Every time I would start Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, I’d get bored around the third level. But THIS time, I stuck with it! I made it to the end, finished the game, got 100%, collected EVERYTHING.

…it wasn’t very good!

I mean it wasn’t AWFUL either. It had some cool parts (the outback level), some shitty parts (the first snow world), most of it was just kinda fine.

I do like how you get so many different boomerangs to use! Felt good unlocking a new one every time.

Oh, and WONDERFUL soundtrack. For the most part. There’s some forgettable ones near the end, but overall the music was the highlight of the game, really good stuff!

So, I didn’t love it, but I guess I didn’t hate it either. Maybe I’ll play the sequel??

I always rented the original Ty on GameCube back in the day, but due to my limited patience, never really got past the first level. Flash forward 22 years , and I found a fun game despite obvious budgetary issues the game had back in the day. Very short for a 3D platformer, coming in at only 9 levels plus a final boss trial. Each level is big enough to house multiple collectibles, but not too big as to be too intimidating with how much you need to collect. Things are pretty expertly packed and you'll more often than not constantly be finding things you need to progress, making the collecting itself feel less tedious. There's only one world where the level design and collectible placement just don't work well at all and that's the first Snow world Snow Problem. Other than that, each world has an enjoyable enough gimmick whether your escorting a high society, but prissy Gecko back to his swamp home because he's scared of the dark, or your in a forest maze trying to escape all the while a Lyrebird is constantly feeding you bad advice. The level worlds do unfortunately start to repeat about halfway through, so you do get the same Plains/Jungle/Beach themes repeated twice (3 times for the jungle) but there is juuuust enough tweaking to them to make them feel different. Like a 2nd Snow level, but it's been ravaged by a forest fire next to a ski hill. Characters overall are designed well, but aren't too memorable, but are far from boring or out of place. The problem is you just don't spend that much time with them, so they're a bit undercooked, but have potential to be better in the sequel. The biggest problem with the game is its pacing. At first it's fine. 3 levels and a boss. Beat the boss and get one of 5 Talismen. The problem comes from there only being 9 levels and a final boss, so after that 3rd boss battle, the game shifts into overdrive and sets its story and pacing to X2 speed as it races to the finish. While the final boss encounter isn't bad, it's still missing maybe an extra phase where you take on the main Antagonist head on. As it is, the ending good enough, but a bit underwhelming and rushed. Overall though, I still had a fun time with this game. Definitely give it a try if you have foggy memories of it, but haven't played it since the 2000's. There's some charm in there still. I would wait for the HD version to go on sale though. $30 is just a bit steep for what's offered.

Why did I remember this game being so mediocre? It's actually good!

Tight controls which compliment a distinct gameplay loop; A charming Outback aesthetic and lovely soundtrack bolstered by strong enemy, character, and level design; and a good variety in terms of weapons and gameplay styles. It feels great to re-visit an old game and realize it's way better than you remember it.

However, not all of my initial criticisms were unfounded. Ty is an early, low-budget PS2 game, and the first game in a series, and it shows: Character interactions and dialogue are very awkward(and not in a self-aware kind of way), the cutscenes don't look great, and the storytelling is so poor the basic narrative can be confusing. The game also suffers from tedious item collection and an abysmal boss roster. These are definitely issues, they just aren't as bad as I remembered them.

Given how much Ty had going against it, I think Chrome turned out a strong product. I'm very glad I gave this game a second chance, and I'll happily recommend it to any fan of classic platformers.

This game is RIPPER! (there I said it.)