Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz review for PS Vita

Platform: PS Vita
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Virtual Toys
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+

I can imagine why you might be skeptical about the quality of Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz. After all, itโ€™s not just a game targeting a younger demographic, itโ€™s a licensed game: the combination of those two things may understandably fill you with dread. Itโ€™s important to remember, however, that there are plenty of examples of licensed kids games that didnโ€™t suck โ€” including the last Phineas and Ferb game to grace PlayStation consoles, Phineas and Ferb Across the Second Dimension โ€” which is why you shouldnโ€™t go in expecting it to be terrible.

Of course, if you reach that conclusion after actually playing the game, I wouldnโ€™t blame you. Thatโ€™s certainly how Iโ€™m feeling about it now, after having spent several hours with it.

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Okay, perhaps calling it โ€œterribleโ€ may be a bit harsh. I know Iโ€™ve played worse 3D platformers, even if none are jumping to mind right at this very second. But if youโ€™re looking for reasons to dislike the game, they abound.

First and foremost, thereโ€™s the profoundly mediocre gameplay. While Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz doesnโ€™t do anything really badly, it doesnโ€™t do anything particularly well, either. Every aspect of movement โ€” running, jumping, shooting โ€” feels stiff and unresponsive, and things arenโ€™t helped by the artificial barriers the game throws in your way. You donโ€™t get to double-jump until well into the gameโ€™s second chapter; you have to feel your way along invisible, arbitrary walls blocking you from exploring the rigid path the game has set before you; you canโ€™t fire your weapon if youโ€™re standing too close to anything: in all of these ways and more, youโ€™re constantly reminded of the gameโ€™s limits. Iโ€™m not saying I want a giant, open Tri-State Area to explore, but I donโ€™t think itโ€™s ridiculous to be annoyed by little things like being able to walk on one side of the street but not the other.

(And donโ€™t even get me started on the way the game arbitrarily stops you from reaching certain areas that clearly have goodies. I understand wanting to pad out the length a little by making players go back and replay levels, but that doesnโ€™t make it any less stupid that you can jump on top of a box, but you canโ€™t jump over a fence while standing on top of a park bench simply because there are more coins to collect on the other side of the fence. And the way Day of Doofenschmirtz allows you to sparingly use a jetpackโ€ฆI feel like just shaking my head in frustration is the only reasonable response.)

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This mediocrity extends to every other aspect of the game, too. Itโ€™s nothing special to look at, with graphics that could be described as bland if they didnโ€™t include so many headache-inducing colours. (I get that the cartoon looks equally odd, but the way itโ€™s rendered here has all of the ugliness and none of the charm.) The music? Highly repetitive, but not in any way that youโ€™ll remember within a few seconds of turning off the game. And itโ€™s entirely possible the story makes some sense if youโ€™re an avid watcher of the TV show, but if youโ€™re not a fan, I donโ€™t think this forgettable nonsense is going to turn you into one.

Even if you are a fan, though, itโ€™s hard to imagine that youโ€™re going to want to sink all that much time into this. Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz is obviously not designed to be some money-grabbing cash-in (if it is, Disney picked the wrong platform for its exclusivity) but you still have to wonder why on Earth it exists. Itโ€™s just kind of there, and it should be abundantly clear to anyone playing it that thatโ€™s not nearly enough.

Grade: C
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