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One asset that Moore did push for is the God of the Sea, a sushi chef that appears midway through the campaign. “His design is based upon a festival that takes place in Northern Japan, where the people make these giant paper characters and light them up,” he explains as he picks up the controller. Kutaro’s objective is to rescue the underwater deity’s trident from his rival, a giant octopus. “There are 13 main bosses in the game,” the developer tells us. “However, we don’t consider the cephalopod to be part of that number, as he’s just not big enough.” The aquatic beast fills the screen.

It’s clear that the team has spent a large chunk of the title’s three year development cycle absolutely packing the side-scroller with content. “It’s a seven act play, with three curtains in each act,” Moore tells us when we quiz him about the game’s size. “In traditional terms, that means that you’ve got 21 stages to play, with twelve hours of gameplay if you ran through it. But there’s obviously additional content involving the heads, secret areas, bonuses, collectibles, and more.”

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Ah yes, the heads: there are over 100 of these in the full game, and each one has a different use. One noggin-shaped piece of nigirizushi allows the protagonist to navigate to new areas, while others emit bombs and so forth. These not only play a part in the moment-to-moment gameplay, but will also be an essential means of accessing the “insane” number of secret areas that are stashed throughout the campaign. Sadly, there’s no chance of any of the heads being based upon popular PlayStation properties. “There’s a licensing problem there,” he says with frustration. “We’d have loved to have done that.”

Despite the huge commitment to content elsewhere, though, Moore and his team have not compromised the fidelity of the moment-to-moment action. “It’s all set in the theatre, so you’ve got the actors, the lights, and the narrator,” he points out, adding that the audience will even cheer or jeer you depending on your performance. “We don’t let them throw tomatoes, but they do get restless.”

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The visuals really are sublime, with parts of the set jauntily held together with rods of wood and pieces of string. It’s hard not to compare the make-do art style to LittleBigPlanet, but there’s a darker, dramatic vibe to the experience which sets it apart from Media Molecule’s first-party exclusive. Not to mention, the floaty hop from the physics-based platformer is not an issue here, as Japan Studio has spent years perfecting the title’s mechanics.

While the game is a simple platformer on the surface, the aforementioned magic scissors play a pivotal role in the gameplay. By tapping the square button, these allow you to chop through all manner of materials, and essentially fly through the world. And according to Moore, these were always a pivotal part of the game’s design.

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“The scissors were actually one of the first things that we ever did – they’ve always been there, and were definitely part of the original concept,” he says. “They’re an Excalibur in a sense, in that they are the hero’s weapon, but what’s really nice about them is that it’s just fun to cut stuff up. If you think about it, scissors are the second tool that you ever use as a child, after a crayon. And it’s a great thing, because you control the rhythm on the button, and it feels good.” Having played the game and operated a real pair of scissors, we can concur.

Following our excursion under the sea, Moore wants us to dip our toes into one more area before the curtain closes on our session. This reinforces the release’s aim to change every five minutes, as the luxurious ocean is replaced by a Nightmare Before Christmas-esque graveyard. Here, the title sheds the vibrant shades from the previous stage, opting for long, foreboding shadows cast from extravagant tomb stones.

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The level provides the perfect showcase for the title’s co-op mode, which is very much pick-up-and-play. In single player, you’ll be able to control a fairy on the right analogue stick, which will allow you to reach areas that Kutaro can’t. However, with the addition of a second controller, an accomplice can participate in this activity, gobbling up gold, and smacking enemies with a deft stab of the circle button. It’s a simplified experience, but perfect for couch co-op – especially with younger players, or those less familiar with the language of video games. You can even operate the fairy with the PlayStation Move controller.

"My son loves Puppeteer, but what's important to me is that his friends really enjoy playing it, too"

“It’s really simple to use, too,” Moore gushes of the motion peripheral. “You just pick up the illuminated wand, and the game automatically detects that you want to use it. From there, you just have to follow a very, very, very simple calibration sequence, and you’re back straight into the game.” And Move’s not the only added extra that the title will support, as it will also include compatibility with 3D televisions, a feature that the developer reckons looks “stunning”. We can believe it.

But as we ponder the price of a new television – this may finally be the title to persuade us to purchase a nifty stereoscopic display – we can’t help but quiz Moore on his son’s reaction to the almost-finished product. “He loves it,” he beams. “He doesn’t get bored of it, and he always wants to play more. But what’s important to me is that his friends enjoy playing it, too. It’s also funny when other parents come around, and they get kind of drawn into it.” Mission accomplished, then? Well, certainly for Moore and his son – but we’ll have our verdict in a few weeks.


Have you already pre-ordered front-row seats for Puppeteer? What’s got you most excited about the PS3 platformer? Let us know in the comments section below.