Game Review: Ginger - The Tooth Fairy

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC

Ginger - The Tooth Fairy is a platforming game that recently released on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. It's a game aimed at younger players, and is described by its developer as being "beginner friendly". Though I'm always wary of games that purposely aim for such a specific demographic, we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today to see if that goal was met. There's quite a bit to go over in this one, so let's get right to it.

As you might imagine, Ginger - The Tooth Fairy puts you in the role of the titular Tooth Fairy named Ginger. Though she looks a bit more bunny-like than I'd have imagined a Tooth Fairy to be, she's our hero nonetheless. One day, she's on her way home when her friend Louis the Racing Bat informs her that her brother Kavity has stolen all her magical teeth. This means that the doors in her also-magic castle are now locked to her, and she's now tasked with reclaiming all the teeth so she doesn't lose her powers permanently. Simple premise that may be, it's pretty much all told to you in a single text box at the start of the game, with a few extra details to be found in its eShop description. I'll be the first to admit that a deep story isn't necessary for a game to be good, but what we get here feels so much like an afterthought that I wonder why the developers bothered with it at all. I wouldn't have batted an eye if the game just tossed me in, but now I have to wonder who Kavity is, and why there's a Racing Bat that we only see once. I should also point out that the game considers itself to be somewhat educational, but that's a rather bold claim. In this case the education is about teeth, but that only comes in the form of random teeth facts (?) that can be found on the pause menu. Everything just feels tacked on, and not at all integrated into the rest of the game. This could've just as easily been Ginger - The Bunny Girl finding carrots and the game wouldn't be any different.

Imagine my surprise when I booted up Ginger - The Tooth Fairy and realized that it has a hub world. Not only that, but it also is made up of a handful of large levels that have multiple goals, exits, and secrets within them. It short it takes a page from the Super Mario 64 playbook, but executes those borrowed elements in a much different way. There are several collectables to be found throughout the game, most important of which are the teeth that are central to the story. These come in various types, but I don't think there's any difference to them beyond their reference to actual teeth a human has. Most levels have 8-10 teeth to collect, with some being out in the open, and others requiring a bit more work. Said work usually comes in the form of beating a boss or solving a puzzle, but the game does get somewhat creative with its hidden teeth. Though the game only features about 5 or 6 stages, I'm actually a little confused as to what I should count as being an actual level. The Castle hub world obviously isn't one, but it contains a lot of collectables, and there are even one-off bonus levels that have teeth in them too. Speaking of the hub world, it's shockingly confusing in design, and I never felt confident about knowing where I was going. Thankfully there are no enemies in The Castle, but it's just the first of mainly oddly designed things to be found here.

Ginger - The Tooth Fairy is a platformer pure and simple, with Ginger only having the ability to run and jump. There are no direct attacks except for the jump, and she also can't do duck to avoid the many projectiles that come her way. There are no power-ups in-game, but you are able to upgrade Ginger's abilities in an RPG type way. Collecting 100 tubes of toothpaste gives her two more hit points, and collecting... gum (?) eventually makes her attacks stronger. These are permanent upgrades, but they don't really do too much to ease the more annoying aspects of the game as there are still several hazards that can kill Ginger outright. There is no lives system in the game, and dying forces you to back to The Castle. This is definitely the most frustrating part of the game, as it means you have to go through each maze-like level several more times than you needed to otherwise. Thankfully, dying aside, you don't have to leave a level if you grab a tooth, and you're able to collect most of them in one go if you're able to.

One of the reasons why I have a hard time describing Ginger - The Tooth Fairy's gameplay is because I spent much of the game just mindlessly going through it. Each level of the game, The Castle hub world included, is laid out in way that almost makes no sense. Why the developers decided that a maze-like "Where do I go?" type game would make for a good kid's game is beyond me, but that's what we get here. I do realize that these gameplay elements were probably for the sake of challenge, but I can't see any kid sticking through this one to the end. Then there's that death thing I mentioned earlier. Nothing is more frustrating than having to trek back to a platforming challenge far into a level because you died trying it. The way Ginger - The Tooth Fairy handles player deaths essentially makes this a broken game. Powering up your hit points does make it so that most normal challenges no longer pose a threat, but none of that will matter if a simple fall into spikes, or dip into water, kills you instantly. Having to restart the entire level is the absolute worst game design decision a game like this could've gone for, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to keep playing after the second time it happens. I only kept going through the game because I was writing this review, but I imagine I'd have given up long before otherwise. All of this is unfortunate because the game really isn't that bad otherwise.

Part of me wants to praise the graphics in Ginger - The Tooth Fairy, but there's some points I have to bring up that keep me from doing so outright. If you play the game for a few minutes, or just see it in screenshots, you'd probably think that this is a rather great looking 2D, pixel-based platformer. If you actually play it for any decent length, you'll notice that the game's environments are quite bland, and all the enemies are repeated. Not only are they repeated, but some look like they were taken from other things entirely. I swear some of the stronger tooth-giving enemies come from some other game, and I was so tired seeing the same frogs, grasshoppers, and plants over and over again. I have similar thoughts when it comes to the game's sound too, as the music also wore out its welcome very quickly. None of the music is bad, but a lot of it is repetitive. It didn't take long for some tracks to get on my nerves, and that only added to all the negativity I started to feel after a while. I wish I had something purely positive to point out regarding Ginger - The Tooth Fairy, but it's really hard to find something to like when the game seems to constantly be working against that.

I'll admit right now that I didn't beat Ginger - The Tooth Fairy, but that wasn't through lack of trying on my part. Some challenges were just too much with the way they were formatted. There are several areas of the game where you're required to bounce on an enemy that is half the size of Ginger herself, in order to cross a sea of spikes. These sections would be challenging in any game, but are practically impossible in one where you have to restart the entire level if you slip up just once. Something as simple as making spikes not be an instant death trap would've fixed so much here, but I guess I'm beating a dead horse on that point by now. Other than that there's the fact that I hit a point where there seemed to be nothing for me to do outside of replaying the same levels over and over again to find more teeth. I'm not sure if something unlocks once you get them all, but I didn't have the patience to find out. Ginger - The Tooth Fairy is a relatively cheap game, and it's clearly meant for younger players, but I can't fathom why anyone would want to pick it up. Younger players are much better picking up Super Mario Wonder instead, or countless other affordable options on the eShop if that's the route they want to go.

It's not often that I feel that a game doesn't deserve any sort of recommendation, but I really have to suggest that players pass on Ginger - The Tooth Fairy. If you're some sort of platform completionist, or if you've always wanted to play a game where you're a bunny-looking Tooth Fairy, then I guess you can pick this one's for you, but there are just so many better games out there. I hope that the developers go back to the drawing board for their next game and make it far more enjoyable, as playing this one just felt like a chore to play.

Check Out Ginger - The Tooth Fairy on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/ginger-the-tooth-fairy-switch/

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Story: C
Gameplay: C-
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C
Value: B

Overall: C

Pros:
+ A fun platformer that has a lot of collectables for you to find.
+ The hub world design feels rather ambition.
+ Parts of the game hit the stated goal of being beginner/child friendly.
+ Though they are rather limited, both the graphics and music are pretty good for the most part.
+ Is available at a very affordable price.

Cons:
- Having to restart a level when you die basically breaks any fun you might have with this game.
- Frequent one-hit kills seem to not be in line with the game's intended beginner-friendly nature.
- The visuals and music can become very repetitive after only a short while.
- It's surprisingly easy to get lost in the game, and there doesn't seem to be much of a central focus.
- There are simply better platformers out there.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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