Kao the Kangaroo – test, platformer

Back in the ring

Bring Kao back: With this hashtag, a small but passionate fan base convinced studio Tate Multimedia to bring their boxing kangaroo out of retirement. Part 1 from the year 2000 (for testing) should still be remembered by some PC or Dreamcast players. The platformer wasn’t exactly famous for graphic variety or precise controls – but it exuded enough good humor to evoke feelings of nostalgia in this day and age. There were cuddly googly eyes, crisp boxing, gliding flights and picture book backdrops whose colors almost jumped out at the player. Publisher Titus Interactive even brought out a completely standalone GBA offshoot for on the go.

Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 already got more complex levels and numerous console implementations in 2004. In Kao the Kangaroo: Mystery of the Volcano, the effort was reduced again: only loyal fans should remember the PC-exclusive game with aircraft battles. So it’s no wonder that the developers dare to restart the fourth part and simply call it Kao the Kangaroo. The handling throws Kao’s horrible “curve behavior” from Part 3 overboard and is based on Round 2, which is still playable today. Similar to before, I explore small but open upper worlds and linear levels with small junctions.

Straightforward retro hop

The light-heartedly old-fashioned concept is a welcome change: finally no complex talent trees or other menu gimmicks! Instead, almost everything here focuses on relaxed hopping, boxing and puzzles. And of course the genre-typical collecting drive for coins and crystals. The violet glowing runes are particularly important for unlocking new levels.

But even in view of such a nostalgic orientation, the narrative part of the team could have put a little more effort into staging the adventure: the English dialogues with strong accents are reminiscent of the early days of voice output, when developers often just sat down personally in front of the microphone; the story sounds similarly dusty. Dark crystals from an even darker darkling have transformed the denizens of the world into ferocious monsters. The mysterious “eternal warrior” certainly has a hand in the disappearance of Kao’s sister and his father…

Brawls on the assembly line

As a veteran boxer, Kao doesn’t need to be asked for long: he enjoys beating the purple porridge out of infested beings. He also draws on supernatural powers, thanks to which he can even converse with his gloves on. The fight against monkeys, goats and winged ghost train monsters remains mostly monotonous. A simple combo, an airstrike on the stilt opponent, a charged rage attack with area damage – it doesn’t get much more complex here. Even a whole throng of aggressively fluttering beaked creatures rarely poses a serious threat. The automatic targeting also makes the manual alternative using a trigger almost superfluous.