Are you familiar with Julius, the iconic Paul Frank monkey? If yes, then you’ll definitely love this app review that I’ll be presenting today.

The old school Super Mario finally met Paul Frank’s Julius in this newly released app that’s set to invade your  iOS devices.

Get yourself ready to travel from island to island and embark on expeditions steeped in the lore from Swashbuckler. Collect treasures, run, jump, glide and smash your way through  this awesome pirate adventure.

Getting giddy? Play hours of fun after the break.

Swashbuckler by Saban Brands LLC is a newly released unique puzzle game intended for iOS devices that lets you play Julius, the monkey to win over hurdles and enemies as you explore its dozens of levels. This platformer is inspired by Mario/Donkey Kong Country and features characters from the Paul Frank world.

The story mode of the app contains 25 levels spread across 5 unique environments. It also has 2 bonus modes where you can compete for leader board position and brag about your achievements.

Features

• A free to play action adventure platformer starring Julius the monkey.
• Featuring your favorite Paul Frank characters!
• Basic Controls: Walk, Run, Slide, Glide, and Slam with easy and intuitive touch-screen gestures.
• Increase your arsenal to help you along the way by adding a coin magnet, star compass or other fun tools!
• Unlock Game Center Achievements: See where you rank against your friends!
• Includes two awesome mini-games!

Julius, The Master Of The Sea

Julius was enjoying the beach with Birdie when suddenly a dastardly villain abducted her. Help the monkey rescue his best friend from the clutches of Sir Randolf in an epic puzzle adventure.

As the title suggests, the word “swashbuckler” refers to Julius, the protagonist in this game who is heroic and saves damsels in distress. As you open the app, you have to select which game mode you’re going to play– be it Story Mode or Mini Games Mode. Bob, your wingman will guide you throughout the game.

To get started, manipulate Julius by swiping horizontally to to screen to get him running. You can tap him to stop in case you come across a pit or an obstacle. As you go on in the game, you have to pass close gates, to do this, you must step on the red button in front of each gate and it will then open. To make the monkey jump on platforms, swipe diagonally.

Throughout the game, you must find keys, collect coins, stars and peanuts. The collected Gold Paul Frank stars will get you into new locations, so you better not miss one of those. There are approximately 5 hidden PF stars in each level and 5 more will be awarded for other successful tasks.

Also, you must look out for Paul Frank letters scattered around the island, collect them and you’ll be rewarded with a PF star. Like any other games, this app also features a checkpoint. You must scare Sam, the grub, into his hole so when you die, you can be re-spawned from that certain point. Once you stumble upon a treasure chest then you’re on your way out. Get near it and jump over it to dive inside. Voila! You just completed a level.

But it doesn’t stop there as this app offers more than just running and jumping. You can also make Julius glide across chasms using his pirate hat by swiping diagonally to make him jump and then tap him again to soar. And by the way, just in case you’ve missed a key for each closed gate, you can grab a skurry key for 50 coins that can open anything.

Of course, this game wouldn’t be complete without obstructions that may hinder your goal to save Julius’ BFF. Some dangers along the way include fish that has spikes and  Steve the Crab that decreases your lifeline (indicated by hearts). To kill them, simply jump on them.

As you explore other worlds (the enchanted islands,  skurry jungle, shipwreck graveyard, underwater ruins, cursed volcano), Julius acquires new/additional skills such as swimming and smashing. Everything comes in handy especially if you’re dealing with your enemies and other obstacles.

 

As mentioned above, this app also includes 2 awesome mini-games which include:

Pufak’s Dash

In this standard infinite runner mode, you must manipulate Pufak who is constantly running. When you get to a gap, tap him to jump over. You may press and hold him so he can jump higher once you encounter bigger gaps. For large gaps, you can make him dart by tapping him to jump and then pressing and holding him whilst in the air. Just like in the Story Mode, there are also peanuts to collect. You must avoid spikes and other obstacles as well.

Clancy’s Emerlad Frenzy

Control Clancy by making it jump in the air for more height. To do this, simply press and hold screen to sprint. Basically, the rule here is to take emeralds to its proper treasure chest. Emeralds taken to the wrong chest will be deducted from the correct emeralds. The chest multiplier is increased for every 8 emeralds hoarded together.

Savvy or Not?

This app can be tag along with the other successful runner games in the app world. However, this one was tweaked uniquely to become an epic, full-fledged platformer. The game actually moves at a fairly slow rate so players rarely die, ergo it drags down the experience. Other than that, I think the gameplay is so generic in a sense that everything seems the same. But thanks to the whimsical nature of Julius, its cheery pastel artwork makes the game much interesting. The music on the other hand is good but can be enhanced to make it more appealing.

The good thing is that this game packs in an amount of free content. Besides its Story Mode, it offers 2 mini games that can make you entertained, an absolute distraction from the simplicity of the main game itself. Overall, I think the app can be your modern Super Mario although this one added some robust features that can keep its players delighted.

Set Sail with Swashbuckler

I’ve tired Swashbuckler on my iTouch and aye aye, captain! this kept me somehow entertained during my idle time. Since I’m a fan of Super Mario and of its type of platformers and not to mention, Paul Frank’s Julius, I got hooked into it. At first, I muddle through its gameplay, but Bob made it really easy for me after a while, thanks to its easy-to-grasp instructions. Anyway, I must also admit that the graphics made me appreciate the game more, regardless of its being monotonic on its gameplay. It’s not a mediocre and even though it lacks those spectacular features to make it stand out among other platformers, it’s still worth a try since you don’t have to spend a dime. If the devs will update it with more creative, compelling features then this has a great chance to rule over the other platformers. But yeah, I suggest you try this out and see for yourself if it can sweep you off your feet.

Avail this app and download it for free on your or .

To know more about this app, view the video below: