The Osamu Tezuka classic Astro Boy rocketed across the big screen this October.  It also made a debut on the small screen in the form of Astro Boy: The Video Game.  For those unfamiliar with Astro Boy, it began as a manga/anime by “the father of manga” and “godfather of anime”.  The original Tetsuwan Atomu manga began in 1952, received a remake in 1980, and yet another in 2003.   Dashing across movie screens, Astro Boy was reinvented while keeping the same soul of the original.  Unfortunately, very little of that soul was imbued upon the video game.

The game offers with a promising start including voice work from Kristen Bell and cinematics from the movie.  From there, the player is thrust into an entirely flat, 2D side-scrolling platformer level with very basic controls.  After drudging through this, the player is granted an entertaining voyage through a side-scrolling shooter.  Aiming is limited to the space directly in front of Astro Boy, but this mode still manages to be the best and most fun aspect of the entire game.  If only the game stayed a side-scrolling shoot ‘em up, because it just goes downhill from here.

The voice work is almost as canned as the animations, of which there are roughly three that Astro Boy can perpetually perform.  As if the dialogue and voice acting to move the story along were not awkward enough, the actions for battling bad guys are clumsy and far from intuitive. The mechanics of using the Wii Remote make the appliance feel more cumbersome than cutting edge.  It should be a given that any child who gets to repeatedly spam an attack called “Butt Cannon” should enjoy themselves.  However, for a game geared toward little ones, the ease of learning controls – or lack thereof – might hinder the excitement for some youngsters, even when playing the game on Easy.

That’s not to say everything oozes mediocrity.  The music and background artwork of the game do add an element of charm and adventure.  These are highlighted in the shooter missions, when soaring through the city skyline at high speeds is the peak of gameplay.  Ultimately, Astro Boy: The Video Game proves a decent arcade style game for youngsters, though adults and elder children might find the game too stiff for full enjoyment.

Gameplay

Graphics

Sound

Overall