Okay, so Winx Club: Quest for the Codex is the second GBA game based on the magical girl series, and honestly? It’s a step up from the first one. You’re still playing as Bloom and the gang, but this time you’re hunting down the lost Codex pages while battling dark fairies and solving puzzles.

Right off the bat, you get to pick your fairy—I went with Stella because her sun powers are weirdly satisfying—and then you’re thrown into this mix of platforming and light RPG elements. The spells feel less clunky than before, and the levels actually have some variety, like floating islands and creepy forests. Still not the deepest game, but if you were into the show, it’s a decent way to kill an afternoon.

Also, the sprite work is surprisingly nice for a GBA licensed game. The transformations actually look like the show, which is more than I expected.