I know what you're thinking: this is Cartoon Network's answer to those annoying Olson twins. I suppose it could've been. The box art screams kiddie cartoon, and the promo lines ("Rock out on guitar!" and "Swing on Ami's microphone!") don't say much about the gameplay. That's not a good sign for most games.

Fortunately for us and young girl gamers everywhere, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! isn't like most games. "You must be kidding, it looks—" don't judge a book by its cover. If you examined the screens more carefully you'd see which genre the game belongs to: action/adventure. That hype about using Ami's microphone is true – you can and will swing across a multitude of spiked pitfalls. Yumi, Ami's guitar-loving partner, uses her guitar to "rock out" her enemies. That's right, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! has enemies. And although you never kill them, you do get to battle them by using the power of music ... or the side of your guitar!

The reason for this journey has to do with Ami and Yumi's lost instruments and the kidnapping of their manager, Kaz. (Hence the subtitle: Kaznapped!) Details are scarce but it seems that some crazy adult has teamed up with Ami and Yumi's annoying number-one fan, Harmony. Both Harmony and the adult, named Edwin Blair, will stop at nothing to keep Ami and Yumi from recovering their instruments. Determined to beat Harmony and kick some old geezer butt, the musical duo will travel the world in search of answers, excitement, and Kaz.

Kaznapped!'s gameplay is set up like an action/adventure. The worlds, which I have to say are extremely well designed, were constructed for entertaining side-scrolling adventuring. Altron (the developer) was successful in doing this by making sure the controls and other mechanics were just right. Ami is slow but has the ability to use her microphone as a grappling hook. Yumi can hop on her magical guitar and soar across small gaps as if she was riding a rocket. Both Ami and Yumi move differently and at different speeds. They also are capable of stunning their annoying, painfully obsessed fans.

Enemies come in three forms: the evil, the programmed, and the obsessed. Though it's hard to tell the difference between a robot and members of the paparazzi (both are intrinsically programmed to be evil), I'm going to take a wild guess and say that robots are the programmed enemies. Robots are damaging and may be destroyed with a couple swipes from Yumi's guitar. There are ways to stun them and put a hold on their attacks, but should you fail to do so before they launch their weapon, a small round blast will be shot. The blast makes a half-circle, striking Yumi (or Ami) if she is standing very close or far away from where the shot was fired. If she stands in the center and ducks she'll miss the blast and be able to retaliate instantly.

Those evil, picture-taking madmen known as the paparazzi are hiding all over the world. They somehow discovered where Ami and Yumi will be and when they will be there. Flash photography is damaging, removing one energy piece from your health bar with every flash. Stand back far enough and the flash won't reach. There's only one way to get past them without having your face plastered all over Star and Globe: rock 'em with your guitar! You can't hit them; hitting deducts points. This is a non-violent game – only robots may be struck and eliminated through guitar strikes. But play a power chord (down+R) and the photographer will be temporarily stunned, allowing you to escape.

Finally there are the annoying, overly obsessed people who travel the world in search of Ami and Yumi. They are known as none other than the fans. They poke, prod, and won't go away regardless of what you do. They are, however, affected by a successfully played power chord. Power chords make them all dazed and cross-eyed like the paparazzi, but with a floating heart that shows how much they love the two girls.

Before each level is an aerial mini-game that appears to have been inspired by classic space shooters (R-Type and other left-to-right scrollers). You control the tour bus through a semi-psychedelic world of flashy colors. I couldn't tell you who the big bosses are (characters from the show I presume), but the main enemies are modified robots that attack in a specific pattern, a la Galaga and Galaxian. These stages, though not as difficult as R-Type, are very entertaining.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! is a rewarding, addictive game that will challenge AmiYumi fans and require them to use their best skills to win. This is not really a game for little boys – the two leads are female. But being someone who grew up playing anything I could get my hands on, I can honestly there wasn't anything for the original Game Boy, or even for the SNES, that was quite like Kaznapped! Certainly not from a Cartoon Network property. So while I do not recommend that parents buy it for their sons, don't be surprised if, even after saying he won't touch it, your son snatches the game from his big sister for an hour or two.

Gameplay: 8.0
Side-scrolling action/adventure meets high-flying space shooter. Do my thumbs, eyes and ears deceive me? Amazingly they do not. Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! is one of the most rewarding Game Boy Advance games released this fall. It’s likely to appeal more to girls than boys, but it has the same high-quality gameplay that all gamers have been enjoying since the days of the Genesis and the Super NES. More challenging than any other game based on a Cartoon Network property, this adventure is not to be missed by anyone who loves this musical duo.

Graphics: 7.5
Colorful backgrounds that look a little flat; character animations are brief, but the ones that exist are fluid and appropriate for the artwork.

Sound: 7.5
Rock music and exaggerated sound effects amplify the theme of being rockstars.

Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles, which involve hitting switches and moving blocks into the appropriate place, are clever and fun. Players will have a harder time defeating the enemies than they expect. If a fan gets his hands on Ami or Yumi you’ll have to tap the A button repeatedly until she’s been freed. Move out of the way quickly or else you’ll lose another 20% of your energy meter. Only three lives per game, and although you can continue as much as you want, checkpoints are erased once all lives are lost.

Concept: 7.5
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! is a great action/adventure designed with gamers in mind, not little girls. Girls are likely to be the primary players, but they are not a genre. When creating a game for more than the male market, the goal should be to create something that’s fun, and then find a way to get girls to play it. Kaznapped! does both by having great gameplay and the AmiYumi theme.

Overall: 7.8
Developed by game players for game players, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! is a rarity among Game Boy Advance titles. Technically it’s not innovative, but it IS very polished, challenging, addictive, and features more action than 99% of the movie and TV-licensed games available. A must-buy for AmiYumi fans.