Platform: GameCube

Developer: Artificial Mind and Movement

Publisher: Midway

Release date (NA): November 2006

Genre: Action/Adventure

Nerd Rating: 6 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Turn on the jukebox and get ready to tap your feet… Your happy feet that is. Because I am taking you to a far-away ice cold land where you’ll dance, swim, and do belly races down the side of an icy mountain. There’s penguins and birds and fishies and more! Have you ever wanted to be a penguin dancing to the greatest hits of the disco era? Me neither! But it’s on the itinerary for today, so you’re pretty much stuck with me. Sorry.

The Franchise

Happy Feet is the smash hit computer animated movie from 2006 that took theaters and video rental stores by storm! A wild success of a flick that led to a video game adaptation and a future sequel, Happy Feet (movie) was not only a critical success but a financial success as well. So it comes as no surprise that Warner Bros. would adapt this for multiple systems including GameCube, PS2, Wii, and Windows, as well as portable versions on the DS and Game Boy Advance.

Movies-to-Games

Video games based on movies don’t usually fall on the good side of quality. In fact, saying they’re “hit or miss” is an understatement because it’s more likely to be less a “hit” and more a “miss.” But occasionally a developer gets it right! Look at Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Goldeneye 007 right off the bat. However, the movie-to-game scene isn’t always based on a serious action movie. In fact, it’s more common for a kid’s movie to to be adapted to a game because… well… studios are advantageous and they know the game doesn’t even have to be THAT good to sell to kids.

What is Happy Feet (the game)?

Happy Feet (the game) seems to follow some of the movie’s plot, but for the most part there’s not much of a thread of a story here. You’ll go through various challenges, with easy and simple training. One of these challenges is a Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) style of timed-button-pushing to the tune of 70’s disco (but without the DDR mat or the bell-bottom jeans, of course). Another main gameplay level design features your penguin (Mumble) racing on his belly down an icy mountainside. And the last level design features Mumble swimming underwater.

Level design is pretty sharp and well-designed, but it just isn’t necessarily very fun. Not for any extended period of time, that is. Additionally, the controls are exceptionally solid and responsive. Graphics are sharp. Voice acting is absolutely on point. And the sound effects and soundtrack are equally exceptional. To be completely honest, I find Happy Feet to be a really well-designed game on all accounts! But that’s not to say this game is perfect or “fun.”

What Happy Feet excels at on each and every technical front, it lacks in fun and excitement. For adults, that is. Even in the hardest settings, the game is stupid easy. Like…….. It’s not like the gameplay has any real challenges, you just have to, well, play the game. Racing downhill always seems like a neck-to-neck race, but I can’t imagine actually losing. And I’m not sure I totally get the swimming levels as they seem entirely pointless. The hardest part of the entire game is the DDR-esque button-response levels, which are so challenging for kids that it feels completely out of place.

Conclusion

Overall, Happy Feet is a very well-designed, well-intentioned kid’s game. It is completely appropriate for kids of almost any age, but has very little enjoyment for adults. With something like 20+ levels, and only 3 main varieties of gameplay, it’s hard to push yourself past, say… level 6. At that point, fatigue and boredom really start to set in. I give the developers mad props for a sharply made game, and they tailored it towards their main demographic exceptionally well – children. If you have kids around 6 to 10 years old, this may be the perfect game for them! Especially if you keep your GameCube out on a daily basis.

Nerd Rating: 6 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry