A real classic puzzle platformer. It's one of the earlier games so there are some crude edges to everything, but the gameplay is solid and really stands out from the crowd.

The world map is unfortunately over complicated (thank god this version has the warp system), but the settings are all vibrant and the sprite art is high quality. The music in these games is absolutely the highlight with super catchy melodies throughout.

The human form gameplay is pretty straightforward 2D action though the lack of knockback can make the enemies a bit of a grind to get through. The puzzle platforming can be challenging at points due to the clunkiness of movement controls, but those are the rough edges I talked about.

The animal forms offer a sleight mix up to the gameplay which breaks up some sections and offers different movement challenges, but mainly it's the artwork and music doing all the heavy lifting here. Some of the puzzles are a bit too challenging for what's on offer or relies on a ton of backtracking to get ahead so don't feel bad about using a guide to cheese the labyrinth for example.

It's a decent start to the series, finding its feet but charming and enjoyable.