Jamster Allstars (lost build of cancelled PlayStation 2/PC action-adventure game; 2007)

Cover for the PlayStation 2 version.

Status: Lost

Jamster Allstars, also known as Jamba Allstars in non-English speaking countries, was a cancelled 2007 action-adventure PlayStation 2/PC game developed by Mercury Games (under their kid-centric "Turtle Games" label). The game starred popular characters from the Jamster mobile service, which was well known for selling mobile ringtones during the 2000s.

Gameplay

The game's plot would have involved the Jamster Allstars "making their way through a series of challenges to discover who has stolen all the musical notes, so that they can continue to make ringtones." The gameplay followed the standard 3D platformer game formula, with various challenges to collect musical notes and emblems, solving puzzles and beating bosses. The game contained 12 levels set in 3 different environment types; futuristic, urban and medieval.^[1] Known levels include Nessie the Dragon's countryside castle and Sweety the Chick's farmland, as well as "futuristic cities" and the "cyber realm of the mobile phone". 12 original songs were also produced for the game.^[2]

The game's playable characters were Sweety the Chick, Nessie the Dragon, Jambo the Elephant and No. 1 from Mad Dawgz; all characters from Jamster's previous ringtone videos. The different characters had their own special abilities, with Nessie being able to breathe fire, as well as Jambo causing shockwaves when he jumps.^[1] An available screenshot also shows the ability to change characters mid-level. Oddly enough, apart from being mentioned on the game's (rather short-lived) website, Crazy Frog is absent, despite probably being the most popular character from Jamster.

Bonus features from buying the game would have included a free premium ringtone and exclusive Jamster media content.^[1]

History/Availability

According to a July 2007 article, the game was set for a September 14th release. A second article released on September 17th mentions a November release; another date that has seemingly fallen through, as no copy of the game is known to exist. A possible reason for the game's cancellation would be Jamster's dwindling reputation, with many accusing the company of deceptive advertising at the time, as well as ringtones becoming more accessible without needing a service of Jamster's kind.^[3]

Only a few screenshots of the game were released. It is unknown whether anyone still owns a build of the game, as the Mercury Games company appears to have gone out of business. An interactive website for the game also existed throughout 2007-2008, but the Internet Archive did not save the "jam_site_v02.swf" file which made up for the majority of the site. It is unknown what the SWF file contained, although chances are it was a trailer for the game.^[4]

An extremely low quality screenshot of the website has been retrieved from a Japanese blog.^[5] The text is in English but unreadable, however some has been translated into readable text.

"Overview
Saving the world one Tune at a time!
Rumours are that the Crazy Frog has stolen all the music from the Magical Musical World at [unknown]!
[unknown] your way through the world with Folli, Sweety & the Jamster Allstars. Unravel the mystery, [unknown] all the magical [unknown], and restore the Magical Musical World [unknown]!"