There are many toy lines that came out in the 80s when I was a kid that are still popular today.  Some examples would be Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, etc.  Another example that I didn’t know about until now was Care Bears.  That was huge when I was a kid, and they had lots of toys, plush, several cartoons, and even some movies!  I think even I saw the first Care Bears movie when I was a kid (I remember it being surprisingly dark), and that movie even made more money than the Disney cartoon film it was competing against (granted that Disney movie was The Black Cauldron, but still).  And now you can play a video game starring those colorful bears!  Some bad guys have planted a Bad Seed in the forest where the Care Bears live, and it’s up to them to get rid of the evil purple plants that have taken over.  Care Bears: To the Rescue is a four player simultaneous 2D platformer, and it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

When you start, you’ll first pick which Care Bear to play as, and four can play at the same time!  Some of the ones you can pick from include Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Cheer Bear, Grumpy Bear, etc. (Grumpy’s the best)  Later on you can even unlock some surprise secret characters, too!  Each Care Bear has a special passive skill.  One might move faster, one has a more powerful attack, one can find secrets better, etc.  But they can all beat the levels just fine by running and jumping.

The Care Bears ‘attack’ enemies and activate icons by using what the game calls “Care Energy.”  But I remember it as a kid being called the “Care Bear Stare.”  Hold down the button and your character will fire a beam from their belly and after a while it’ll defeat an enemy or activate an icon switch.  You can only use this beam for so long, but usually it’s enough to do what you need to do.  In the stages you’ll see icons of the different symbols on the bears’ bellies.  You’ll need that particular bear to activate it, but don’t worry if you’re not playing as them because they’ll be standing right there ready to help you.  You can collect stars in the stages, but I don’t know what they do.  Hidden in each area are also three stickers for you to find, and if you get them, you can view them later in an album on the main menu.

I had a few minor problems with the game.  One being that I didn’t like how you had to press a button to grab ahold of vines.  Just seemed like an unnecessary extra step.  Also, the ‘boss’ battles in each world are just a 2D shooter stage where you fire at a giant flower, and they’re all the same and get a little repetitive.  At least the bonus mini-games you play afterward are different.  But all in all, this really isn’t a bad game, especially for a licensed kids’ title.  If you have young Care Bear fans around the house, they may enjoy this.

Kid Factor:

Care Bears: To the Rescue is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Mild Fantasy Violence.  You can get hit three times and when you do, you just flash for a bit and get knocked back and say something like “Oh,” or “Oh no!”  If you lose all your hearts, you’ll disappear in a puff of smoke and start back at the last checkpoint.  You can fire a beam at enemies but they just either wither away or turn back into something good when defeated.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Very young gamers may need help with some of the trickier jumps, but for the most part, kids of any age should be able to enjoy this.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television