When Retro Studios took over the helm in the early 2010s, the Donkey Kong Country franchise came to life with two very good titles for Wii and Wii U (Returns and Tropical Freeze). Despite the quality they have, there hasn’t been a strong bet on this franchise since 2014 (without counting the relaunch for Switch, of course), so the community is wondering if we’ll meet again someday, to our beloved pet. A new Donkey Kong part may not be planned, although rumors say otherwise, but things aren’t looking as bad as you might expect: a new platformer that captures the ghost So loved so wonderfully from that other series.
Kaze and the Wild Masks follows the rules of other classics of the genre, as its story practically does not exist. At the beginning of the game, a bright red ring eats our colleague, the rabbit Hogo; From that moment on, we began an adventure in the Crystal Islands to save him and end a strange curse that we don’t know much about. Kaze and the Wild Masks has no dubbing and cinematic scenes are rare; Still, his style stands out the most, typical of cartoonsthat is impressive, very expressive and a special feature where it is available.
As for the operation of the platforms, we are facing a hybrid between the latest Rayman games (Origins and Legends) and the Donkey Kong Country series. Kaze levels have a 2D perspective and in them we always have to move to the right until we reach a final portal. Kaze, the main character, has the ability to hit enemies against the ground, moving her ears like a propeller to avoid gaps and absorbing other skills while wearing masks depicting various animals. Although the mechanics seem simple and easy to understand, not everything is laid out on roses: the levels will test us with numerous dangers, such as lava flows that get in our way, jelly that looks like trampolines, and crossbows that we must be activated in order to be shot in the air.
The more than 30 levels by Kaze come to life thanks to a gorgeous pixel art style and bright colors. In addition, it is very much appreciated that the scenarios of the different worlds do not abuse the same design over and over again. Unlike other platform games that sin a little bit like Mario, where there are worlds that only have levels in the desert or in the snow from start to finish, Kaze’s scenarios vary a lot, so it’s less predictable. What stands out from their levels is not only the great diversity that they present in terms of aesthetics, but also that they are distinguished by an appropriate rhythm, as well as the particular enemies that they represent, since they are all vegetables for what they endowed life with somewhat eccentric personalities.
The masks we talked about before transform us into different animals (including that of a shark, an eagle and a lizard that stand out) as we negotiate the sanctuaries that are scattered across the levels. These places are not limited to offering us items to change our appearance with, but also allow us to learn new skills, such as the ability to launch ourselves, soar through the sky, and quickly get ourselves in the water move. However, we have to keep in mind that these skills are temporary and will only be available in certain places so that we cannot use them at will.
While some of these skills add a fun twist to the platforms, we have to admit that others don’t quite make it: the lizard mask, for example, disappointed us greatly, largely because it makes the game an endless marathon, and besides, some sections are great difficult to complete without failing multiple times. Another mask that we didn’t like that much was the eagle, as the controls make us fly a lot. What also doesn’t help and is tiring in the end is having to constantly press the A button (on the Xbox controller) to stay in the air and avoid obstacles.
As in most platform games, Kaze and the Wild Masks hides a large number of collectibles in the levels and the rewards it gives us for collecting are pretty good. In addition, if we master the challenges that we find in two additional sections of each level, we will unlock new levels in each of the worlds. The same way when we collect 100 purple gems
If you are disappointed with the difficulty of biting platformers, you’ll love to know that Kace’s difficulty will test your skills. Especially the levels of the last worlds are a bit demanding, even in the normal difficulty level, as they have many enemies and traps and, if we don’t get an additional heart, knock us down with just one blow. Despite being die-hard fans of platform games, we’ve died a dozen times trying to pass the final levels and we’re sure we would have given up before the checkpoints that the title offers. Fortunately, Kaze has a more relaxed difficulty level that makes things a little easier and allows us to get more lives when normal mode is difficult for us.
Kaze and the Wild Masks is a fantastic platform game that will satisfy those looking forward to a new installment in the Donkey Kong series. The levels are varied and have a decent rhythm and while straight out of Donkey Kong Country, the skills the skins teach us make the game mechanics a lot more fun. Kaze has some drawbacks, however; including the fact that some skills become frustrating and the difficulty is sometimes too demanding.