Even Though Tak and the Power of Juju was anything but a masterpiece of 3D platforming, the game still managed to delight me with its quirky characters, decent gameplay, and a story that while far from great, was still fun enough to suffice. Now we enter into the next game in the Tak franchise known as Tak 2 The Staff of Dreams. This sequel looks to expand upon what the first game started and add new material to keep the franchise fresh and relevant. The question remains, can this game accomplish great feats and improve the faults of the first title? or is this a rushed sequel that fails to provide an entertaining experience for all gamers.
We find our hero Tak as he’s been stuck in the dream world fighting enemies for 16 days. When he finally wakes up he’s greeted by Lok and Jibolba and tells them that he has been sent by a dream spirit to rescue a princess n a faraway kingdom and obtain a relic called the staff of dreams. Tak Jibolba and Lok accompany him along his journey not knowing that everything could be a trap just waiting to happen.
Once again the story has that Saturday morning cartoon feel that was made well known in the power of juju and the team at Avalanche Software may owe some thanks to the creators at Nickelodeon Animation for creating the tone and feel of how the story and characters are portrayed. The writing is more for kids and there are some bathroom and immature jokes here and there, but like before, those jokes are only short-lived and the majority of the time is focused on the main adventure which makes you believe you're trying to accomplish one thing but then it soon throws an interesting even if predictable curveball to make the player accomplish something completely different than what was established before. The characters are back and some of them get more time to shine such as Lok played by Patrick Warburton and Jibolba who become more frequent in this game than they were in the last game. The newer characters however are fewer and far between because the game doesn’t give enough time to remember them all too well. I can’t say the story and characters are any what of an improvement, but they do entertain well enough to give players of any age something decent at the very least.
The Gameplay is similar yet different from the previous entry. This time instead of traveling through open-world maps and collecting items that are scattered throughout the areas, the maps in this game are much more linear which means you’ll be starting from a beginning point and working your way to an endpoint. You’ll still be able to collect items to give you new power-ups and extras, but they aren't as prevalent to make the game easier on the player. Speaking of which, the game is thankfully easier as there are hints that are given by Jibolba along your journey that may help the player figure out how to get past certain sections. Some may find it baffling and want more of a challenge, but compared to how many difficult spikes I ran into in The Power of Juju, I am more than thankful that this game gives me more breathing room to gain help through challenging moments. Tak controls similarly as he did in the previous game. His juju attack moves and special abilities he gains like turning into animals come in handy for getting past enemies or platforming through unique areas. Where The Power of Juju’s controls are too tight and clunky, this game has the opposite problem as the controls feel very floaty and looser. Like before, it's almost impossible to make precise jumps and dodge movements and it would have helped better if the controlling was a balanced mix of tight and responsive. Sometimes the game will mix things up and throw in certain moments such as where Tak controls a slingshot weapon or Rafting down river slopes. Rafting unfortunately though feels very clunky and the speed of Tak rafting down the stream feels too fast and doesn’t give you enough breathing room to make you move to avoid obstacles in your path. Then there are the optional mini-games which can be played separately as they don’t show up in the main story. In all honesty, the mini-games are alright, some of them are fun but most of the games feel like repeats of mini-games from the previous title. There are some things the gameplay does better than its predecessor, but there were still many flaws that are begging to be fixed to make the experience smooth and satisfying.
The Graphics are somewhat of a step up from the last game. There are new locations that get a chance to shine in the light in all their visual splendor. The jungle areas are lush and colorful but there are also new areas we get to explore such as the mysterious dream world with its light greens and blues and JB’s Plantertauim which is out of this world and technologically advanced. At 480p the graphics still pop with their well-chosen color palettes and well-constructed environments. The character designs have that animated cartoony look from the last game and they are more expressive than they ever had been before. The music, on the other hand, has an unknown composer but it's still refreshing now like it was in the last game with jungle-like tunes and even some rock music to add on the more tense moments. I’ll give credit that the graphics and music do try harder to impress than in the last game and there were some remarkable moments even if I do admit that I would like to see more.
If I played this game as a kid, I would have enjoyed it. Even as an adult, I can say that while the Tak franchise is far from the most complex and groundbreaking 3D platformers of all time, this is a series of games that so far have been decent to play and decent to finish. Tak 2 The Staff of Dreams is a good game for kids, older gamers may want something a little more, but this is far from a lackluster experience as this game maintained the core of what made the first game enjoyable while attempting to try new things even if some of those things could use some work. I don’t think I would rank this game higher or lower than the previous entry, but I'm sure glad that I played this game, even if I may not play this particular game many more times in the future.
(Final Grade: B-)