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Wonder Project J Review
For years I can remember flipping through an old issue of Nintendo Power of mine, seeing this game being promo'd in the Japanese RPGs feature, and wondering just how goofy it really is. It's boggled my mind tremendously for over a year or so every now and then. So recently, with the annoucement of it finally being fully-translated by yet another person with too much free time on his hands, I decided I'd give it a shot.
Wonder Project J is the absolute essence of Wacky Japanese Video Games. Not that that's a bad thing or anything, it just is. At times you really have to wonder if they create a good 88% of their games with help from individuals suffering from mental retardation. Even the titles sound completely off-beat compared to some of our American titles that I suppose you could consider "well known". MLB 2001, Dance Dance Revolution. Max Steel, Asuka 120% Burning Fast. Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen's Mystical Adventure, Sexy Parodius. Obviously, something's wrong with this picture. Wait a minute, maybe it's because I just said "Sexy" and "Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen" in the same sentence...
Graphics. More of that top-of-the-line, last of the SNES RPGs goodness many of us never had the pleasure of seeing. Not much more than that. Anime sequences were also integrated in on occasion, which really looks good, considering it's on a cartridge. 9/10.
 Gameplay. Move fairy around. Click on things. Make kid learn to do things involving said things. Do something important with the thing. Move on. That basically sums up the style of gameplay, which really isn't terrible-- but I was expecting a little bit more difficulty by the looks of it. The guideline is simply what I outlined above, and doesn't take much know-how to figure out... an 8 year old could figure it out and make good progress quickly. The controls are one of my major gripes... it can sometimes be impossible to find JUST the right spot needed to click on an object, and manipulating the kid during a fighting situation is almost unbearable. 6.5/10.
Plot. This is where the goofiness officially sets in. Basically, it's a complete ripoff of the Pinnochio fairy tale, but set in the FUTURE!; you "control"(or to be more specific, guide) a young robot boy who needs to learn to become a real boy. And, to do that, he must learn everything about being human. As you can imagine, that's quite a chore-- being athletic, dealing with emotions, philosphy, fighting, and even love are all things you must teach the kid. Each major group of tasks you must deal with activate a "circuit". Activating all the circuits activates the magical J Circuit, which makes him a real boy... or something. Point is, it's a unique plot, albeit a strange one... 8.5/10.
Sound. I suppose it's alright. I honestly didn't pay much attention to it, with all the focus that must be put onto lil' robot boy at all times. That wascawy wobot. 8/10.
Replay Value. After all the hell one must go through just to fully complete the game, I don't see why anyone would want to give it another go. That is unless you did it just for kicks. Torturing the child into depression could always be a good way to revive the game... 5/10.
Final Thought/Overall Rating
I honestly was hoping for something a bit more. It's not terrible, exactly, but... I was just expecting something a bit more. One thing I noticed was how the game managed to never make it to the states... it could have been easily passed off as a children's game. Heck, it can be a children's game. But, then again, that fairy was probably considered demonic by NOA. Pixies with electronic antennas always are. 7/10.
-Grand Master Dragon
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