One dark moonlit night, a young boy named Kutaro was carried away by the maleficent Moon Bear King to a black castle where the unlucky lad was transformed into a puppet. Kutaro displeased the terrible tyrant, who devoured the boy's wooden head and cast away his body. But the headless hero was not alone, for he had discovered a very special pair of scissors to help him on his harrowing adventure to find his head, and his way home. Puppeteer is a brand new franchise developed exclusively for PlayStation 3 by SCE JAPAN Studio. Set in a magical puppeteer’s theatre, this title will introduce you to a strange and fantastic world, where the environment is constantly changing. Players will enjoy a rich, dark fairytale where surprises lurk around every corner. Key Features Swappable Heads -Kutaro can change his head anytime he chooses. Lose your head and you lose a life, but use your head and you’ll discover that you have the ability to change the world Unique Platforming -Wielding a pair of magical scissors, Kutaro cuts and crops his way through the adventure Dynamic Interactive Backgrounds -A huge variety of backgrounds that are continually changing, taking you on a journey of discovery that will surprise and thrill Theatrical Storytelling -Audience, lights, sets, music and narration all combine to create a mesmerizing, unique storytelling experience


Released on

Genres


More Info on IGDB


Reviews View More

I last played this game nearly a decade ago not too long after it came out. I got it for cheap on PSN, though for the life of me I can't remember what prompted me to pick it up in the first place, or how I even came to know about it. That was probably the case for most people, really, since late 2013 was quite a busy time for big releases, and Puppeteer just got lost in the shuffle despite being so good. It's something I've been meaning to replay for a while, and now I finally have~. This is yet another game that doesn't count your playtime, so my rough guess is that I spent like 7 or 8 hours beating the main game, and then I spent about that same amount of time achievement hunting because I just didn't wanna stop playing x3

Puppeteer is the story of a little boy named Kutaro. The moon was once a peaceful place where the souls of children went when they embarked on their dreams, but that was before the powerful Moon Bear King stole the dark moon crystal, smashed the light moon crystal, and sealed away the moon goddess. Now the moon is a frightful, totalitarian place run by the Moon Bear King and his generals, where they steal away the souls of earth children to eat! Kutaro is one such child, although he escapes the fate of all the other lost souls even once the MBK eats his head! He's given a new head by the helpful Ying Yang the cat, and with the help of the moon witch, he steals the MBK's magical scissors Calibrus, and sets off on a quest to set the moon kingdom right again.

Puppeteer has the plot of a children's story book, and that's absolutely intended. The whole thing is literally laid out like a puppet show, with little wooden you running across a stage as you interact with other craft-made characters, enemies, and objects as you hop from scene to scene. It's a very tongue-in-cheek silly story full of wacky characters for Kutaro and his pixie friend the sun princess to bounce off of. Some of it sadly does wander into the area of casual racism and homophobia, but it's of the very casual "culture as a costume"-approach for world/level design that so SO many games do, so it's not really experience ruining. It doesn't really have any larger themes its exploring, and is mostly just here to give a good silly time, and it does a pretty bang up job at that.

The gameplay of Puppeteer is a platformer that a lot of my friends who saw me play it compared immediately to Little Big Planet. I think that comparison is quite apt, though Puppeteer differs in that there are no planes to swap through and it also controls much better. There are a couple dozen quite long levels to go through with very generous extra life amounts and checkpoints present. There are also lots of fun boss battles that are really well put together as well. You snip and fly through the air by comboing hits with Calibrus, and it makes for a really fun and quick-paced way to fly through levels if you're so inclined, and it makes for a really snappy action-platforming experience that's admittedly much more platforming than it is action at the end of the day.

The story and mechanics of Puppeteer are fun, but the presentation is one place it shines very VERY well. Very much like one of the more recent Paper Mario games, the attention to detail in bringing a world to life that still looks like its made of stage props is SO well done it does an amazing job of really bringing the whole "stage play" aesthetic to life. The voice acting is also really campy and well done, and adds a ton to that pantomime-esque feel as well~. Many of my friends were surprised to hear that it was a PS3 game with how nice it looks, and the music is also absolutely excellent to boot.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. A lot of people slept on Puppeteer because of when it came out, but that's a darn shame! It's a really excellent action/platformer with really fun writing and a great aesthetic. It's pretty easily picked up for cheap these days too, so it's totally worth tracking down if you want a memorable and fun way to spend a weekend on your PS3~.

Very charming and a hidden gem for the PS3. It's a whimsical adventure, shaped like a play, with a lot of hidden actions for the multiple heads the protagonist can acquire. The game is very fun, and perhaps a new game by the same team would have been a platformer for the ages, rather than being a hidden gem like this game. It reminded me a lot of Dreamworks' style: it's suited for kids and adults alike, and has a couple of interesting twists for fairy tales.

Puppeteer is so gorgeous and clever, but all I can think about is how Capcom seemingly stole the main mechanic for Nero's arms in DMC5 from this game.

It's not for me because I generally don't like platformers, but I respect the hell out of every aspect it.

It took me three attempts to beat this game; I kept bouncing off the game as it never clicked with me. I think the reason for this is because the game wouldn't shut up and let me play. Characters are frequently talking and bantering with each other as I progressed through the level, which frequently got interrupted as I progressed through the levels. Some of the cutscenes feel like they go one for some long minutes too. I get the game wants to give context with what’s going on/what’s happening, but I think brevity would have allowed me to better enjoy the first few opening levels.

However, I did really warm up to the game and found myself having a good time. Once I progressed far enough to have unlocked all the mechanics, I had a fun time making my way through the different platforming challenges. I like the concept of collecting different puppet heads that unlock secrets throughout the level, but I wish they did more with it; it would have been cool if there was a selection of heads that mixes up the way that you play, like a power-up mechanic.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Puppeteer and I’m glad that I’ve finally done a full playthrough of it. I can see myself revisiting the game to unlock the remaining trophies I have yet to earn. Scanning through the reviews on Backloggd shows there's a lot of people who really liked this game, so it’s a shame that the game never got a port or remaster for the new PlayStation consoles.

Usually I wait until I finish each game I review, but wow this game.
I brought this because it was an exclusive ps3 only hidden gem, and went in blind.
I was very impressed with what I saw... The unique setting, great graphics, quirky gameplay and an amazing sound design.

When I finish the game I'll do an actual review with a score, but my first impression was very positive.

The fact that this game was forgotten is a crime