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"I remember when all these bloody platform game characters looked the same. Miner Willy? A small white murky sprite. The some goes for bloody Technician Ted and Herbert Week, too, They don't make 'am like that any more. Buggers. Anyroad, what is it with folk that they need a one of these new-fangled sprite things that can do everything except make bloody tea? Honestly, in my day two sodding frames of animation and a crap jump noise and we were well away.

That bloody Jelly Lad, or whatever he's called, is the perfect example. Jumping around in his airy-fairy, bloody pink outfit poking people with his belly. You can't tell if they're boys of girls these days. Unless they're kicking you in and nicking the wads of cash from under yer bed, that is. Buggers".

Jelly Boy is a platform game. No, really it is. In addition to scouring its many levels for the said jigsaw pieces, bonuses and sub-games galore await our little morphing lump of gelatin. The game's scenario tells of a lightning bolt hitting a tub of jelly, giving life to the titular hero. From here, he wonders the sweet factory searching for the way to the world outside - with the sweet factory's evil owner blocking the exit.

Starting in the factory's toy division (yes, the sweet factory has a toy division. And a snow world, and an Aztec tomb. Hmmm), Jelly's quest sees him fending off all manner of toy-based foes, whilst collecting bonus-giving musical which give him an extra life for every 100 gathered.

Similarly, his many morphs are hidden in boxes or shown as icons which, when touched, take immediate effect. A small revolving number indicates the time left before Jelly reverts to his basic form, but hitting a foe changes him back instantly. Whilst further hits rob him of his collected notes.

"Hello and welcome to Clothes Show Live. In the last few years we have catered for dressing the 'ample' person, the 'waif', and, indeed, the 'vertically-retarded': Now, however, we come to our toughest challenge. We'd like you to meet Jelly, a boy who leads a very adventurous life and needs an outfit which adopts to his six-stage surroundings. The Broadmoor Art College Foundation course came up with this ensemble collection. Come rain or shine, aquatic adventures of sky-based frivolity, the following are just the ticket..."

The reason for Jelly's multi-physique ramblings are a selection of jigsaw pieces which, when assembled, give our hero one of six objects needed to gain entrance to a confrontation with the games boss. Eight puzzle pieces are needed per stage, and are secreted in hard-to-reach corners of each sub-stage - meaning cowards who head straight for the exit will miss most of them!

Jelly must tackle each of the levels in the order they appear on the map, as it is impossible for him to bypass the gaping holes that form their entrance. As soon as the six objects have been gathered, a mysterious lift operator (a relation of the shop keeper in Mr Berm. Well, I reckon) gives you a ride to the big bad guy ready to quash your heroic endeavours.

Meet Harry. He's a dog. The programmer of Jelly Boy's dog to be precise. Often found worrying lampposts, Harry is Jelly's one ally throughout the entire game. Whenever Harry is about, he will tag alongside our wobbly hero, sorting out any bad guys that get too close with his vicious (albeit pink) molars. However, on the downside, he can also get in the way and block Jelly's belly attacks - still, he can't jump very well, so you can always lose him that way.

Six stages await Jelly's attentions before he gets to earn his freedom. Toy World, Ice World, Aztec World, Desert World, Space World and Sky World, each of which contains morphs and baddies based on each theme.

For instance, whilst Jelly belly-butts clockwork soldiers and marbles during the first stage, weird aliens and oil sheikhs await later. Similarly, larger creatures, including Neptune (King Of The Deep, to you dummies) and Dune-style sand worms appear every now and then just to make things even harder. Sods.

The kind of addictive platformer you'd have been playing on a C64 ten years back whilst your Mum ran your bath.

Ocean's latest platformer may not be much to look at, but Jelly Boy rates as one of the most playable and varied of the genre the Megadrive has seen. Whilst Jelly is hardly the largest sprites we've seen, never has the old idiom of "size isn't everything" rung so true - because what Jelly lacks in stature, the rest of the game makes up for in level size.

Each of the seven worlds is made up of eight sub-stages chockful of enemies, bonuses and strange morphing skills, and these bond together to create a thoroughly engrossing game.

Depending on the level, our hero changes into rockets, boats, pogo sticks - even a duck! - yet the move between the different control methods is simplicity itself. Everything about Jelly Boy is geared towards playability, and it's a rare game indeed that is willing to do without large, gaudy sprites in order to offer more in terms of levels and power-ups. This risk has paid off extremely well in Jelly Boy, giving Ocean their first Sega Mega Game and you one of the most playable platformers to date. Sod the Power Rangers, this is morphing at its best.

One hallmark of a true classic is that it never comes in a form you would expect. Jelly Boy is a perfect example, as a quick glance would relegate it to the vast pile of mediocre platformers the Megadrive has endured over the last few years.

But playing actually reveals an achingly addictive and vast adventure that scores entirely on the ingenuity of its levels. The stages aren't long treks through pretty but featureless scenery - there's usually a tricky problem or challenge of gaming skills to be overcome, and the result is you're prepared to play levels over and over again without becoming frustrated.

Surprisingly, the graphics and sound don't let the package down - they're strangely apt. Jelly Boy's a game you'll keep reaching for.

Graphics 83%
P. More backdrops and graphical ideas than any other platformer you'll see.
N. The sprites hardly push back the boundaries of what the Megadrive can do!

Sound 65%
N. Let's just skip this bit, shall we? Dire tunes and minimal sound effects makes Jelly an aural ordeal.

Playability 91%
P. Superb. There are dozens of morphs to get to grips with, each with individual controls and a strict time-limit. Instinctive to play and never dull.

Lastability 90%
P. Eight sub-levels per world, with more than enough puzzles and bad guys to keep you busy. Collating the puzzle pieces isn't half as easy as it sounds thanks to some of the tortuous routes...

Value For Money 90%
P. You're getting a lot for your forty quid, and there's a lot packed into the game's 8Meg. A perfect price for such a packed cart!

Overall 90%
The screenshots may not be much to look at, but Jelly Boy is the most versatile platform hero to date. Playable and loads to see and do - the perfect combination. Get morphing.