I love the Veggie Tales! I especially love their silly songs, of which my favorites are the “Hairbrush Song” and “Dance of the Cucumber.” Unfortunately, my kids were already too old when the Veggie Tales first became really big, but I could still watch them in children’s church at our church.

However, I thought it was a little odd for the Veggie Tales to be on the GBA, so was curious to see what type of game they would star in. Turns out, it’s a puzzle platform game. Actually, it’s a pretty good puzzle-platform game, and despite the short gameplay, it’s better than many of the current recent offerings on the market.

As in most portable games, the story is short and mostly irrelevant. LarryBoy has to save the city’s inhabitants from the vile temptations offered by the Bad Apple, a really bad dame. To do so, he must travel around the city and collect tickets to gain entrance into more of the city’s area. This means that Larry must get around town and collect a ticket in each level, in order to advance to the next level.

These levels are all designed as platform levels with physical puzzles. Larry must figure out how to get up to the top of the level by switching levers, which in turn makes various platforms move. Various enemies and hazards abound, and Larry has to discover ways to either get around them, or defeat them in some manner. In one level in the first world, Larry has to collect boom boxes to distract the Pesky Peas, who keep moving the levers back into place as soon as Larry flips them. They like dancing music, though, and will begin to dance when the boom box is turned on. The music doesn’t last very long, though, so Larry has to hop to it!

Did I mention that there is a timer on each level? Yep, and I really dislike timed anything in a game, especially one for little kids.

The levels are classic platforms, in the style of the original Donkey Kong classics. Gameplay takes place bottom to top, rather than side-to-side. Larry must utilize certain hero-type skills, such as his ability to use his plunger ears to swing around the levels, ala Kim Possible. His binoculars are handy to scout out the level while the timer is paused. The platforms take the form of moving bars, ladders, tunnels, and various types of scaffolding.

The puzzles are well integrated in the game levels, and will require some careful analyzing. Many of the solutions will need to be activated more than once, as they are sometimes short in duration. These puzzles are fun to solve, but as every level is on a timer, many players will have to redo the levels more than once to finish before the time is done. There are a few musical mini-games to add variety. And of course, there are silly songs! People familiar with the Veggie Tales silly songs will find themselves humming along.

This is one of the better recent offerings on the GBA, and one that families will enjoy. Older kids may find the gameplay a little short, but the younger ones will find it just right, especially with the added game time from the influence of the timed levels. Parents need to be aware of their kids’ preferences on the whole timer issue.

Gameplay: 7.5
This is a classic puzzle-platform game. Each of the levels is very well designed, but the shortness of the game, coupled with the singleness of game-level design, keep this game from being a top game.

Graphics: 7.0
Everything looks bright and cheery, but the graphics aren’t anything above normal for the GBA.

Sound: 8.0
The music is great, especially for fans of the Veggie Tales!

Difficulty: Medium
The levels are made more difficult by the timer.

Concept: 8.0
This is a different type of game from the usual!

Overall: 7.5
A nicely done puzzle-platform game, that will be a lot of fun for most kids. The timer may be problematic for some children, but kids who thrive on competition will have a blast. Parents will love the Veggie Tale songs and messages! It’s too bad the game is short and so unvaried in gameplay, otherwise it’s quite a bit of fun.