29/06/2007 - Review - Nori Kuro Cat

Thanks to Ithamore over at TIGSource, I've been introduced to the work of CroStar, whose latest game is a platformer called Nori Kuro Cat. CroStar's made a bit of a name for himself by producing quirky games which contain original elements, all the while managing not to bleat on about experimental gameplay as if he's some kind of savant. Actually, he might've - I'm fucked if I can understand Japanese.

Anyway, all of his games have simplistic controls, plain but attractive graphics and often, the recurrent themes of chaining attacks together and destructable scenery. Nori Kuro Cat contains all of these elements, with chained attacks leading to more powerful shots which travel further and great swathes of the map which can be destroyed.

Hang on... Is that Spit The Dog?

As mining through blocks is one of my gameplay happy-buttons, I was always going to like Nori Kuro Cat, even if the rest of it was merely average. Luckily it's not as this platformer has good solid gameplay and boasts a fair bit of variety in its level so that they feel suitably disparate. It also boasts a couple of crazy ideas straight out of left-field which really make it memorable.

The way that attacks are chained together is simple. As long as each shot you fire kills an enemy or destroys a certain type of block it powers up the next shot to a maximum level of 3. If you fail to kill an enemy then your shot resets to its basic level and the chain is broken.

I've just realised that these two shots are quite atypical of Nori Kuro Cat and probably misrepresent it as some kind of Doggy-Bullet-Hell game.

Once you kill an enemy while your shot is at it's highest level, the power bar will start ticking down and will need to be topped up with further kills in order to keep it at maximum power. During this time you can also press down and fire to completely drain it and fire out a deadly radial spray of bullets.

So far, so unextraordinary. But something odd happens when you shoot one of the tree-trunk wearing dog enemies with a fully powered up shot, because it creates a massive influx of floating dogs which start pouring into the screen towards you. And they will only stop spawning when you break the chain, either by missing a shot or by firing the bullet spray. While you're in this mode you can rack up some really high chains and it creates an nice risk-reward element in the gameplay, where the only thing which will kill you is your own greed, because you can easily end the onslaught at any time. It's slightly reminiscent of Bangai-O, which is just about my favouritist thing ever, and it's a pity that the idea isn't explored further.

The sound in the game is simplistic but perfectly pleasant with a satisfying crunch as your bullets tear through numerous blocks. The graphics... Well, you can see - they ain't gonna' win any awards but some of them are decently animated. The game is well worth downloading, but like many of the smaller platformers, it's not going to distract you for more than an afternoon.

And if you're downloading Nori Kuro Cat then I'd also recommend grabbing Supa Kingu Rato, which shares a few traits with this game but is different enough to be worth playing.

Super Kingu Rato - Play this.

Two other of CroStar's previous two games, Sky-Whirling Geo and Round and Round the Tsuchiyui[1] aren't really worth it as the former is too slow paced and has enemies spawning right on top of you and the second is a bizarrely misjudged blend of Kuri Kuri Kururin and a shoot 'em up which just ain't much fun to play.

Sky Whirling Geo - Ignore this.

Round And Round The Tsuchiyui - Actively avoid this.
If you can't avoid it, then don't look it in the eyes as it will perceive this as an act of aggression and attack you.

Graham

[1] It's pronouncing names like that which made me stop doing this as audio...