Crazy Kangaroo is a port of an iPhone game, and as of my writing this review that version of the game is available for free on the App Store. As far as I can tell, the only differences are the addition of stereoscopic 3D and the 3DS version’s option of physical controls. Those features, however, make this version worth a look.

Crazy Kangaroo is a simple platforming game presented in a top-down perspective. Your character, the titular kangaroo, always hops forward, though you can move left and right and adjust your speed in order to land on various safe spots and avoid the water. The gameplay is somewhat similar to that of the iOS game Doodle Jump, although this version adds an extra dimension.

While the game retains the tilt controls from the iOS version, it also allows you to control your movement with the Circle Pad. After spending time with both, I can say that while the tilt controls work decently well, the game is much better when using the Circle Pad. That, and the fact that the stereoscopic 3D is useful in judging the height of your jump, are big advantages of the 3DS version.

Along the way you can collect power-ups, including a life preserver that protects you from falling into water, a magnet that pulls the collectable stars scattered along your path closer, increasing your score, and a rocket that blasts you ahead at a blazing speed. The game also has a number of missions, three of which activate each time you play, which give you bonuses when you complete them.

Completing missions and increasing your score earns you coins used to buy upgrades for use in the stage mode, including extra lives, better versions of power-ups, and increased score multipliers. The stage mode offers a three-world campaign, with several stages in each that have different themes and obstacles. The game also includes an endless mode, in which you get one life to go as far as you can.

Crazy Kangaroo is a relatively simple game, but a lot of fun. It’s an example of a game that’s good on iOS, and even better on the 3DS. As our Andy Goergen argued, this is the kind of thing we should be seeing on the eShop: the best the iPhone has to offer, with added functionality only possible on a dedicated game system.