I bought Jelly Pops almost solely because it was made by Pom Pom games, makers of the really, really great Alien Zombie Death (reviewed in January 2012). And at first, I was really disappointed. It certainly doesn't live up to the greatness of AZD. And I think I may have been anxious at the time to focus on playing Wipeout HD Fury (reviewed in June 2012). But now that I've had a few months break from it and picked it up again, I finished it off and really enjoyed my experience with it.
Jelly Pops is a PSP/PS3 mini, which can be played on either system once you purchase it once. It was made by the same three person team at Pom Pom which made AZD. Gameplay consists of guiding a snake up and down on the left side of the screen as the level flows past you from left to right. It's a strange effect, as the snake is supposed to be moving from left to right (and you do get that impression), but it never really leaves the left side of the screen.
On the left side of the screen is a life force meter that depletes over time. If it runs out, you die. To refill it, you must collect life force gems as they fly by. To increase your score, there are different kinds of gems you can collect. And then there are a few types of “negative energy” that you can't touch or you'll die. The only controls are to use the nub or left analog stick to guide the snake, and pressing x to “boost” or move faster (an ability you earn on each individual stage after surviving a certain amount of time and earning a stage medal). There is also a multiplier system similar to AZD's. The score multiplier meter slowly fills up over time, and when it gets totally full, it resets but puts you at a new multiplier level. So once it fills up once, each scoring gem you collect gives you double points. Once it fills up twice, you earn triple points, and so on. The meter fills up more quickly the faster you go. If you weave up and down the screen, it moves slower, and if you boost straight ahead by pressing x, it fills up faster (although it is harder to control snake when you boost). The level ends when you die.
The game uses a medal system very similar to AZD's. Each stage has 7 medals you can earn. They all have 2 stage medals, which you earn for getting through a certain number of stages or sections within the level. They all also have 2 score medals, which you earn for reaching certain scores. Earning the first stage medal in a level grants you the ability to use the boost function for that level from then on (starting with your next run-through, I believe). Collecting the first score medal unlocks spirit gems for that level. Starting in your next run-through of that level, mobile spirit gems will appear. Collecting them earns you additional points.
Besides those 4 medals, each stage has 3 more that you earn for doing various things, such as collecting a certain number of a certain type of gem, collecting spirit gems, and collecting certain colors of gems in a chain without touching anything else.
Each of the 8 levels has a gimmick that you need to exploit in order to earn the medals. I won't spoil them all, but some task you with powering up life force gems before you collect them by first touching same-colored gems. Some include rollers that you can push around to knock hazards out of the way, and others have gems you need to collect that move around and shoot at you as you try and get them. The variety is nice and each level feels unique.
Each level also has it's own visual style in the form of an animated background. These are really great looking. Along with the look of some of the obstacles and gems, they really give you the feeling that you are in some form of wet, microscopic environment. Highlights include a red level with giant red-blood cells floating by, and a brown level with what look like grains of salt seen through a microscope floating through it.
The game basically has two music tracks, and they are both excellent. There is the title-screen music, which is really good. Then there is the level music, which plays during each level. The level music is a basic track, and your actions provide the rest of the sound. Collecting gems creates sounds that add to the music, and because each level has different gem set ups, each level sounds different despite having the same basic background track. The level music is really great, and will stay with you. I remembered and thought about it often during the months between the first time I played this game and when I just recently picked it up to finish it. It is a slow, melancholy song that is strikingly similar in my mind to some of the band oOoOO's music. In fact, when I think about Jelly Pop's music, I often end up listening to a mash up of the level music and some oOoOO song in my head, and they are a perfect duet. Great music.
Unfortunately, Jelly Pops also has a small glitch (just like AZD!). I completed the game 100%, and then when I loaded up my save file later, it still read 100%, but none of the medals for the last two stages were unlocked. It's weird, because my high scores were saved, and even though they were higher than what was needed for the score medals, they were not unlocked. This is annoying. I had my PSP on sleep mode the whole time I played, so I unlocked all of those medals without having to re-load, but I can imagine it would be frustrating to lose medals if you had to re-load your save while still trying to get those last few medals only to find some of them missing. Not a huge deal over all though.
I had fun with Jelly Pops, but it was a little too short and easy, especially compared to AZD, which offered a longer play time, greater challenge, and more engaging play. I think it might ultimately be forgettable (except the music), but it was fun while it lasted. Kind of what I would normally expect from a mini, except that my first mini was AZD, which went so far above the call of duty. Jelly Pops is a Tier 1 Mediocre Game.
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