Time for another Avatar game. See previous reviews. This one also uses the new storyline, albeit abbreviated by removing the “Earthbender training camp” and “Southern Air Temple” chapters. Haru still shows up, in Omashu, but doesn’t join the party. As I expected of Halfbrick (having played their two DS entries) the gameplay is more puzzle-oriented with some RPG elements. Aang, Sokka, and Katara move as a group and you can cycle between them to use their abilities. They all learn new tricks as you go on, to overcome environmental obstacles and the occasional combat.

The spritework is lovely; clean and fluid, with plenty of colour variety. I dare say it’s the best looking of the bunch that I’ve played so far. There are fewer enemy types, both because of cut chapters and the chapters themselves are much shorter. I believe I’ve covered them all in these screenshots. I did notice Yu Yan archers, which do not appear in the other versions. Boss battles also play out differently, more strategic and hence more fun.

While the storyline is the same, it’s cut back significantly. They left in Bumi’s excellently lame joke and most of the important plot points, and there are still some civilians to converse with, but it’s pretty stripped back. It’s a concise way to tell the story and certainly a quicker game to play to experience that story, but missing two locations is unfortunate. However, it does uniquely have a large section set in the Omashu sewers.

I was surprised how similar it felt to the later DS games despite using more traditional controls. The puzzles are thoughtfully designed and can get challenging, especially the brutal chase sequences and final boss. There are also hidden health upgrades off the main path which aren’t too necessary outside said boss, but are a nice bonus to find.

Despite lacking voice acting, sidequests, and some locations, I might recommend this as the best way to play this story. It’s the most polished and fun game experience. I still think fans should seek out the console version though, for its more fleshed out story, and additional characters (and spirits!).