I did not plan on reviewing Frenchy Bird. After my experience with Spikey Walls, I figured I’d let one of my coworkers take a crack at it.  The fact that it sat in the review queue for a couple of weeks tells me that the desire for a Flappy Birdesque game on the Wii U isn’t high.  It’s understandable – games like these are meant to be played just a few minutes here and there. Does Frenchy Bird do enough to change that?

Frenchy Bird Pigeon

The answer is no … although that doesn’t mean this is a bad game, just an extremely limited one.  My co-workers apathy aside, this is actually solid for a game in the Flappy Bird mold. The trouble is that mold isn’t very strong to begin with, and it’s even less so when played on a home console like Wii U.  That said, here’s a rundown of Frenchy Bird’s nuts and bolts.

Frenchy Bird Main MenuYou control a pudgy pigeon who’s clearly been hanging around that old woman Mary Poppins (feed the birds indeed!).  His girth, coupled with the 3D view makes it tough to gauge the gaps between the street lamps.  While I very much appreciate the effort for improved visuals, I must reluctantly say that Spikey Walls is more playable simply by virtue of being in 2D.

Frenchy Bird tries to enhance the shallow experience, and I give them credit.  There’s a decent musical number that plays while you’re flying, four Miiverse stamps to earn if you’re skilled enough, and leaderboards so I can show the world how bad I am at this game.  But I’m going to once again make the same observations I made when I reviewed Spikey Walls, namely that more is needed. When bringing a game like this to a console (and charging $1,99) inject it with more features. Multiple birds to choose from, a few different backgrounds, a difficulty selection (this game is tough!) anything to further separate yourself from the slew of free mobile clones.

Frenchy Bird GameplayEven though this type of game remains a poor fit for a home console, fans are sure to grab it anyway.  The higher production values, coupled with a lower price and some extras means Frenchy Bird will probably be a success for its audience.  It does nothing to draw in new players however, even with the absence of any major faults.  Hopefully Carbon Fire Studio will direct their efforts towards a more winning genre in the future.  I wish them success with their next project.