Nintendo Okie

Somehow while browsing through Netflix’s instant streaming library the other day I came across the full run of the original Inspector Gadget cartoon. This was one of my absolute most favorite cartoons growing up. I love Inspector Gadget and coincidentally I loved old re-runs of Get Smart. I guess it makes sense, considering they’re very similar characters played by the same man. I also happened to, a couple days later, be in Vintage Stock and ran across an old GBA game called Inspector Gadget Advance Mission. Being in the mood for Inspector Gadget I decided to pick the game up, it was only $3 after all.

What I got when I slapped the game into the GBA slot of my DS was an experience that looked like Inspector Gadget, but didn’t quite feel like Inspector Gadget. If you’re playing a game starring the bumbling detective you expect to have an arsenal of his “gadgets” available to use on the forces of MAD. What you get instead is a small selection of devices like the Gadget Hammer, Gadget Legs, the Gadget Umbrella, the Gadget Copter and the Gadget neck. Now that sounds like a lot, but there were a TON of different objects that came out of different parts of his body throughout the run of the cartoon. Don’t get me wrong, each of these gadgets feels exactly like it should. You use him hammer to attack different enemies in the game, which then explode into a puff of purple smoke. Skinny enemies only take one hit, while the fatter ones take 4 to defeat.

You also have accompanying the good Inspector his niece Penny and their dog Brain. Penny has the ability to hack into robots and use them as mobile explosives that can blow down doors that block your path. She is also the only character in the game that can swim, which comes in handy at times. Brain has the ability to double jump and reach places the other two characters can’t reach. He also can disguise himself as a penguin for a short period of time that gives him invulnerability. This comes in especially handy when faced with a large group of MAD operatives.

The platforming itself in the game is very solid. There are a lot of hidden areas that you have to think outside of your proverbial box in order to reach. These places will often contain treasure that will give you more money towards your total score. The game begins outside of the Statue of Liberty where you’re battling through a dock area. You’ll battle up the Statue of Liberty, but the level reminds me more of battling up a skyscraper that’s under construction. You really have to know when to switch between characters because some places that you need to get to are inaccessible to Gadget because he can’t grab onto the edge of a ledge. Luckily Penny and Brain can.

Your travels will take you to places ranging from New York to Cairo, Paris, China and London. Each of these different areas looks enough like the respective places to be recognizable. The game utilizes a password save feature that you will get at the end of each level so that you can come back to where you were last if you need to turn off the game. It’s a good feature to have, because while the game was fun, I couldn’t play more than about half an hour at a time.

After playing through the game I realized I had fun, but it didn’t really feel like Inspector Gadget. Maybe it was the limited number of Gadgets. Maybe it was the fact that those gadgets worked 100% of the time. It looked like Inspector Gadget and it sounded like Inspector Gadget. It just didn’t feel like Inspector Gadget. It’s a decent enough platformer and it’s fairly fun to play through. Based on that I would recommed it if you can find a copy of it, just don’t expect to get the experience of playing through an episode of the TV show. Maybe someone will pick up the license and re-invent the bumbling Inspector for a future generation.

Verdict: Find it!