Indie platformer Kitsune Tails was announced back in 2021 and after three years of waiting, it will soon be released. During June 8th Healthy Directdeveloper Kitsune Games announced Kitsune Tails will be released on August 1st, a demo is currently available on steam. After spending time with a press demo (which featured one more world than the public demo), I am optimistic about the fusion of retro platforming and a heartwarming sapphic Love story, even though there are still some problems that need to be resolved.
In Kitsune Tailsyou control the fox girl Yuzu, who goes on adventures through platform levels inspired by traditional Japanese mythology. Kitsune Tails‘ Main inspiration is Super Mario Bros. 3If you have played SMB3you will feel at home here. This is because the movement feels so incredibly similar to SMB3from the sprint mechanics, where you get faster the longer you move in the same direction, to the jump height and distance, which feels just like it did in 1988 Mario game. Even certain power-ups like SMB3‘S Kuribo’s Shoe have one-to-one replications in Kitsune Tails.
But similar to the new SSX tricky-inspired indie game Delicate madness, Kitsune Tails Weaknesses also lie in how closely it tries to stick to its inspiration. Movement feels a little more floaty than it should, and my first few moments of play were full of missed jumps because Yuzu didn’t land where I expected her to. I also found that I couldn’t get as close to some enemies as I expected due to hitbox sizes.
And the invincibility power-up mentioned above, clearly a reference to SMB3is a little tricky to use at the moment. The power-up turns Yuzu into a smaller, rainbow-glowing fox form, but the problem is that this form currently has no timer, so you have no way of knowing when the power-up will end. During my playthrough, it expired without me noticing, and I ran into enemies or ran into spikes and died.
Once I finally got the hang of the game, I enjoyed the fast-paced platforming and the power-ups it offered. The graphics of Kitsune Tails help too, as it features beautiful pixel art in pastel colors with an emphasis on pinks and purples. The game also changes seasons as you progress through the levels, a feature that helps showcase the wide range of beautiful art (I found the cherry blossom season particularly beautiful). However, the demo levels still feel a bit simplistic. Kitsune Games Promise that the final version will contain: Challenges at Kaizo levelone of which was shown in a recent trailer, so I think I’ve barely scratched the surface of this game’s difficulty, even if the platform gameplay is a glorified clone of SMB3.
Where Kitsune Tails tries to go beyond his inspirations, the narrative is what, given the early Mario Games don’t really have much of that. And Kitsune Tails‘ Story is perhaps the biggest draw. Yuzu tries to keep the peace between the kitsune and humans, and in doing so finds herself in the middle of a sapphic love triangle. Yuzu has a crush on a human healer, while Yuzu’s kitsune friend still has a crush on her.
This very gay drama is the emotional and narrative core of Kitsune Tails. It’s a nice story to watch unfold, and the prospect of a new cutscene motivated me to beat every level I could. As a player who isn’t an expert at platform games, it’s probably the investment in the narrative that keeps me hooked Kitsune Tails.
Kitsune Tails is scheduled to be released on August 1st for PC via Steam and itch.io.
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