The battle against Tarus and his Sasquatch Beta is especially noteworthy, as it’s one of the first times you have to do anything complicated with the grab mechanics. You can throw the rocks back at him, but for the best times use his cannon against him! If you do not get an A ranking for time in each stage as well as collect all the gold gems, you can’t see the whole ending! This is a bit of a shoddy move on the developer’s part, but it does deter players from rushing the entire game, and keeps them coming back for more. These gold gems boost Marina’s lifebar a little each time you get one, and they do serve a sinister purpose. If you do want more, however, after you beat the game you can replay all the stages attempting to get your times lower, as well as search each level for an elusive gold gem. I think the game would have benefited from at least one more chapter, but Treasure’s games always tend to leave you wanting more. In fact it’s over all too quickly, with what seems like a rushed climax. As you progress towards the final levels the game starts to get more difficult, but it never becomes unmanageable. Hint throughout the game that you can shake for a quick tip or two. The tutorials don’t hold your hand in any way, allowing you to explore the capabilities of your character on your own, and there is a floating ball named Ms. Stages are usually quite short, and the first two chapters (Out of five total) have barely any combat at all, opting to ease you in with some basic tutorial levels cleverly covered up by story elements. You can even toss around the local Clancer population, although it may make them cry. You can grab missiles, shake them to make them larger, and toss them back at enemies.

You can grab a pot that, when you place other objects in it, mixes them together to create one better item. She can also grab, shake, and toss almost anything in the game, with most obstacles requiring you to make use of those three core mechanics to progress. She has built-in jets on her back and feet for impressive mobility she can dash in almost any direction with a quick double-tap of the D-pad or by tapping a C-button. Marina is not exactly built for combat, however, and is more suited for assisting Theo. After Marina returns home and finds her creator gone, she sets off on a quest to rescue him. This is the situation that Marina and the professor find themselves in when their home is raided while Marina is away and the professor is kidnapped.

When accosted by children begging you to shake them, you should only listen if you’re playing this game.

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