With only a few commands to keep track of here there are actually several redundancies found on the Vita’s setup. Specifically there are three different ways to cycle through your selection of spells: the right analog stick, the left and right bumpers or by touching the spell wheel with your finger. Casting is done with the square; up to three targets can be painted, or you can hold down the button and lock-on with a more powerful version of your spell. You can also jump (X), switch between characters (triangle) and interact with the environment (O).

The game’s soundtrack can be described in two words: relentlessly upbeat. No matter what’s going on the music happily marches along, providing a constant reminder that this is supposed to fun and whimsical. It’s a little much after awhile — I played with the volume low most of the time — but I suspect kids will enjoy it.

Where the layout runs into trouble is with consumables and magic. Holding down the left bumper brings up your collection of usable runes (read: potions) while the right accesses your available spells. You can select them from there or map them so that a tap of the bumper unleashes the mapped skill. Sounds simple, right?