Tak and the Power of Juju (video game)

Tak and the Power of Juju is a 2003 action-adventure platforming video game developed by Avalanche Software and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on October 15, 2003 and in Europe on March 12, 2004. The Game Boy Advance version was also released on a Triple Pack cartridge bundled with SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge and Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party in 2005. The game spawned two direct sequels, Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams and Tak: The Great Juju Challenge, as well as two indirect sequels, Tak and the Guardians of Gross and Tak: Mojo Mistake.

Plot

An ancient prophecy foretells that the Moon Juju, the kind protector of the Pupanunu people, would be weakened by the evil Tlaloc, an embittered Pupanunu shaman, so he could turn the Pupanunu people into sheep as revenge for not being made high shaman in favor of another shaman, Jibolba. The prophecy also mentions a great and mighty warrior trained by the high shaman who would restore the Moon Juju, defeat Tlaloc, and bring peace to the Pupanunu people.

Having escaped Tlaloc's spell, Jibolba believes his apprentice Lok to be the warrior of the prophecy and prepares to send him off; however, it appears that Lok has been turned into a sheep. Jibolba sends his younger apprentice, Tak (voiced by Jason Marsden), to find magical plants and change him back, though it turns out not to be Lok, but his squire Tobar. Jibolba tells Tak to obtain the Spirit Rattle, which allows the wielder to communicate with powerful Juju spirits to assist him, while he finds Lok.

Tak returns with the Rattle to find that Lok has been trampled to death by a herd of sheep. Jibolba has Tak collect 100 magic Yorbels and Lok's spirit from the spirit world, allowing him to successfully resurrect Lok. An unfortunate side-effect of the resurrection, however, is a severe case of diarrhea (or the "Resurrection's Revenge", as Jibolba refers to). Tak obtains the Moon Stones instead while Lok recovers, restoring the Moon Juju to full strength.

The Moon Juju reveals that the warrior of the prophecy is not Lok, but Tak, as he has already fulfilled almost everything the prophecy predicted (much to Jibolba's chagrin). Using his arsenal of Juju spells, Tak defeats Tlaloc and turns him into a sheep, finally fulfilling the prophecy.

Gameplay

The gameplay mostly consists of platforming obstacles and puzzles. ^{[clarification needed]} The player has a health-meter represented by the feather on Tak's head. Tak's abilities are jumping, attacking, and a unique feature, the ability to interact with and get past obstacles with the help of various animals. When the player receives the Spirit Rattle, they gain access to the use of "Juju Powers" which are acquired by collecting tokens scattered around the environment. To restore Tak's health and mana (Magic Points "MP" for short, the player must collect feathers, which are much more common in the environment than Juju Power tokens. The game heavily features collecting various other items.

Cast

• Jason Marsden as Tak
• John Kassir as Jibolba
• Patrick Warburton as Lok
• Jennifer Hale as Flora
• Tina Illman as Moon Juju
• Rob Paulsen as Tlaloc/Dead Juju/Head 2
• Lara Jill Miller as Dinky Juju
• Jeff Bennett as Pins/Needles/Head 1/Caged Juju/Mummy

Reception

Although Tak and the Power of Juju met with great hype, the final product was abnormaly met average scores. Most of the complaints come from the main hunt of Yorbels in the levels of the game and the extreme levels of backtracking.

The Game Boy Advance version of Tak and the Power of Juju received generally favorable reviews with an aggregate score of 79% byMetacritic. GameZone rated the game 7/10, stating it is "well done, but typical of the genre." The GameCube version of Tak and the Power of Juju received mixed or average reviews with an aggregate score of 71% by Metacritic.GameZone rated the game 8.4/10, stating "Tak and the Power of Juju appears to be a kiddie game, but it's much more than that.

The PlayStation 2 version of Tak and the Power of Juju received mixed or average reviews with an aggregate score of 68% by Metacritic. Play Magazine rated the game 83%, stating "Tak is one of the most detailed platformers I've ever seen, and possesses a measure of style that sets the universe apart". IGN rated the game 7.9/10, stating "Perhaps it's because of the goofy main character, a humorous plot line, or some creative ways to present age old puzzles, but you're compelled to play through Tak." GameZone rated the game 7.8/10, stating it "will give younger players a lot of replay time, but it is not a title for older gamers." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine rated the game 70%, stating "After a few hours, the boredom sets in, and the number of reasons you have for wanting to beat the damn thing is less than one. It's just not fun enough."

Trivia

• According to Avalanche Studio's John Blackburn, Tak was conceived in 1996 and then pitched to THQ and Nickelodeon.
• This was the first game licensed by Nick Games not based on a Nickelodeon cartoon series. This was new for the time, as no game company that was based around a television channel had done this before.
• It's possible that the Gameboy Advance version was completed before the console version, for Lok's and Tlaloc's sprites resemble their conceptual art more than their final designs and Dead Juju going by Death Juju.

Gallery

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The article or pieces of the original article was at Tak and the Power of Juju (video game). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Nickipedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.