Oozi: Earth Adventure is a platforming game characterized by its classic platforming mechanics, back when puzzles and punishment in platformers did not really play a major role in the gameplay. This is how the game is officially described and although it does fit the description well, it does have a few flaws that certainly take away from the experience
Essentially, Oozi: Earth Adventure is just straight-up platforming. No gimmicks, just platforms. This did appeal to me before I started playing it, but then I realized how repetitive that could become. The gameplay itself is relatively simple, as that is how the game is advertised. It does have all of the platforming basics, movement, jumping, moving platforms, gaping holes, etc. There are also enemies that can be destroyed in a variety of ways, depending on the type of enemy. Usually, enemies are destroyed simply by jumping onto them, Mario-style, but some can only be killed by a ground-pound and some just cannot be killed.
You also have your basic platforming obstacles, like moving platforms, spike traps, lava pits, etc. Very basic features. The game adds little to differentiate itself from other platformers, but I do tend to review games based on what they are, instead of what they’re not, and this game is advertised as a classical platformer anyways. This would certainly appeal to platforming fans looking for a simple, laid-back experience that takes about four hours to beat. The game also features amazing visuals, as well as amazing music. The music is very fitting to its corresponding world, with each world having its own personality.
The world and level design is well-executed, each world having its own special set enemies, obstacles, music, etc. I really enjoyed the third world, which was inside a laboratory with bright white walls and radioactive waste everywhere. The gameplay can become repetitive at parts, especially when you get stuck at one checkpoint and end up dying a dozen times trying to reach the next checkpoint. Most of the checkpoints in the game were reasonably placed, but a few were placed a little too far out, causing me much frustration as I died repeatedly just trying to reach said checkpoint. I would sometimes die a few steps from the checkpoint and have to redo my whole run from the previous checkpoint, which I found very aggravating.
The game seems to be lacking in replayability, however. The only reason I can see someone replaying this is to get a higher score for a higher position on the leaderboards (which I placed 13th in after I beat the game) or to collect the hidden stars in each level, which unlock more stages to play, like challenge and arcade stages. The arcade stages were simply the same as their corresponding stage, just with a clock ticking. Challenge mode is a set of completely new stages, 44 of them to be exact, with quite a bit of replayability.
Overall, Oozi: Earth Adventure can find its true audience in those looking for a simplistic platforming experience. Although the game has limited mechanics and repetitive gameplay, it’s still a new experience that platforming fans can take up just for the fun of it. Oh, I’d also like to point out Oozi’s smile. Just look at that! The corners of his mouth GOES ABOVE HIS EYES.
cublikefoot 