Kangaroo Kao was forgotten many, many years ago. We first meet him in the 2000s when the game went from two planned sequels to disappearing altogether. Despite everything, he lived on in the memories of many and his return was announced just in time for his twentieth birthday. The result is already in our hands in the form of Kao the Kangaroo, a full remake unlike 2016’s Ratchet and Clank. The question now is: will it be good enough to earn a place in our hearts? or we forget again?
Kao the Kangaroo begins with Kao lying in his hammock and having a very realistic dream: his sister Kaia who has disappeared. After waking from the nightmare, he announces to his wise mother that he will go in search of Kaia, while also providing a clue to the whereabouts of his long-lost father. Like him, Kao is a passionate fighter and, using his father’s old boxing gloves, he must now make his way through a world where not everyone will be kind to him.
I guess I have to come to terms and admit that I haven’t played a second of the rest of the titles in the series. Also, my ignorance was so great that at the time I thought it was a new character, but I did my homework and researched well before I started playing a few weeks ago. Still, I felt like I missed something: Kao the Kangaroo’s presentation sucks and they don’t tell you anything about the characters or the story, so it feels like you’re launching a game that you know nothing about skipped first hour. This won’t be a problem for die-hard fans, but it can certainly be quite confusing for new generations like me who don’t know the kangaroo from before. If the goal was to honor Kao and capture the interest of a new generation of fans, they failed miserably from minute one. After several hours of play, none of the characters grew on my liking: Kao lacks charm and personality, so it’s hard to like him or his family.
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In any case, Tate Multimedia wastes no time and immediately immerses us in an inviting world populated by all kinds of creatures. In just a few minutes we’ll get to grips with the game’s controls and put our boxing skills to the test against frogs and other animals; The game system is clear and quite simple, suitable for all ages. As with many old-school platformers, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye, and the studio wanted to honor those titles with the return of Kao. As in Donkey Kong Country or in the Hercules game, in each level we can collect the letters of the protagonist’s name and feel like we’ve gone back in time 20 years. It all feels very familiar, and no doubt many fans will be excited after waiting patiently for Kao’s return all along.
Part of Kao the Kangaroo’s world is reminiscent of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, where we had to follow a linear route. However, there are many alternative paths to explore: there are hidden caves behind waterfalls and all sorts of hidden rooms in which we can find something. As I mentioned before, we can collect the letters of Kao’s name, but also scrolls, crystals and runes. And we can’t forget the hundreds of coins worth collecting to spend on new clothes, extras or even more lives. As in Crash Bandicoot, there are special levels in the different worlds and we get a valuable prize for completing these challenges. In short, time flies when playing with Kao, because although the path to be followed is obvious, there are many things to discover.
What caught my attention the most was how easy Kao the kangaroo is. Typically, platform games range in difficulty from easy to a level that sometimes borders on sadism, which is sometimes annoying to play. Although this is not the case, it all seems too easy. Bashing up enemies is fun, and if you manage to chain a few attacks together without taking damage, you can land a powerful punch that also hits enemies around you. But there is only one level of difficulty: the game itself is too easy, especially considering that many fans have been waiting to play Kao again for years, and that also makes exploring less interesting. For example, the level of difficulty is perfect for children under the age of ten, and perhaps the title is actually intended for that audience (whether it is or not, I’ll leave open). However, I think it would have been better to include a slightly more difficult game mode, as the title is too easy for experienced players and detracts from the experience.
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When it comes to graphics and sound, Kao the Kangaroo leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, the synchronization is terrible. A real horror. It’s clear that Kao’s voice actor doesn’t even speak English, leading to awkward pronunciations and rather awkward noises. Luckily, the music is a lot more fun and it’s easy to get carried away while playing. The design is perfectly acceptable, although marred by dated graphics. Both the textures and animations look like they’re from the previous generation, and compared to Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Kao the Kangaroo looks like it’s from the last century.
The combat system is relatively easy to get used to and is similar to other games of this genre. You can hit with one button, jump and double jump with another, and slide with a third. Also, you have other options from time to time, like throwing boomerangs at enemies. There’s not much more to do, making Kao the Kangaroo an accessible title for everyone. Given the level of difficulty, the fights aren’t always entertaining, but at least they serve their purpose. On the other hand, the opponents are sometimes very flat and give the impression that there is no goal behind their actions. I would have wished that there was a greater variety of opponents and that they were significantly different depending on the level. Sometimes it happens, but not always.
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Kao the Kangaroo is a decent return of the kangaroo and looks like it will appeal to those who have a special fondness for the character and have been waiting a while to see him again. It can be entertaining even for the youngest, but those who really want to get to know it in depth are faced with an incredibly simple and dated game graphically, where the characters seem quite flat and boring. I’m quite skeptical and don’t think that’s enough for Kao to be remembered and keep him from being forgotten again.
