Kao the Kangaroo Review – Jump, Jump and Smash

The franchise released on SEGA Dreamcast returns with a reboot.

Although not as well-known as titles like Crash Bandicoot or Spyro The Dragon, the franchise Kao The Kangaroo had four titles Between 2000-2005 on various platforms and has had something of a cult following ever since. With this new installment in the series, Tate Multimedia and Meridiem Games hope to reignite interest in what could once again become a beloved IP.

The first installment of like the kangaroo was released in the Sega Dreamcast in 2001. It was a 3D platformer that clearly couldn’t compete with Super Mario 64, but it was made with the affection of gamers, especially young audiences. Unfortunately, we were never able to enjoy Kao The Kangaroo on Xbox, which was released on Dreamcast and PC in the early 2000s, but the the sequel came to Xbox in 2003 (with mixed reviews). Now, nearly two decades later, this retro-style 3D platformer is finally back in the form of a reboot, something that’s been all the rage lately.

If we could describe this new opus in a few words, we could say that it is a mixture of Super Lucky’s Tale and Crash Bandicoot , although with an obviously lower budget and much less careful. The game takes place in four basic worldseach of which contains its own individual levels, in which the goal is to defeat the enemiesovercome platform-based levels, solve basic puzzles, collect coins and other collectibles. The player takes on the role of the main character, Kao, who embarks on an adventure to find his missing sister, Kaia, and find out what happened to their father.

At first glance, the gameplay of the title seems very simple, this is what is expected of a game like this intended above all for a child audience. However, the more you play, the more possibilities are available to us. It must be recognized that Kao The Kangaroo gameplay is more ambitious than expected, as it introduces many new mechanics as it progresses, such as the ability to use fire, ice, and wind to solve puzzles, as well as the use of crystals to make paths visible . It also helps that the platforming stages are generally enjoyable and the combat is well designed (button mashing is fine, but there’s also room for a bit of strategy).

Kao The Kangaroo is a very fun game, but it has some limits. Bugs are a small problem when launching the title. For example, we got stuck a few times and had a few rare instances where double jumps didn’t trigger for some reason, with foot attack which refused to work, which meant we had to restart the level when we needed to progress. The other downside is that frustration can sometimes set in when there are random difficulty spikes (although it’s actually quite an easy game overall), and when the game expects you to know how to defeat a boss or destroy a certain obstacle, but it doesn’t say very clearly what to do.

As for the presentation, level design Kao The Kangaroo’s gameplay is excellent overall, especially on the more standard platforming levels. The variety is great too, taking you from beach-like locations to icy mountains and even a spooky amusement park. Graphically, it is a very colorful title that enters through the eyes, even if it is not the fifth wonder either.

The cinematics with which the story is presented to us are dubbed in English with Spanish subtitles. As for the sound section, typical melodies that we have heard thousands of times in other platform games are presented. What it is the story however, there is nothing to get excited about. In fact, until we got to the last part of the game, we put the story aside and focused on the levels. The difficulty level, as we said, is insultingly easy, so those more experienced in the genre will miss a bit more of a challenge.

Kao The Kangaroo is a difficult game to analyze since, although it is true that sometimes it seems low budget, clunky and frustrating, is also a fun platform game that will make us spend good hours glued to the controller. It feels like the studio has gone the extra mile to inject ambition into this game and create something that deserves a place alongside the genre giants, even if it can’t catch up to the genre greats.