LeSoSCL
I waited a long time to finally put my hands on this game, and good lord did it not disappoint. This really is the best direction HAL could've taken for Kirby's transition to full 3D, controlling Kirby the entire game just feels so natural and responsive, and the camera angle choices aid to that panoramic feel of a level quite a lot, also Kirby can now parry and it's pure GAS.
Even though the game never feels challenging (except for the third Arena tournament), the game shows a good balance in difficulty between worlds, with no steep difficulty curves to only let you focus on having more of a relaxing and fun time rather than a tedious one, which is what Kirby has been more of as a series. Even the bosses follow this rule while also compensating with interesting character designs and very varied movesets.
In terms of content, Forgotten Land offers a very wide variety of it, sometimes in a chain reaction fashion: The imprisoned Waddle Dees you save on every level are sent to a little town they help to construct, giving you access to additional stuff you can interact with like a Restaurant, a pond for fishing, and even a workshop to upgrade your copy abilities, and it's amazing to me because of how well executed and cute it all is. There are also portals to obtain rare stones for the worshop, hidden tasks to save more of the Waddle Dees and even more levels after you beat the main game!
To summarize on a humorous note, this game made me realize that in order to make your platformer good, there is two key components you gotta include: an extremely banger soundtrack and an unlockable little fishing mini-game 🐟
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has both.
Even though the game never feels challenging (except for the third Arena tournament), the game shows a good balance in difficulty between worlds, with no steep difficulty curves to only let you focus on having more of a relaxing and fun time rather than a tedious one, which is what Kirby has been more of as a series. Even the bosses follow this rule while also compensating with interesting character designs and very varied movesets.
In terms of content, Forgotten Land offers a very wide variety of it, sometimes in a chain reaction fashion: The imprisoned Waddle Dees you save on every level are sent to a little town they help to construct, giving you access to additional stuff you can interact with like a Restaurant, a pond for fishing, and even a workshop to upgrade your copy abilities, and it's amazing to me because of how well executed and cute it all is. There are also portals to obtain rare stones for the worshop, hidden tasks to save more of the Waddle Dees and even more levels after you beat the main game!
To summarize on a humorous note, this game made me realize that in order to make your platformer good, there is two key components you gotta include: an extremely banger soundtrack and an unlockable little fishing mini-game 🐟
Kirby and the Forgotten Land has both.
The Papa's game series was something very enjoyable back in the adobe flash player days and even nowadays is still remembered very fondly by pretty much everyone, including myself, and after hearing they put a remake of Freezeria on Steam out of nowhere, I just couldn't resist.
This game does quite the justice to the original, since not only they essentially ported it 1:1 to a new engine like they did with To Go!, but also polished the heck out of it with new interfaces, remastered audio, collectibles and decent variety of minigames. They also put a freeplay mode where you can practice and make anything you want to serve. All of this shows how much dedication and effort the devs put in their legendary creation once again.
Then again it has its flaws, especially on the gameplay loop which becomes quite repetitive on the long run. Every day you serve 7 clients appearing at the same rate, which means the difficulty doesn't quite change much, it's just doing the same thing over and over again just with another coat of paint, and since this game has a story mode it gets quite tiring to beat. I can see a lot of wasted opportunities for some events like the typhoon or the island volcano exploding on certain weeks, I don't know man just make it more interesting!
With all this in mind, I have very high hopes they'll gradually do more remakes for the rest of the games, just PLEASE play a little more around with the gameplay loop.
This game does quite the justice to the original, since not only they essentially ported it 1:1 to a new engine like they did with To Go!, but also polished the heck out of it with new interfaces, remastered audio, collectibles and decent variety of minigames. They also put a freeplay mode where you can practice and make anything you want to serve. All of this shows how much dedication and effort the devs put in their legendary creation once again.
Then again it has its flaws, especially on the gameplay loop which becomes quite repetitive on the long run. Every day you serve 7 clients appearing at the same rate, which means the difficulty doesn't quite change much, it's just doing the same thing over and over again just with another coat of paint, and since this game has a story mode it gets quite tiring to beat. I can see a lot of wasted opportunities for some events like the typhoon or the island volcano exploding on certain weeks, I don't know man just make it more interesting!
With all this in mind, I have very high hopes they'll gradually do more remakes for the rest of the games, just PLEASE play a little more around with the gameplay loop.
2023
Completed 100%, all P-Ranks, only achievements left.
The very first time I knew about this game's existence was with the SAGE 2019 demo, and ever since then I looked forward the full release. I'll be damned, they delivered AND then some.
There are few games that let the player dash as quickly and freely as they please through a level, while also making it function as a gateway to big rewards and goodies. Pizza Tower manages to do both pretty flawlessly, as it incentivizes you to keep a constant high speed to extend your combo meter, open paths to hidden secrets for extra points, etc. The quantities of adrenaline you get from doing so many chains of actions in mere seconds is breathtaking.
And not only is the gameplay great, other aspects of the game are VERY redeemable too: Solid expressive spritework, superb OST, and the level design in general is really good.
The only "meh" thing that comes to my head about this game is the story, which is not all that special I guess??? But come on, even then it is passable and honestly, it's more of a goof than anything LOL
If what you're looking for is a fast, challenging platformer with a clear identity of its own, then Pizza Tower will NOT let you down for a second.
The very first time I knew about this game's existence was with the SAGE 2019 demo, and ever since then I looked forward the full release. I'll be damned, they delivered AND then some.
There are few games that let the player dash as quickly and freely as they please through a level, while also making it function as a gateway to big rewards and goodies. Pizza Tower manages to do both pretty flawlessly, as it incentivizes you to keep a constant high speed to extend your combo meter, open paths to hidden secrets for extra points, etc. The quantities of adrenaline you get from doing so many chains of actions in mere seconds is breathtaking.
And not only is the gameplay great, other aspects of the game are VERY redeemable too: Solid expressive spritework, superb OST, and the level design in general is really good.
The only "meh" thing that comes to my head about this game is the story, which is not all that special I guess??? But come on, even then it is passable and honestly, it's more of a goof than anything LOL
If what you're looking for is a fast, challenging platformer with a clear identity of its own, then Pizza Tower will NOT let you down for a second.
2020
bola 👍
One of the most alright games, nothing too crazy or notable about it but a cute experience nonetheless.
I like the ideas the game was going for, such as the grapple mechanic being the main concept for enhanced movement and platforming throughout the levels, while also just being the tongue of our goofy little character which is all good for a physics-based game of its kind. The main problem is certainly the execution, since the physics themselves are quite janky, and the controls feel very heavy both on the ground and in the air to the point you can't even turn directions properly during crucial moments the game requires of your reaction and sense of balance to progress, and the sensation becomes even more noticeable after the first levels which makes it quite frustrating to play.
Also, the level design is okay-ish in general, but after world 2 it gets filled with dead ends, uneven collisions for the platforms you stand on, and the "scripted" events don't work most of the time and you better pray for them to land you on the intended section.
The only thing I truly liked beyond all jank is the OST, which has some of the craziest piano melodies I've heard for a set of MIDI audio files. They are not the most memorable and the instruments do not vary, but it's a good treat all considered.
This game is a bunch of varied gimmicks that end up feeling unpolished and underwhelming after a while, lacking a clear direction in the process. They work alright, but not for a greater good on the long run...
One of the most alright games, nothing too crazy or notable about it but a cute experience nonetheless.
I like the ideas the game was going for, such as the grapple mechanic being the main concept for enhanced movement and platforming throughout the levels, while also just being the tongue of our goofy little character which is all good for a physics-based game of its kind. The main problem is certainly the execution, since the physics themselves are quite janky, and the controls feel very heavy both on the ground and in the air to the point you can't even turn directions properly during crucial moments the game requires of your reaction and sense of balance to progress, and the sensation becomes even more noticeable after the first levels which makes it quite frustrating to play.
Also, the level design is okay-ish in general, but after world 2 it gets filled with dead ends, uneven collisions for the platforms you stand on, and the "scripted" events don't work most of the time and you better pray for them to land you on the intended section.
The only thing I truly liked beyond all jank is the OST, which has some of the craziest piano melodies I've heard for a set of MIDI audio files. They are not the most memorable and the instruments do not vary, but it's a good treat all considered.
This game is a bunch of varied gimmicks that end up feeling unpolished and underwhelming after a while, lacking a clear direction in the process. They work alright, but not for a greater good on the long run...