fter years of toiling on handhelds, Death Jr. has finally received his console break with this Wii port. The macabre settings and creepy-yet-lovable crew of characters feels right at home on the big screen; this property is ripe for a Saturday morning cartoon or animated movie. As a game, however, the series is still trying to work out its kinks.

Death Jr’s controls make the full transition to the Wii, for better and for worse. The remote and nunchuk scheme works well for basic navigation and shooting, but, like the PSP, these are compromised by the tricky camera and overly kinetic melee strings. When surrounded by enemies, orienting yourself to judge where the next attack will come from is a struggle. Your combat equilibrium is hardly aided by your melee attacks either, as your character jumps all over the place when you string three swings together.

Once you move past the troubling combat and camera, the game treads the familiar path of fighting enemies, jumping and/or swinging across platforms, collecting orbs, and squaring off against level bosses. The great art style and smart writing sometimes mask the staid gameplay, but, in the end, the cookie cutter platforming buries the game’s strengths. I hope the next title retains the series charming sensibilities while taking the gameplay to the next level. Death’s kid clearly deserves better.