When it comes to past generations of gaming consoles, few are as essentially useless as the original Gameboy. It’s heavy, eats AA batteries like nothing, and if playing in a dark car, you’d have to battle it out with your mother over the legality of driving with the vehicle’s interior lights on. The one unique charm the console had going for it was the two tone visuals that few games have adopted since the long forgotten toy was replaced by its successors, although Jack N’ Jill DX jumps back into that visual space.

The story follows Jack (or Jill if you prefer to have a bow on your head) as they work their way through levels to seek out their partner. There isn’t much of a narrative beyond this, but it works well on its own without it. The gameplay is essentially a combination of a platformer with endless runner mechanics added, resulting in an extremely basic game that could be played with one hand if that is your thing. You’ll simply press the jump button to get the party started, with your chosen character moving at their own pace and jumping your way over traps, gaps, and enemies, collecting coins along the way until you reach your goal.

The game takes it’s time getting you acclimated to the extremely basic gameplay, with minor nuances added slowly throughout the whopping 140 levels, and that’s not taking into account the unlockable mini-games. The subtle changes that come into play are added so slowly that you’ll likely lose interest around the first twenty or so levels, which is around the time something else comes into play. The game doesn’t really hit its stride or increase in difficulty whatsoever until the levels become much taller than the standard left to right gameplay that the bulk of the first world includes. Once this section hits, you’ll have to carefully use areas that turn Jack or Jill around and work your way back and forth across the screen gaining small amounts of air, working your way to the end point.

There is a great deal of content, but this is an example of quantity over quality, with most of the levels playing out identically to others. Upon completing each world, you’ll unlock a replayable mini-game that allows you to earn huge chunks of coin. These will see you passing larger chasms, racing through the level as quickly as possible and other genre staples. As you progress through the levels, you’ll accumulate coins that can be used in the store to buy cosmetic items for Jack or Jill, allowing you to change your appearance, with some other goodies that you can grind out. These do not change much in the form of gameplay, but add a nice touch for those who think customization is vital to games.

The overall presentation will scratch any nostalgic itch you may have, with the characters, level designs, and sound effects resembling games of the early 90’s. While the black and white levels mimic the Gameboy era well, I would have preferred to see some color, or at least the option to include it. With some of the more recent platformers having issues properly conveying what is or is not hurtful to your character, the stylized visuals in this make it clear what you need to avoid, with the single issue being the enemies that look all too similar to Jack and Jill.

Jack N’ Jill DX is a fine budget priced platformer  with tons of content that is fit for younger children, but the lack of a proper challenge will have most seasoned gamers looking elsewhere. Had this been released on past consoles, it would have been a sure fire hit with its family friendly aesthetic, but nothing about this stands out in a sea of clones available on any digital marketplace.

4 out of 10

Pros

• Can Be Played One Handed
• Hits You in the Nostalgia with It’s Gameboy-ish Presentation
• Tons of Content

Cons

• Boring Gameplay
• Design Comes Across as Lazy
• Lack of a Proper Challenge

Jack N’ Jill DX was developed by Rohan Narang and published by Ratalaika Games. It is available on NS, PC, PS4, PS Vita, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Jack N’ Jill DX, check out the publisher’s site.

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