If all licensed games were like Strawberry Shortcake: The Four Seasons Cake, then no one would complain. I would be proud to gift this to a fledgling gamer with their brand new Nintendo DS.

Strawberry Shortcake is a run and jump platform game geared for younger players, but that's not to say the game is simple or boring. I died several times, but the game's mid-level checkpoints, as well as a general scarcity of enemies and sharp objects, keep things manageable. And while the game does start out almost too easy, later on there are more involved challenges that do require attention.

Since Strawberry Shortcake is a 2D platformer, the colorful characters and levels didn't strictly need to be rendered in 3D. However, it's really nice to see developer Shin'en do just that and deliver a strong technical product. Additionally, the game world stays artistically appealing because it features the four seasons instead of just sticking to a candy motif. The music varies based on the season of the current stage and helps to set a relaxing, laid-back mood throughout the game. The sound effects are also delightfully varied, from pogo-stick springing to the creaking of a rope swing.

The controls for Strawberry Shortcake would be well suited for a GBA game. The touch screen is never used except for one isolated instance, and the X and Y buttons do nothing. The R and L buttons merely shift the camera up or down. The player can practically play the entire game with just the directional pad, A button, and B button.

With its simple controls, the game has other ways to keep things inventive. Levels make frequent use of power ups like swimming goggles, pogo sticks, and parachutes. They also introduce some interesting mechanics, like gelatinous cubes that can both serve as platforms and be squished down low to cover holes or provide access to tunnels. Additionally, Strawberry Shortcake can collect bubble gum in order to blow bubbles that can either be bounced on or used to lift obstacles.

Strawberry Shortcake is also meatier than expected with 40 levels (including the four mini-game stages), each with anywhere from 20-35 strawberries for players to collect. These strawberries grant access to more levels but aren't needed to beat the stage. For example, a large sign with the number 120 might block your way to the next map; you would then have the option of collecting all 30 strawberries in each of four levels or alternatively collecting 20 strawberries from each of the six levels available. It's a progression system that helps Strawberry Shortcake offer a little bit more challenge to more experienced players while leaving an abundance of low-lying fruit for beginners to pick.

You reach the end of the game when you've gathered enough berries for Strawberry Shortcake and her friends to net third place in a baking competition (a little more than 600). But the game will immediately turn around and tell you that collecting 900 strawberries will earn you the silver, encouraging you to revisit past levels for better scores. As a 23-year old male, I'm not exactly in Strawberry Shortcake's target audience, but the solid gameplay and the compulsion to master levels might entice me back for one or two more sessions. But truthfully, the game won me over when I started picturing one of my 10-year old cousins playing Strawberry Shortcake on her DS. In my daydream she looked like she was having fun.