Review of “Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped!”

Ever just blink and find yourself in the late ‘90s? No? Well, me neither. But — oh wait, where was I? — right, so if you’re like me and sometimes think back to the days of chunky handheld gaming, this might be your jam. Wayforward — yeah, those folks who brought us the awesome 2D games like River City Girls and the Shantae series — also did a ton of licensed games. I know, right? Who knew? Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped (such a mouthful!) is one of those lesser-known ones on the Game Boy Color. And weirdly enough, it’s kinda like peeking into where Shantae kicked off.

This game pulls its story from the animated show, obviously. You take on the role of Sabrina, this teenage witch with a flair for turning friends into runaway critters. The mission? Hop on their heads (yup, seriously) and zap them back to being human. Along the way, you snag cool spells. Double jump, Salem the cat squeezing into tiny spots — oh, and my fave, that little bubble spell. Picture Sabrina floating mid-air like she’s a leaf caught in the wind. Sort of.

The levels, man, they’re something else. Tight and varied, you know? Like, one moment you’re scaling upwards all bubbly — the next, you’re crawling around as Salem, unlocking…stuff. It’s this cool showcase of what Game Boy Color platformers could do. Big, bold sprites, easy-to-grasp stages, a password system that doesn’t make your brain hurt. Nothing revolutionary or mind-altering, but it’s got charm. You feel me?

Now, about those controls. Kind of a hot mess, if you ask me. Everything’s mashed onto the B-button. Why do they do this? Seriously, it’s like casting spells while running into enemies becomes a fun little game of “Can I survive this?” For a game based on a TV spin-off, it actually plays way better than you’d expect. No masterpiece here, but it’s like seeing Shantae’s roots peek through. Not mind-blowing, sure, but Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped has this cute little nostalgic spell — even if it fizzles out after one run-through. Who’s counting though?