# Tak and the Power of Juju

Tak and the Power of Juju is a 2003 platform game developed by Avalanche Software and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on October 15, 2003 and in Europe on March 12, 2004.

## Gameplay

Tak and the Power of Juju is a platformer game in which the player controls Tak, who can jump, attack, and interact with animals to overcome obstacles. The player's health is represented by the feather on Tak's head and, along with mana, can be restored by collecting feathers found throughout the environment. After obtaining the Spirit Rattle, he gains access to "Juju Powers", which are acquired by collecting tokens scattered around the environment.

## Plot

According to an ancient prophecy, the Moon Juju, the guardian of the Pupanunu people, will be weakened by the evil Tlaloc, an embittered Pupanunu shaman who seeks to transform the Pupanunu into sheep as revenge for not being made high shamans in favor of another shaman, Jibolba. However, a warrior trained by the high shaman will restore the Moon Juju, defeat Tlaloc, and bring peace to the Pupanunu.
In the present, Tlaloc transforms the Pupanunu into sheep and steals the Moon Stones, which the Moon Juju uses to protect them from evil. Jibolba escapes Tlaloc's spell and believes his apprentice Lok to be the warrior of the prophecy. However, as he prepares to send him off, he discovers that he has seemingly been transformed into a sheep. Jibolba sends his younger apprentice, Tak (voiced by Jason Marsden), to find magical plants and change him back, though it turns out not to be Lok, but his squire Tobar. Jibolba tells Tak to obtain the Spirit Rattle, which allows its wielder to communicate with Juju spirits, while he finds Lok.
Upon returning with the Rattle, Tak discovers that Lok has been trampled to death by a herd of sheep. Jibolba has Tak collect one hundred magic Yorbels and Lok's spirit from the spirit world, allowing him to resurrect Lok. However, since Lok suffers from diarrhea as a side effect of the resurrection, Tak obtains the Moon Stones while he recovers, restoring the Moon Juju's power. The Moon Juju reveals that the warrior of the prophecy is not Lok, but Tak. Using his Juju spells, Tak defeats Tlaloc and transforms him into a sheep, fulfilling the prophecy.

## Development

Tak and the Power of Juju was created by John Blackburn, the CEO of Avalanche Software, who first conceived the idea in 1995 before pitching it in 1998. The game was meant to be an organic platformer taking place in a natural world that lacked typical video game conventions. It was also to have complex puzzles and obstacles and not take itself too seriously, at a time when other games held the player's hand with obvious puzzles. The game was developed by Avalanche Software for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance under Nickelodeon and published by THQ, which was unprecedented at the time due to it being original and not based on an existing show or film.
The game had a marketing budget of $8.7 million.

## Reception

Aggregate score :
| Aggregator | Score | Score | Score |
| Aggregator | GBA | GC | PS2 |
| Metacritic | 60/100 | 71/100 | 68/100 |
Review scores :
| Publication | Score | Score | Score |
| Publication | GBA | GC | PS2 |
| Game Informer | 5/10 | N/A | 6.75/10 |
| GamePro | N/A | N/A | |
| GameRevolution | N/A | N/A | C |
| GameSpot | N/A | 6.8/10 | 6.8/10 |
| GameSpy | N/A | | |
| GameZone | 7/10 | 8.4/10 | 7.8/10 |
| IGN | 5/10 | 8.2/10 | 7.9/10 |
| Nintendo Power | 3.6/5 | 3.8/5 | N/A |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | N/A | N/A | |
| X-Play | N/A | N/A | |
| The Cincinnati Enquirer | | N/A | N/A |
The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GameSpot gave both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions a 6.8 out of 10, writing, "Tak and the Power of Juju can serve as a decent platformer, but if you're in the market for one, it shouldn't be your first choice."The game sold more than one million units.
During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Tak and the Power of Juju was nominated by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for "Console Children's Game of the Year", but lost to Mario Party 5.

## Sequels and spin-offs

The game spawned two direct sequels, Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams and Tak: The Great Juju Challenge, as well as two spinoffs based on the Tak television series, Tak and the Guardians of Gross and Tak: Mojo Mistake.

## TV series

Tak and the Power of Juju is an animated television series that debuted on Nickelodeon on August 31, 2007. Directed by Mark Risley and Jim Schumann, it was the first CGI series to be directly produced in-house by Nickelodeon.