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Happy Feet for PlayStation 2
Happy Feet for PlayStation 2 follows Mumble, a young emperor penguin who is better at tap dancing than singing. His journey through Antarctica consists of dance challenges, swimming sections and downhill runs in which he slides across the ice on his belly. You help him escape predators, meet the Adelie Amigos and follow his relationship with Gloria. Each activity has its own rules: sometimes a fast time matters, while other tasks require you to collect a set number of objects along the way.
When dancing, you press the indicated directions at the right moment. While swimming, you steer through rings and air bubbles, avoiding obstacles and watching your air supply. On the slopes, you pick a line between rocks, jump over hazards and perform tricks in mid-air. The story offers three difficulty settings. Your performance earns medals, and gold medals can be spent on additional unlockable material.
Alongside the solo adventure, Family Mode allows two local players to play with two controllers. You compete in simultaneous dancing and try to collect more objects than your opponent while swimming. Belly-sledding instead divides the tasks: one player steers Mumble, while the other responds to button prompts to break ice gates. A dance pad is optionally supported for dancing; you can also play with a standard controller.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Happy Feet for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Happy Feet
Happy Feet was released by Midway in 2006 and developed by Artificial Mind and Movement. The PS2 edition accompanied Warner Bros.' film about Mumble and the singing emperor penguins. Midway launched the game during the film campaign and highlighted the same three activities in its announcement: dancing, swimming and belly-sledding. The adaptation therefore centred on the main character's movements, as his feet are precisely what set him apart from the other penguins in the film.
Elijah Wood voiced Mumble and Brittany Murphy provided Gloria's voice, as in the film. The developers turned their story into short missions with a score and a medal. The map shows each mission's objective and the score needed for a higher reward. This makes a film location into a repeatable challenge: you can play the same descent again to steer more effectively or collect more objects.
The combination of rhythm and movement defines Happy Feet's place among PS2 film adaptations. The adventure does not build a long sequence of battles, but alternates the timing and steering skills it asks of you. Family Mode uses those same activities differently by offering competition alongside cooperation. The optional dance pad adds physical footwork to the music, while a standard controller lets you play the full mix of snow and water activities.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown for PS2 also draws on an animated film and a cold natural world, but mainly has Scrat collect nuts and jump across ledges. Happy Feet divides its missions between rhythm, swimming and sliding. With Scrat, you find a route through three-dimensional areas; with Mumble, the required action changes with the mission type. Both connect an animal's behaviour to collecting, but use different movements to do so.
Open Season for PS2 centres on Boog and Elliot trying to drive hunters out of their forest. You use other animals as tools, such as a skunk to hamper enemies. Happy Feet's main adventure more often asks you to follow a set course or rhythm pattern. Both film games have separate local challenges, but the division of roles in Mumble's belly-sledding differs from the grabbing, throwing and roaring in Boog's solo journey.
Shrek 2 for PS2 turns its film into an adventure with a team of four fairy-tale characters. Their abilities open paths and solve problems, and you can switch characters as you play. Happy Feet centres its solo missions on Mumble and gives two players their own dancing, swimming and sliding challenges. Shrek 2 allows up to four players to join the adventure, requiring a PS2 Multitap for three or four. This differs from Mumble's separate Family Mode.
Stitch: Experiment 626 for PS2 likewise connects its main character's traits to specific movements. Stitch climbs with his claws, swings with a grappling hook and uses several plasma blasters at once. Happy Feet finds its variety in dancing to arrows, swimming through rings and steering over ice. Both stories are played solo, but Stitch focuses on collecting DNA on alien planets, while Mumble follows races and missions in Antarctica.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit for PS2 lets two players explore neighbourhoods together and catch pests with the BunGun. You seek missions from residents and use devices to open more of the surroundings. Happy Feet divides its world more clearly into individual performance tasks with medals. Both turn an animated film into couch play, but Wallace and Gromit share their adventure, whereas Mumble's two-player option is separate from the story.
