“Metroidvania,” Defender, and three super powered little girls. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect nostalgic side-scroller. But Radian Games intentionally added an extra ingredient to the concoction: classic animation. Thus The Powerpuff Girls: Defenders of Townsville was born. Using their ultra-superpowers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their reboot to fighting evil robots and foiling Mojo Jojo’s latest scheme.
Sorry about that, I just couldn’t resist. But in all sincerity, The Powerpuff Girls was a defining piece of my childhood. I owned the dolls, watched all five hours of their marathons, and pretended to fly like one as I swam in the pool. Although I could never decide which of the girls’ three distinct personalities matched me best, I knew I wanted to be one. I still want to be one really. So when the fifteenth birthday of the Cartoon Network television series came around and the anniversary special episode debuted, I was rather giddy. While it didn’t quite feel like “my” Powerpuff Girls – the art style had been modified into something jagged and modern, the humor just seemed a little off, and it had a fast paced, forcibly zany feel that many of the current age of cartoons have – it was still a great feeling to see what had been some fictional role models of mine back on the screen. So when I learned that, rather randomly and unexpectedly, an adventure shooter was being released on Steam to go along with the anniversary, my interest certainly perked.
Defenders of Townsville certainly has most of what fans of the series want in a Powerpuff game. Players can control each of the three girls, who are all voiced by their original voice actors. Mojo Jojo, arguably the most popular and recognizable villain from the series, is the big bad of the game. In addition to the good ol’ standby of physical attacks, the girls have a variety of powers that act like makeshift weapons, allowing for ranged combat. In addition, each girl has their own unique moves, some of which correspond to powers they had on the show (although the fan in me must point out that there is an inconsistency in some of these powers and what they had in the original show – Blossom’s ice powers were a unique ability only she had, while Bubbles is given these powers in the game). And, of course, it just wouldn’t be the Powerpuff Girls without the color trails they leave behind when they fly.
On a technical level, Defenders of Townsville is a fun, albeit simplistic, game. Initially you start off playing as Buttercup with only the power to punch your way through enemies and walls. You collect new powers as you go along, some of which serve the dual purpose of taking down enemies and getting through obstacles blocking your path. Using a power drains an energy meter that is fairly resilient; I never felt myself being too concerned with using it all up. In true side-scroller fashion you are limited to movement that corresponds to the directional arrows but in some sense that makes the game all the more nostalgic. Furthermore, while the “default” art style is in the art deco design of the anniversary special, there is the option to switch it to the traditional style I know most of us were more fond of.
However while it does seem like the game has everything to make it another solid addition to the franchise, I found Defenders of Townsville to be lacking some of the charm that made the series so endearing. The story in the game is almost nonexistent. Mojo Jojo hits the girls with some sort of weapon that makes them forget how to use their powers. They don’t lose them so much as just not remember they had them in the first place. Thus the girls set out to reunite with each other and find/remember their powers to take on Mojo. There’s really nothing else. It has none of the refined wit, clever writing, character building, and life-lesson imbued plot that the TV show had. The girls sound like themselves but they feel almost distant as their characters aren’t allowed to shine as much as their superpowers are.
Similarly, rather than use the quirky, vivid city of Townsville as the backdrop of the game, Defenders of Townsville instead takes place in generic sewers or caves and the like. The player travels from room to room through pipes but generally it’s hard to really tell you’re making much progress. Each stage is similarly designed, making it easy to get lost or forget just what room had that specific pipe that led to that power up that was previously out of reach. This gets monotonous and redundant rather quickly, not to mention that the robot enemies that plague the rooms are all incredibly similar looking.
The Powerpuff Girls has always been about empowering girls and while the story that supports this goal is lacking from Defenders of Townsville, it’s nice that both nostalgic old fans like me and children alike have the opportunity to play once more as the butt-kicking kindergarteners. With a repetitive environment and little world building, I can’t say that I wasn’t just a tad disappointed. However if you are a fan of the series, you may find it worth the small price point for nostalgia alone.
