Maya the Bee was originally a German children’s book from the early 1900’s.  But most people probably remember it as a Japanese anime cartoon from the 1970’s, which was shown on Nick Jr. in the US in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  Yeah, back in those days, Nick Jr. showed a lot of children’s anime.  And now there is a new computer animated Maya the Bee cartoon and movie.  Not sure if the new cartoon is being shown in the US, but I think the movie is coming to video later on.  Now you can help young Maya collect honey and rare flowers for her teacher Mrs. Cassandra in Maya the Bee: Flying Challenge.  It’s a 3-D continuous runner (flyer?) downloadable for iOS and Android devices (reviewed on iPad here).

In the game you play as Maya, who constantly flies forward in a 3-D bug world.  You can choose to move left and right by tapping on the screen or tilting the device.  Tilting the tablet works pretty well, though.  Your goal is to try and fly as far as you can without hitting any obstacles like blades of grass, logs, and other roadblocks.  You can also collect honeycombs along the way.  You’ll want to collect as much as you can because not only does it keep your energy meter full (you’ll also stop if you run out of energy), but you can also use the collected honeycombs as currency to buy upgrades for Maya.  These upgrades let honeycombs and other useful things appear more frequently as you fly.

Other objects to look forward to are teleporters that’ll whisk you to other areas like the pond, or glowing honey doors that’ll let you fly super-fast for a limited amount of time without worrying about running into anything.  There are also achievements and missions to complete which will net you more honey.  And be on the lookout for those rare flowers for Mrs. Cassandra.  Not sure what causes them to appear, or if it’s just random.

The only problems that I had with this game is that you can just barely graze a blade of grass with Maya’s arm, and it’ll stop you.  So hit detection is a little picky.  And even though the game is only 99 cents, there are a bunch of in-game purchases that should’ve been included in the first place, like the ability to play as Maya’s bee friend Willy, or opening up new areas, all which costs money.  But while the game isn’t very original, young gamers and longtime fans of Maya the Bee might want to check it out anyway.

Kid Factor:

Maya the Bee: Flying Challenge is fairly non-violent.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but the game is pretty easy to figure out how to play.  Parental supervision is recommended for the in-game purchases.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television