Overall Score: B-
It's been said in other reviews, but this game borrows pretty heavily from classic Nintendo platformers like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Country, but lacks the polish that made those games so good. The numerous types of mushroom platforms, for example, would have looked more at home in a Mario game—with so many choices for forest-themed platforms, why would you choose colorful mushrooms with spots, except to invite the comparison?
The gameplay is generally smooth, with fairly tight controls. Some of the Every obstacle is instant-death, but since the game is so simple, that's rarely a problem. The individual stages are short enough that dying once or twice never gets too frustrating. Also, there's plenty of "coins," which grant 1-Ups when you collect enough of them, so you'll probably never end up with a Game Over. (I'll admit that the ice level got me once, though.) I find using the B button (XBox 360 controller) for all interaction to be somewhat awkward, but there doesn't seem to be any way to configure it from within the game. I would have much preferred A or X.
The pixel art is generally well done, but some elements are more simplistic than others, and something seemed a little "off." About halfway through the game I realized what it was: the "pixels" in the pixel art aren't all the same size. Different sprites and background elements have pixels of various sizes. It's especially noticeable with the dragon enemies, who have huge pixels compared to most other elements in the game. Additionally, some text elements aren't in the pixel-art style at all, and that kind of breaks the aesthetic.
On a wholly positive note, I really enjoyed the music in this game, which is kinda rare in a game with this price point, which often use off-the-shelf, royalty-free music. In this game, you can tell that the music was bespoke, Here and there, there are hints of classic Nintendo tunes, but in the best way.
Overall, there are bits of this game that I really liked, and bits that fell short. This game is good for a single playthrough, but it's doubtful I'd ever go back to it. It's short, simple, and cute, so if that's what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed.
