Phineas and Ferb Wiki:Newsletter submissions/Video Game Review-inator: "Quest for Cool Stuff"

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Last month saw the release of the fourth Phineas and Ferb video game, Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff. Developed by Behaviour Interactive (who had worked on a number of Disney games when they were known as Artificial Mind & Movement) and published by Majesco Entertainment, the game is available on Wii and Nintendo DS and marks the series debut on Xbox 360, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.

Quest for Cool Stuff sees Phineas and Ferb piloting their newest creation, the All-Terrain Transformatron (A.T.T.) as they travel to a variety of locales, looking to collect cool treasures with which to populate the Coolest Museum Ever. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is up to his usual tricks, and Agent P has to put a stop to it.

As opposed to the 2011 Across the 2nd Dimension game, Quest for Cool Stuff returns to the gameplay style of 2009's Phineas and Ferb and 2010's Ride Again.

The A.T.T. piloted by the boys has two modes of operation: "Ferb Mode" allows the machine to run faster and hang on pipes and vertical walls, while "Phineas Mode" forgoes the extra maneuverability to gain the ability to drill through solid blocks, and also supports other situations where jumping is not required such as minecart sections and, in a first for the series, underwater levels. Along the way, the boys have the opportunity to collect a variety of trinkets. Unlike Across the 2nd Dimension, sprockets serve no gameplay purpose this time, only used to upgrade Phineas and Ferb's museum through four levels, from the "Museum of Cool" to the "Coolest Museum Ever". Also there for the taking are five regular treasures on each level, a sixth unique one in a number of levels, and also three hidden Ducky Momo dolls each.

Perry the Platypus also gets a few chances to shine as he attempts to stop Doofenshmirtz's latest nefarious plot. His levels see the addition of Norm Bots, armed with their usual complement of one-liners and the most difficult enemies the game has to offer (which isn't saying much). He also gains the ability to disguise himself as a regular platypus to fool Doofenshmirtz's security system.

In my opinion, the fourth and final world stands out as the game's best with how it uses the vertical plane in ways not normally seen in a side-scrolling platformer. While not particuarly difficult, containing no enemies other than a few Norm Bots who escaped into its first level - and there must have been quite a backstory as to how they got there, although the game sadly misses the opportunity to tell us exactly how it happened - the three levels are packed full of unique gameplay, including the final level which sees the A.T.T. basically free-falling into Phineas and Ferb's backyard to officially end the game.

Quest for Cool Stuff borrows a number of songs from the series, including the full soundtrack version of "Today is Gonna Be a Great Day" which it uses as the title track; "Hey Ferb" plays while in the backyard between levels; and the "Ducky Momo Theme Song" heralds the completion of each level (apparently, someone at Behaviour Interactive is a big fan of Ducky Momo). All of the character dialogue is recorded by the regular voice actors, including a lot of Candace talking on the phone, hearable when standing near the house - enough that it doesn't noticeably repeat.

This game's greatest flaw is that it is very short. Even with the sidequests given by Isabella, Baljeet and Buford to get you to replay many of the levels, the game only takes a few hours to complete. As of this writing, I'm at like 87 percent complete (including all levels) in about 3 1/2 hours. I was also disappointed that the game does not utilize the Wii U gamepad at all - it just displays the same image as the TV.

While I personally enjoyed Across the 2nd Dimension more, I suspect that many younger Phineas and Ferb fans will have the opposite opinion, as this game seems more targeted towards them. That said, Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff gets an 8 out of 10, and you will not be disappointed with the boys' latest adventure while it lasts.

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