Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

The first thought that will run through the minds of mature gamers (those over the age of 25) when they hear or read the name “Gummy Bears Magical Medallion” is potential excitement over the return of the Gummy Bears. If you’re thinking these are the same mystical bears that bounced here and there in the Disney cartoons and popular 1990’s videogame, then you’ll be sorely disappointed as those were “Gummi Bears”. These Gummy Bears are based on the candy and don’t deliver quite as good of a story or fun as the classic Disney franchise.

In Magical Medallion, the Gummy Bears kingdom has fallen under the rule of the big bad King Sour Berry. When will he stop? Sour Berry has finally caught onto how the Gummy Bears have stayed off his radar and located the “magical medallion” the Gummy Bears use to keep their Kingdom hidden from him. In this watered-down platformer, it’s up to players to find and return the four mystic gems that King Sour Berry has stolen in order to once again hide the Gummy Bear kingdom from the evil Sour Berry.

It’s honestly unfair to review this game from the point of view of an adult because clearly it’s targeted at children under eleven. The problem with this game right off the bat though, is that it misses its target audience by a mile thanks to confusing controls and the requirement to read the manual in order to understand certain elements in the game. I can’t think of a single instance when I was ten or eleven that I started thumbing through a game manual prior to popping a game in my NES. Kids that age want something that is pick up and play. Most of this game is just that, a fun little romp full of simple gameplay. There are points where you’ll find yourself scratching your head as you try to figure out the next move. These are even the intended puzzles though, and that’s the problem.

An example of a major issue is when you come upon this large rock in the game. Nothing you’ve done previously in this title has given you an idea of how to handle this obstacle, so you start looking around and trying new things. While most games would have a little pop-up window/bubble with a tip inside, I had to grab the manual to find out this is where the “Wii Waggle” begins. This is only a major issue because the kids this game is aimed at won’t look to the manual. They’ll turn the game off and pop something else in. The rest of the game isn’t horrible by any means, but it is full of dated and old gameplay mechanics and puzzles that will push away gamers over the age of ten. So now we’re left with a title that alienates everyone.

The colorful graphics are cute and the backgrounds you run across provide a feeling of running through a real-life Candy Land. The visuals aren’t exactly sharp, but again they get the job done. Gummy Bears Magical Medallion feels like a game that knows what it is and doesn’t aim to be anything more. As a budget title with simple gameplay aimed towards kids, it works. There are a few hiccups along the way that will deter some younger gamers like the lack of on screen tutorials. The game isn’t broken or unplayable just because there aren’t in-game tutorials, but they sure would have helped. The final result is a game that’s made unnecessarily difficult for the audience it is directed at and that’s just a “no no” when there are so many family and kid’s games to choose from on the Wii.