Spontantaneous Sunday: Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures

For this week's Spontaneous Sunday, I have fired up the old PS2 once again and played Ed, Edd n Eddy: The-Misedventures (2005, Artificial Mind & Movement, Playstation 2).

"Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures is a 3D platform game based on the Cartoon Network animated television series Ed, Edd n Eddy. It was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and Cartoon Network Interactive, published by Midway Games and released on November 3, 2005. Ed, Edd, and Eddy are playable characters in the game. Players can use them in special tag team formations to complete eight levels, referred to as scams. "

- wikipedia on Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures

What do I expect from the game?

I saw the game for £2 at Cex just a few hours before I played it and just had to buy it as I was a huge fan of the show as a kid, and I have a lot of nostalgia for it now. In the game, the player can swap between the three main characters on the fly, using each character's unique mechanics to complete levels. I expect that this concept of using 3 characters with different mechanics will form the core of the gameplay and will be pivotal to the design of the levels and the challenges and interactions within the game. I am really interested to see how the developers approached translating the personalities of the  show's characters into gameplay mechanics, and whether the levels are designed to make use of these mechanics in a balanced way.

As it is a child-friendly 3D platformer, I expect that the game will have many of the staple features of this genre, such as simple puzzles, enemies to defeat and collectable items. I am interested to see if the game captures the spirit of the show and it's characters. The box art and manual are definitely in keeping with the show's style, so I am confident that the developers will have done a good job of translating the show's charm into the game. I expect that the game will feature some degree of comedy and silliness as seen in the show, and I also expect that it will feature a similarly sketchy and colourful visual style, and jokes and references to keep fans happy. I expect that the game will offer many examples of good character design and mechanics, and also examples of how to effectively create a licensed video game.

First Impressions - What do I think of the in its first few minutes?

The game's front end is fairly simple, with a still background of Eddy's room and the game's title displayed prominently. The show's theme song plays over the front end menu, which made me instantly nostalgic and excited to play.

 

The front end features 3 options, New Game, Load Game and Credits. I began a new game and a short cutscene played, showing the Eds in a huddle in the show's famous cul-de-sac, planning their first scam of the game: collecting ice cubes to make snowcones to sell. This short cutscene was instantly reminiscent of the show, in both its visual style and its content, and it seemed effective in letting the player (who could well be a child) know what they are doing in the level. In fact, the whole first level is very good at communicating what the player needs to do, and how to do it. The game provides simple on-screen instructions in easy-to-read writing. Pausing the game shows both the level's main objective and the current objective. The HUD is similarly simple and effective, while still offering a lot of visual charm.

First view of the game world.

The objectives are clear and to-the-point.

The game's first section involves using the attack mechanic on a cooler to break it open and collect the ice inside. In this section, the player is introduced to the most simple mechanics such as attacking, interacting with objects and switching characters. As the level continued, the game also gradually introduced more mechanics at a steady pace - such as stunning enemies, throwing objects and using the Ed's "formations". The level sees the player complete tasks to collect ice cubes, such as distracting an unfriendly dog and raiding someon'e fridge, before convicing Rolf to let the Eds use his meatball machine to make snowcones by helping him corale his escaped pigs.

The player can switch between each of the 3 Eds on the fly.

Double D can use his slingshot to hit targets.

The first level does a lot of things very well: it offers a series of clear objectives that contribute towards achieving the main objective, it introduces the core mechanics and it features a healthy dose of EEnE's signature style and charm. It is also nicely paced, both in terms of the rate at which new mechanics are introduced, and the rate at which the player collects the ice cubes. The HUD includes an objective counter showing how many of the ice cubes the player has collected (out of a total of 5), which acts as an innocuous way of letting the player know how far through the level they are. The level also contains a number of collectable items and interactable objects that are not related to the critical path. This, along with the levels unthreatening setting (the backyards of the neighbourhood's houses), makes the first level a good playground for players to get to grips with the gameplay, controls and mechanics.

After completing the first level, I was taken to cul-de-sac, which acts as the game's hub world from which further levels are accessed. I spent some time exploring the hub, smashing objects and admiring the game's colourful, low-poly level art before jumping into the next level.

What do I like about the game?

I played Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures for a good few hours and completed several levels which took me through sewers, backyards, forests, schoolyards and the candy store. It's a pretty fun and charming little platformer with well designed and implimented mechanics for each of the three Eds. It also has a lot of charm thanks to its visuals, audio and characters, all of which are faithful to the TV show. The game's greatest strengths lie in its mechanics and level designs, and the extent to which it captures the spirit of the show on which it is based.

Each level has a title card, just like episodes of the show!

The Mis-Edventures is at its core a multi-character platformer in which the player has to frequently swap between the different characters to make use of their unique mechanics to overcome obstacles and challenges. This nature of this core gameplay means a few things have to be achieved for the game to be entertaining and balanced. The levels must contain a well-balanced amount of challenges that require the use of each of the characters' abilities so that each character gets roughly the same amount of playtime per level and no character is clearly more useful or superior. I would say that The Mis-Edventures gets this balance almost perfect. Each level has a well-balanced set of obstacles and challenges that mean that the player is switching often and each character has their turn to be useful. The levels are well designed in terms of what has to be done to progress through them, and the designers have certainly made good use of the different ways that they can test the player using the mechanics at their disposal. The gameplay is never boring, as new challenges and new ways of using the mechanics are presented to the player regularly.

The "Tower of Eddy" formation allows the player to cross narrow walkways.

Another positive feature of the game, again concerning the mechanics, is how well each characters' mechanics suit their personality and the attributes and abilities that they display in the cartoon. Double D is able to use a slingshot to hit targets and tinker with interactable elements in the level such as machinery, while Ed is able to use his strength to pick up and throw objects and smash through obstacles. If pressed, I would have to say that Eddy's mechanics are kind of the weak link here, as his character has been translated into mechanics slightly less effectively than the other two. With that said though, I can understand why this might be: as Eddy is the "brains of the operation" and the "man with the plan" of the group, his character is somehow harder to think of mechanics for. I spent a while trying to think of what mechanics I would have given the characters, and found that Eddy was the hardest character to do this for. To the game's credit, it does effectively portray Eddy's penchant for schemes in the cutscenes, so his character does not feel any less important to the game as a whole.

The game features some pretty varied environments from the show/

The game does a very good job of capturing the spirit and charm of the cartoon. The visuals, sound effects, voice acting, music, script, humour and characters are all present and correct. I imagine that the extent to which a licensed game stays true to its source material can have a huge effect on how it is recieved by fans of that source material, and The Mis-Edventures does not disappoint in this regard. The developers make good use of the source material to create levels, stories, mechanics and interactions that all feel very true to the show. The visuals are pretty good, especially the level art which is good both in terms of it capturing the show's visual style and in purely objective terms - it has a very colourful and low-poly style that fits the game perfectly. The character animations are also decent, with the running animations looking exactly like they do in the show.

The game features both in-game 3D cutscenes and pre-rendered animations in the style of the show (albeit less refined) which mean that it captures the visual style about as well as a PS2 game can. The audio, including sound effects, voice acting and music, are also perfect and are a real catalyst to delivering the show's charm. If a fan of the show was to hear the game being played without seeing the screen, I think they would believe it was just another episode!

An example of one of the 3D cutscenes...

...and of one of the pre-rendered animations.

Other positive features include the game's collectables, which include jawbreakers, coins and costume pieces and easter eggs. These are scattered throughout the levels and they encourage full exploration of the playable space, add depth to the gameplay, add replay value and a greater goal outside of the critical path or moment-to-moment gameplay. The collectable status can be seen on the status screen in the pause menu, which allows players to see where they are up to and which levels they have missed things on, so they easily know where to go back to. Again, the collectables are absolutely in keeping with the source material. Overall, its a really enjoyable experience for someone like me who loves the franchise!

The pause menu includes a status screen showing your collectables.

What do I not like about the game?

The Mis-Edventures does have a couple of negative points. While there's nothing incredibly bad that compromises the whole game, there are a few things that could have been added or improved to add polish to the game experience.

 

The most glaring downside to the game is the game's hub world, which felt poorly designed and neglected. The layout and level art of the hub are pretty good and the player is allowed to explore the cul-de-sac, alleyways and the forest as seen in the show, but there is a definite lack of content to the hub which leaves it feeling pretty empty, and as if it was somewhat forgotten by the developers. The shows characters are present in the hub, but they just stand there, not walking around or talking or doing anything particularly interesting. This feels like a pretty glaring missed opportunity of adding even more EEnE charm to the game. Had the characters simply walked around and made passing comments or random lines of dialogue if the player was nearby, it would have breathed so much more life and interactivity into the hub world. Also, the addition of a simple minigame or two or some hidden areas within the hub with mini-puzzles would have done the world of good.

Shot of the game's (rather empty) hub world.

The hub world also feels a little bit badly seated within the greater structure of the game. It is never really explicity identified as a hub world in-game, so the player could be forgiven at first for thinking it was a really big, confusing level. The different levels are accessed via the hub, but walking into the area that triggers the levels gives no information about what the level is, simply an option to the effect of "Begin Level, Yes/No?". Again, this leaves the hub world feeling unfinished, and this screen should really have displayed the level's name and maybe even the collectable status for that level.

I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of idle animations and randomised in-game dialogue for the player characters. Again, its a missed opportunity to really hammer home the EEnE charm. I can easily think of some ideas for idle animations off the top of my head, such as Eddy crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently, Ed sniffing his own armpit, and Double D breaking out some sort of technological device and messing with it. Random passing dialogue would also definitely have been a welcome addition. Both of these things could have been quick ways to add even more detail and charm, I can only assume that time constraints lead to their ommision.

Final Thoughts

On the whole, Ed, Edd n Eddy,: The Mis-Edventures has been a really fun game to play as a fan of the show, and its also been a pretty good lesson in mechanic design for multi-character games featuring interchangeable characters with unique mechanics. It's also a good exmaple of how to effectively create a licensed video game in that it really stays true to the show in pretty much every way. As a game that was almost certainly primarily aimed it kids, it also does a good job of providing easy to follow objectives and controls and mechanics that are easy to learn and use.

Though the hub world falls short and there was definitely a few missed opportunities, the quality of The Mis-Edventure's mechanics and level deisgns make for entertaining and sufficiently challenging gameplay. Meanwhile the visuals, audio and presentation make this a very good licensed video game, and, at its core, just a generally decent game all around!