NES Platform Games #7

Kid Kool a.k.a. Kakefu Kimi no Jump Tengoku (1991)
By: Vic Tokai Genre: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium
Featured Version: Nintendo NES
Also Available For: Nothing

The mighty and wonderful Psycho Fox has been among my favourite platformers (and therefore my favourite games) since the Elder Days, and has spent many moons in my Master System's 'slot' (tee hee!). Back then I always thought it was an actual Sega game - it wasn't until several years later that I discovered the marvellously named (and also very excellent) MegaDrive platformer, Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure was made by the same team at Vic Tokai, a Japanese developer who made games for many formats of their day. One of them has only just come to my attention, owing mainly to the Nintendo allergy that ailed me in the NES era, and it has turned out to be what basically amounts to a semi-prequel or practice run for Psycho Fox itself. This means - hooray! It was released only a year earlier and, as other fans of the stonking Master System game will quickly see, there are many similarities.

The first level is, shockingly, a grassy one...

One of them isn't with the amusing animal characters found in the later game. Here, you only get one playable character and he appears to be a generic 'kid', albeit one who is apparently cool (or 'kool' to use the annoyingly misspelt title). His quest, according to the blurb on the US version of the game, is to collect seven herbs to heal the king of something-or-other. This, as you may have guessed, means there are seven levels, each of which are split into three stages with a boss waiting at the end of the third. Just like Psycho Fox, in other words. Another difference between the games, though, is that Foxy and friends were all able to punch enemies by way of their comedically extending fists, as well as jump on them Mario-style. Kid Kool is only able to jump on them. This, amongst other things, makes the going quite a bit tougher here. Aside from these few points, however, most aspects of the two games are very similar.

The rather pointless bonus round...

Notably, both use inertia-based physics, meaning you have to build up speed for runs and this affects the height and distance of your jumps. The stage designs are also similar, with all offering ground-based routes featuring various platformy and watery obstacles, and most also have an aerial route by way of many floaty platforms as well. Both ways are of course full of many evil creatures who all spell instant death if touched. The best way of dealing with the very similar foes in the oft-mentioned Psycho Fox was to fling Birdfly, an amusing black bird who sat on your shoulder until thrown, taking out any enemies he hits before returning obediently. He was, and indeed still is, ultra awesome in every way. I was therefore very happy to find an equivalent here. I was preparing to name him Squawkface but I have since found out he is known as Wicky, and he looks pretty much the same as Birdfly except he's orange.

The background colour keeps changing on level two...

Since this game is a bit older than Psycho Fox, that could make Wicky the older brother of Birdfly, but however they may or may not be related, he performs much the same task, albeit in a marginally-less-effective capacity. Since Kid can't punch, though, he's essential regardless of how effective he might be (which is still very), but is lost if you are struck by an enemy so care is needed. Like all of the pick-ups, Wicky is initially hidden behind trees and other bits of scenery and only pops out if you run past fast enough. Other stuff includes money bags for the wheel of fortune-style bonus round after each level, straw effigies which kill all enemies on screen, temporary shields, extra lives, and extra time, although there isn't actually a time limit but rather a timer that counts up from the start of play. Maybe it's for speed-runs. Did they exist in the mid-80's? It's not a game to rush through anyway, at least until you're ultra-familiar with all the hazards/enemies around each stage, most of which are like harder versions of those found in Psycho Fox!

These bloody air-puffers are such a pain on level three...

A good example is the air puffers which in Psycho Fox mainly helped the various creatures traverse gaps or make higher jumps. Here they sometimes do that too, but they more often impede your progress by blowing you away from ledges you need to land on. Another distinctive gadget here that Psycho Fox fans will appreciate is what many knew the Master System game for to begin with - the wangy poles! These bendy poles that fling you across (potentially) large parts of a stage weren't always useful though. That's reflected in their scarcity I guess, and they were always more of a gimmick than anything else. It is definitely nice to see them again though, and there are also many springers, collapsing bridges, and all that stuff too! Most of the enemies here will be familiar as well, from the weedy beetle things that get in your way and the weird jumpy-uppy-twirly things usually found in the least convenient spots, to the ultra-annoying flies that buzz around unpredictably.

The terrifying boss on the first level...

The bosses are new but the only noteworthy thing about them is how easy they are to beat. They basically walk or jump side to side and you have to press a plunger thing down until it gets to the bottom, thereby defeating them and winning you a piece of that herby stuff you're apparently after. You can jump on top of them without taking damage, so even if you mis-time a jump you're likely to be okay. I seriously don't think I can recall an easier game as far as bosses are concerned. It's particularly strange considering how tough, unforgiving and even unfair the rest of the game is. It really is just like a tougher version of Psycho Fox. I realise I've mentioned that game a lot during this review, but that's only because I have such affection for it, and my hopes have been slightly dashed playing Kid Kool. I was kind of hoping for another set of Psycho Fox stages, just with a different character, and I guess that's what I got. It's just that the stages aren't nearly as enjoyable as those in Psycho Fox.

The pesky sand on the fourth level slows you down...

It's not down to the audio/visuals really. Obviously it's not as pretty as the Master System game but the graphics here are nicely vivid for a NES game (except for the main character who looks like he's fading away Marty McFly-style in comparison). The level themes aren't as distinctive or varied as they could've been but it's a fairly pleasant looking game overall with some nice touches such as the 'falling off' animation. The music is nice too, with each level having its own decent tune. The only real technical issue is the horrible push scrolling for vertical movement which pauses the game as it goes up and down a whole screen at a time! This is particularly annoying when traversing platforms near the top of the screen and can be very distracting, even costing you lives if you lose your bearings even a little. The main reason the game often isn't enjoyable to play, however, is simply down to its design which is often frustrating and usually intentionally. Especially those damn air-puffers.

This level actually has helpful air-puffers!

Their placement in some sections really is just a cheap way of making the game harder by being bloody annoying. Like when you have to jump through a small gap, for example, but of course - there is a puffer just behind puffing you backwards, meaning you're left to jump up over and over and over until finally after 20 or more tries, you might just make it through. Grrr! This is definitely the most annoying thing about the game for me, but some of the other design flaws and annoyances can be avoided simply by knowing about them in advance, so if you are going to be playing multiple times as is likely, it's certainly not a terrible game. Indeed, when it's not being a pain in the arse, it's rather good. The NES in my view isn't home to as many quality games of this type as some make believe either, so it's a welcome addition and will very likely appeal to retroheads of a platformy persuasion. I just wish a bit more thought was put into its design, it could've been a corker then.

RKS Score: 6/10

Gameplay Video: here's a video of the whole game being played by one of the talented fellows at World of Longplays (check out their great channel here). Oh, and don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers!