Game - Frizzy

Release Date - December 23rd, 2015

Platform - Xbox One

Developer/Publisher - Team Frizz

 

Frizzy, the character which we control, is a ball of dirt and fur. Frizzy works in a Fuzz factory on Fuzz Island which is constantly threatened by the great dragon Doof. Once a year on the day of the Great Green Sneeze, Doof would fly to Fuzz Island and sneeze in an attempt to blow all the little balls of fuzz away forever. Frizzy soon discovers that he can attach to magical balls of energy in the air in order to keep him afloat. Doof arrives just in time and sneezes Frizzy away from his homeland. The game begins as Frizzy wakes up in a ball of grass on a far away island. 

At its core, Frizzy is a platforming game where you need to collect gems by jumping through the air with the use of both your own abilty and the aid of "balloons". The game calls them balloons although they are not, in fact, balloons. They don't float. They don't fly. They are just there. They are actually magical balls of energy that you can place throughout the environment in order to have Frizzy propel himself through the air. 

Let's start with the gameplay setup. You must get Frizzy through each level and collect gems. Each level has a set number of gems but there is no requirement to get any of them at all. You can get all of them or absolutely none of them. All you need to do to progress to the next level is to make your way to the stone archway at the end of the level. This brings you back out and allows you to progress to the next area. There are some enemies and obstacles thrown in but nothing too crazy as the freedom of Frizzy's movement allows you to pass by pretty easily.

Pretty easily. That is absolutely easier than it sounds. Frizzy calls itself a puzzle platformer, but it's more of just a platformer as there are no real puzzle aspects to it other than figuirng out the controls. The control system in Frizzy is the key to the game. It's a unique combination of buttons that require you manipulate six different commands simultaneously. It is extremely difficult not only for the number of buttons needed, but the buttons you in fact use are not the ones you are normally used to. For example, the A button jumps while the X button runs while on the ground. The "balloons" need to be placed by manipulating the right stick. This moves the cursor up, down, left or right with no angles allowed. Once you place this magical ball of energy, you can jump and grab onto it by hitting the X button. Frizzy then attaches to it with a piece of hair like static electricity and swings around. You can then propel yourself in any direction by using the left stick and letting go of the X button when you want to jump off. Once in the air you can jump but need to use the left stick in the intended direction. If not, you'll just go straight up in the air even if your momentum is carrying you in another direction. 

Since most of the game requires you to ascend multiple platforms, the amount of combinations Frizzy requires becomes mind boggling. Just to give you an idea of the control scheme, here's an example. Place a ball of energy and jump to hit. Hold X. Jump off to the right and up while simultaneously moving the right stick ahead of you to line up another ball of energy. Hit LB fast to place it and then X immediately after to grab onto it. Remember to hold X or you'll fall off. Now, as soon as you let go, you'll need use the left stick to control your jump, right stick lineup the next ball of energy, LB to place the ball of energy and X to hold onto it all at the same time. It's an incredibly difficult scheme as those are not normal RT to shoot and LT to aim buttons that you are used to. You'll need to do this very quickly as Frizzy plummets to the ground fast considering he's a piece of hair. Also, if you mess up once, plummeting to your death is extremely likely.

Now, the control system is messed up as it's backwards from what you normally do in games. Imagine playing an FPS where the RT is aim and the LT is shoot. Kind of like that. It does take a bit of getting used to, but once you have it down the controls remain the same for the rest of the game. Overall it took me about 15 minutes to have the repetitions down to where I was comfortable jumping up to high areas without falling to my death. On the flipside of that, muscle memory often kicked and I found myself dying more than I should have due to an improper button press. 

The gameplay levels themselves are actually a lot of fun. They don't have a lot of depth to them, but there is enough variety to where you don't feel like you're jumping through the same thing over and over. You begin the game with five lives and there is no way to earn extras. Once you run out of lives from either falling or being struck by an enemy, you start back at the most recent checkpoint in that level. This is by far the most beneficial aspect of Frizzy as the game's map viewer makes it difficult to navigate. Unlike other games where you can pause the game and pan the map to see where you have to go, Frizzy's field of view stops at the edge of your screen. In this case, you have no way of knowing whether that jump down you are about to take will land you on a platform or plummet you to your death. Since you don't see any real detriment from dying, there's no harm in exploring. 

Also located throughout the levels are cat coins you can locate. Each level has a different amount and the cats scattered throughout the levels provide some refresher tips as you go. I'm not sure why they picked cats to be honest but hey, who doesn't like a cute little cat, right? Just as the gems are concerned, there is no benefit or detriment to obtaining these other than achievements that come along with it. They're a nice little addition to the game but I would have liked to see them provide some tangible benefit such as larger energy balls to hold onto or swinging a farther distance.

Exploring is a benefit though and completionists will have a field day with Frizzy for what it's worth. Certain achievements require you to reach a specific area in levels or complete them in a particular manner. Of course, gaining gems in certain numbers nets you another achievement as well as taking out Doof at the end to win. Team Frizz did their part in making a simple platformer stand out with cute, little variations. 

The graphics are simple with nothing special to remark on as majority of the focus is on the game mechanics themselves. Soothing background music is a refreshing adjustment to most games, but unfortunately it didn't serve as much more than a distraction from the control scheme for me. As much as I tried, I wasn't able to get past the seemingly backwards button presses. Personally, I'm a fan of platformers and a game like Max: The Curse of Brotherhood that uses similar mechanics pulled it off perfectly. The control scheme is key in a platformer like Frizzy, but unfortunately it fell short of what it could be.

All in all, Frizzy isn't a terrible game. It has a decent setup. Unfortunately, it ends up being an average title overall with the control scheme impacting the gameplay so greatly. Frizzy is available now on Xbox One, but I suggest taking a pass on this one unless you're a big fan of platforming games.