When the Wii launched in November 2006, Konami was ready with Elebits, a first-person action game that saw the player using their Wii Remote to pick up and move everyday objects (everything from TVs to cars and houses) in hopes of finding the titular energy-producing creatures. It was a simple, cute game that garnered moderate praise.  Now Konami has brought the series to the DS, and while the basics remain the same, The Adventures of Kai and Zero is a drastically different game than its motion-controlled big brother.

At the end of the original adventure, kid hero Kai had scoured his house and neighborhood to collect Elebits, finally stumbling upon a unique Omega Elebit he called Zero. Together, Kai and Zero uncover what appears to be an old bus, but is in fact a talking machine with the ability to travel to alternate dimensions. Zero’s so powerful that he charges the bus without meaning to, and before you know it our heroes find themselves in another dimension. They’ve got to find loads of Elebits if they want to gain enough power to make it back home. The game has an overarching theme of environmentalism, as each area you visit has had its natural beauty destroyed by expanding industry and it’s up to you to repair the damage. While the game’s message might be a bit obvious at times, it’s refreshing to see a so-called “kid’s game” addressing such a real issue. Story sequences can be a little painful for older players, as Kai is about as obnoxious a young hero as you could imagine.

 
Dialogue is conveyed through RPG-style conversation sequences, complete with voice work.

Once you’re in control of Kai, the real action starts. You can use either the d-pad or the stylus to run Kai around each area, but you must use the stylus to control Kai’s energy gun, which allows him to manipulate the various trees, rocks, and other objects that litter the environments. Every object in the game world is a potential hiding spot for Elebits, so the first order of business is to shake and move anything and everything in your path in hopes of revealing some of the little creatures. Once you’ve found some, you tap the Elebits to select them, then tap your Omega Elebit to capture all the selected creatures. You’ve got a limited amount of time after selecting an Elebit to capture it, but you get a point multiplier for capturing multiples at the same time, so some quick stylus work is required if you want to rack up lots of energy.

 
Each Elebit must be tapped to freeze them in place, then you have until the bar
 at the bottom runs out to tap your Omega Elebit to capture them.

Collecting energy is just the first part of gameplay, though. As you travel through the world you’ll discover other Omega Elebits, each with their own abilities. Each gameplay area is full of environmental puzzles that will require you to use your various Omegas intelligently to pass. These puzzles account for the bulk of the game’s challenge, and some of them (especially in the later levels) are quite clever. You’ll be forced to use every Omega’s abilities, sometimes quickly switching between them to bypass the obstacles in your path. While the game never really becomes overwhelmingly difficult, you’ll definitely encounter a few tricky spots that will make you think.

 
Utilizing each Omega’s unique abilities at the right place
 and time is the only way to advance in the game.

The energy you collect from all those run-of-the-mill Elebits you’ve been capturing is used to power your Omegas’ abilities, but it can also be spent to evolve them. Evolving each Omega yields benefits like a longer time bar to capture Elebits and cheaper power activation, and also gives your Omegas a physical upgrade, making each bigger and cooler-looking. At times this evolution system seems somewhat pointless, since evolving never gives you any new abilities — it’s possible to advance without ever evolving, just a little harder. Still, fans of the Pokemon series will enjoy pumping up their creature team, and younger players should enjoy seeing their Omegas go from cute to powerful-looking.

 
Each of your Omegas can evolve, but it’s never necessary
to progress in the game. It can make things a bit easier, though.

The Adventures of Kai and Zero expands on the original Elebits’ art style. While the first game used relatively simplistic yet colorful 3D graphics, here 2D sprites use the DS’ capabilities to their full advantage. The game shares the same bright pastel color scheme of the original, and the 2D characters and objects are detailed and animate smoothly. High resolution character art makes dialogue and story sequences easy on the eyes. Environments look great too, and the different worlds you’ll travel to give the game a much more diverse look than the neighborhood setting of the original.

The audio elements of the game are a bit of a mixed bag. The music is pretty good without really standing out too much — you’ll enjoy each tune as it plays but then forget it as soon as it’s done. Still, the music’s worlds better than the voice acting. I mentioned before that Kai is painfully obnoxious, and most of that comes down to his voice work. Since he’s the main character he talks all the time, but his whiny, grating vocals will likely get on your nerves by the end of the opening cinematic.

Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero is a nice little adventure title. It’s probably not going to blow you away, but it is a pleasant diversion with a calm, relaxed tone. It’s kid-friendly enough that grade-schoolers will enjoy it, but it’s got a decent amount of depth and challenge to it for the more experienced gamers out there. If you’re looking for an action/adventure fix to get you through the bleak winter months, you could do a lot worse than to take up a stylus against this world full of colorful energy-producing creatures.

Gameplay: 7.6
Using your stylus to find and capture Elebits is immediately fun and engaging. Using your Omegas’ abilities to make your way through the various environmental puzzles in your path is satisfying without being overly difficult. It doesn’t rewrite the book on adventure gaming but what it does, it does well.

Graphics: 8.4
Adventures of Kai and Zero takes the most visually appealing element of the original game, the cut scenes, and applies that design to a detailed 2D world. The characters look great, each world is visually unique and attractive, and thanks to the 2D capabilities of the DS each area can throw a ton of Elebits on screen without slowing the action.

Sound:  6.8
The game’s music is pretty good, but not especially memorable. The voice acting, on the other hand, can get downright annoying. It only pops up during story sequences, but it’s bad enough to make you keep one hand on the volume control whenever dialog starts.

Difficulty: Easy
Some of the puzzles in the game are a little tricky, to be sure. Still, anyone with some gaming experience should be able to make their way through the game in relatively short order, without getting stuck too badly. Almost every puzzle has a logical solution, if you just consider your various Omegas’ powers.

Concept:  8.0
The original Elebits introduced us to the unique world of these energy-producing creatures, but the idea really comes into its own here, with a fully-realized fantasy world for the Elebits to inhabit. The touch-driven gameplay is cleverly designed, being easy to grasp but always fun and engaging.

Overall:  7.8
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero is a fun little adventure game that’s simple enough for young gamers to enjoy, but substantial enough to keep us older gamers happy. It’s a unique, charming little adventure, and DS owners with a taste for the cute and colorful will find it worth their time.