why I'd consider that a great unlockable.

On the opposite end, the unlockable costumes were fantastic. For some, it unlocked an outfit that character has worn in a certain episode. For example, HIM gets his exercise clothes, or Numbah 1 in a tuxedo. For others, it lets you play as other characters. For example, each Powerpuff Girl has a costume that turns them into the Rowdyruff Boy equivalent. Or Captain Planet becoming Captain Pollution. Alternate costumes are usually fun, and this extra bit of care did not go unnoticed by me or the other fans.

It's funny how really, I only mentioned one major actual problem, a few minor grips, and many things I loved, but I still only thought the game was alright. If anything, this game needs a sequel so it can try again. Some games get it so right the second time, and this one needs a look back at. Like I said, vary up the stages so they can represent other franchises the characters didn't. Don't be afraid to give some love to the shows you are sure we don't care about, we'll appreciate the effort to attention.

And fix the balancing. If you do this right, you could finally be the ones to say "We beat Smash Bros. at their own game". Every company wants that, no one's done it just yet. We'll all be better off for it. Including Nintendo really, having a strong game to compete against can start the coals burning and the capitalism running through their veins.

So yeah. This game's okay. Would love a much better sequel. I think Cartoon Network has earned a stab at a great crossover game (and yes I did already mention LEGO Dimensions, which I like, I mean one that is just CN, versus everything under the sun like Dimensions pulls off surprisingly well), to show to the gaming world they have a great legacy that people would love to really dive deep into. After all, this game unlocks bios for everyone if you beat arcade mode and they put in information you wouldn't know off hand. They know their fan base, I do think they can deliver if they try again.

But it won't involve characters from Nickelodeon or Disney channel or Nintendo barring maybe an anime-only character, so stop guessing that TVTropes Wild Mass Guessing page!

6/10

Better than completely average, will play again with friends despite balancing issues.

Also, easy Platinum/1000 gamerscore, if you care.

Today, Rudyard Kipling’s original novel The Jungle Book may be more well-known for it’s many adaptations from the likes of Disney, Chuck Jones, and many others. It is not uncommon to hear about the book itself, but the adaptations make the original more on the iconic side than the beloved classic side, as it is easier to hear opinions on the adaptations than the source material.

There may be a reason for that. It’s impossible to discuss the book without admitting it is aged, in two specific ways. In the last review I mentioned that the original Tarzan of the Apes was dated in its race relations, but Burroughs was well-intended. Jungle Book is also dated in regard to race, however, Kipling was not well-intended. Kipling was open about his support of Imperialism, and if you are familiar with the subject, you will understand why it’s not controversial to state that no one should be proud of British Imperialism. The Indian tribes in this book are treated overall terribly. Superstitious morons who lie and believe anything they are told, with main character Mowgli being practically the one exception, and bare in mind he was literally raised by wild wolves. In short, the novel has racist themes, and they become uncomfortable. There are points in this novel were it feels Kipling was outright saying he believed Indian people to be savage and inferior to white people, (and he outright says that about all Asian people in the sequel, although that is for another time).

The other dated aspect is the writing style, and the prose of the poetry and songs. There are songs in the novel, however, it is common for them to not rhyme. Reading them rarely feels interesting, and usually feels out of place, despite the fact they always come at the end of a chapter. As for the regular wording, adjectives tend to be overused and styling can get out of hand very easily. When you read something very old, such as The Bible or works by Shakespeare, you encounter the word “thou”. While I am usually the person to argue people never in fact used this word, and it was purely a fiction device, what I’ve read from those examples did show me that these writers knew how to use the word and when. Kipling’s writing felt the opposite. Words like “thou” and “thee” are thrown around as if to make the stories sound smart, but instead make the dialogue stilted and hard to digest. This style of writing can make the book become boring or derivative at any point, no matter if the subject itself is interesting.

If you read my last review, you may remember that I praised Tarzan of the Apes for writing animals in a way that made them feel like animals. Kipling writes animals almost exactly the same as humans, with only a rare few animalistic references. This becomes confusing in some parts, there were occasions I honestly forget whether an animal or human was talking, as there is little or no difference in the way they speak or act. In one of the later stories, I could not tell who the main character was, as everyone bled into each other, and this is despite the fact the story in question was named after the supposed main character.

I say stories as The Jungle Book is a collection of short stories. Mowgli is the main character of around half of the full book, with the latter half being unrelated stories. These other stories are The White Seal, Rikki Tikki Tavi, Toomai of the Elephants, and Her Majesty’s Servants. As these stories are short, it’s difficult to say anything of their plot without saying almost the entirety, but I'll do what I can. The White Seal is about an albino seal who loses his pack due to hunters, Rikki Tikki Tavi is about a mongoose protecting his new human family from a family of cobras, Toomai is about a boy who is working with elephants, and Her Majesty is about a parade. The last two stories are the least interesting, making the book unfortunately end on a very dull thud. For reference, Toomai is the one whom I couldn’t figure out the main character from the others, and Her Majesty is literally only about the parade, nothing else happens.

White Seal works surprisingly well. You feel horrible for the seal and his plight, and it is the closest to feeling like a story about animals. It pulls no punches and still works today, despite the novel’s heavy aging. Then there is Tavi, one of the more popular stories from the collection, and it deserves this status. Tavi himself is very likable, and his agenda works out sympathetic and understandable as well, I personally feel the general writing improves. However, there is a common criticism today that the cobras are more likable then the human family, and many readers have said they rooted for them instead. Admittedly, I did as well. The humans family is not written strongly in the slightest, they are fairly flat, and that kills my interest in caring about them. As for the cobras, the main cobra Nag is given a very humanizing moment. Both Nag and his wife Nagaina want to kill Tavi as he is a predator, which is understandable from an animal’s standpoint. Nagaina suggests killing the humans just to hurt Tavi, and Nag objects, morally horrified, until Nagaina reminds him the humans will kill all of their unborn children just for being cobras, and he changes his mind. In this, instead of making Nag evil, only Nagaina appears evil, and Nag comes across as a creature with morals who will break them if his children come to harm. He becomes the most likable character, and you don’t want him to lose.

Then there are Mowgli’s stories. Mowgli himself, and his friends, are interesting and their iconic status is understandable. They are all unique, and fit within the realm of the story. The prose still fails far too often, but the stories featuring Mowgli and his friends still mostly work. I do have one major complaint, and that is Shere Khan. It’s not that he is a bad character, quite the opposite, he is a good character, but he is so underutilized that he fails as a villain. A good villain is intimidating, it keeps the audience afraid of them winning. Shere Khan plans to kill Mowgli, but rarely shows up, and it is easy to outright forget he exists. I won’t say exactly how his part in the story ends, but I will say it’s pathetic. Shere Khan had potential, and nothing else.

When it comes to classic literature, the question is whether or not you read it for yourself. In the case of The Jungle Book, it is better to understand it. Sometimes iconic means knowing the source and what people liked about it. Reading it for yourself may not prove as enjoyable as simply watching one of its many adaptations. If you do want to read any of it, I suggest either the stories involving Mowgli, The White Seal, or Rikki Tikki Tavi, and the last two stories should be skipped altogether. The story is in the public domain, so doing so should prove easily enough. I personally cannot recommend the entirety of the novel, but at the end of the day, the ideas were there, and the ideas were good. It was all about the execution.