KUNAI flips weapon progression systems on their head. You start with nothing but a katana, which is already the most powerful weapon in the game (and you can make it stronger), letting you heal yourself by attacking with it. Then it gives you a RIGHT kunai (grappling hook), making you go "oooh so its like Twilight Princess with the double clawshots" and then not 5 seconds later you find the LEFT kunai and you go "ooohh...?". From there on, its pretty standard, but still some surprising twists: you get throwing stars, but they don't do damage! By the time you get the BIG EXPLODY GUN, you've probably mastered every other weapon and know when its best to use the weaker guys and when to pull out the big guns. The only things I don't like about the weapons is that their charged attack upgrades are too slow to use when you'd need them most, and the best one (the one for the katana) trades off with health, so you will probably quickly stop using it. Also, the katana upgrades cost a shit ton. I think that's because they are meant to be a last resort, but even then, where do you make that much money?
Shockingly this game has absolutely no transport/teleport/quick travel mechanic. It's like a perfect case example of how sorely needed quick travel is in action platformers (idk if you can truly call this a metroidvania), because you will FEEL IT when you need to backtrack, and it almost seems like this game wants you to backtrack. Sometimes it's almost ridiculous, with one dungeon requiring you to walk across its entire length to go through a door you just flipped open, and then do the same thing but in reverse. It sucks and also demotivated me from going back to previous areas to find all the hidden chests.
Speaking of hidden chests... This game very much falls prey to the "invisible wall with a room behind it" torture that is a staple of metroidvanias now, I guess. Like collecting or finding hidden stuff? Settle in, because you are going to be rubbing against EVERY WALL to make sure you don't miss anything cool. Blegh, please no more.
The boss fights actually featured some great variety, which confirms this isn't a metroidvania. But... Zensei... Again, it's like a case study in why some bosses need checkpoints, or just like, a way to not have to redo the entire fight because the last section is inexplicably much harder than the rest. I was so fed up with Zensei by the time I beat him, it was not at all a "YES! I DID IT!" it was a "the pain is over, and now i can begin healing".
The music is sick, Quantum Forest made me just want to spend more time there. However, I was pretty surprised to find the Final Boss music was... the same as every other boss. And the credits music... was the boss music again. I think. Or maybe it was the main menu music? Anyways, the extremely sudden credits roll with the reused track made me feel like I was giving too long of a speech at the Oscars. Like, "ok ok you did it, nice job, hurry up and get outta here".
Mixed feelings across the board. Definitely a fun time, but very much having some sore spots of major frustration.
Shockingly this game has absolutely no transport/teleport/quick travel mechanic. It's like a perfect case example of how sorely needed quick travel is in action platformers (idk if you can truly call this a metroidvania), because you will FEEL IT when you need to backtrack, and it almost seems like this game wants you to backtrack. Sometimes it's almost ridiculous, with one dungeon requiring you to walk across its entire length to go through a door you just flipped open, and then do the same thing but in reverse. It sucks and also demotivated me from going back to previous areas to find all the hidden chests.
Speaking of hidden chests... This game very much falls prey to the "invisible wall with a room behind it" torture that is a staple of metroidvanias now, I guess. Like collecting or finding hidden stuff? Settle in, because you are going to be rubbing against EVERY WALL to make sure you don't miss anything cool. Blegh, please no more.
The boss fights actually featured some great variety, which confirms this isn't a metroidvania. But... Zensei... Again, it's like a case study in why some bosses need checkpoints, or just like, a way to not have to redo the entire fight because the last section is inexplicably much harder than the rest. I was so fed up with Zensei by the time I beat him, it was not at all a "YES! I DID IT!" it was a "the pain is over, and now i can begin healing".
The music is sick, Quantum Forest made me just want to spend more time there. However, I was pretty surprised to find the Final Boss music was... the same as every other boss. And the credits music... was the boss music again. I think. Or maybe it was the main menu music? Anyways, the extremely sudden credits roll with the reused track made me feel like I was giving too long of a speech at the Oscars. Like, "ok ok you did it, nice job, hurry up and get outta here".
Mixed feelings across the board. Definitely a fun time, but very much having some sore spots of major frustration.