Bakeru (Totally not Goemon) (3rd September 2024)

[Glen-i]

So, I've tried the demo, seems to be a different format to the Japan demo, as it doesn't appear to be first four levels.

Reports going around that this western release (Which adds a few new abilities, according to eShop) runs a bit better. I can't confirm that, I haven't played the Japanese one, but it ran fine with a few fluctuations now and again.

The actual game? Yeah, it has promise, the comparison to Kirby and the Forgotten Land is apt, the structure for the main platforming sections is a lot like that game.
Defo wishlisting this one.

[Ashley]

5 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Which adds a few new abilities, according to eShop

And according to the video posted the other day. 

[Glen-i]

28 minutes ago, Ashley said:

And according to the video posted the other day. 

No, I mean actual abilities not in the original, such as a "Hurricane Spin" There's nothing like that in the actual demo, but it mentions it on the eShop page.

Edited August 16 by Glen-i

[EEVILMURRAY]

Just gone through the demo. It's turned me off the game to be honest, the movement is a lil sluggish, the combat is boring and there was little in the way of puzzle/exploration. The longer girder level had 1-2 offshoots off the main path, and I died many times thinking I could jump to another roof before invisible walls blocked me.

The robot level was sluggish and the shooting level was a poor man's Lylat Wars. I was so looking forward to this, but glad I know now before investing.

[Hero-of-Time]

I take it nobody picked this up? I've been reading some impressions from those that did and it appears the Switch version is still pretty rough when it comes to performance. Those playing on PC seem to be having a much smoother experience. 

[RedShell]

On 9/4/2024 at 7:39 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

I take it nobody picked this up? I've been reading some impressions from those that did and it appears the Switch version is still pretty rough when it comes to performance. Those playing on PC seem to be having a much smoother experience. 

I picked it up on PC.
Not had much opportunity to play it yet (just the first few levels) but based on the little I've played so far it looks, runs and sounds fantastic!
The art style is great, the Goemon vibes are everywhere  and there have already been some poo jokes.
So yeah, I'm loving it.

Only potential issue I can see right now is with the camera control, or rather, the lack of control. It's possible to rotate it with the right stick, but there doesn't appear to be any way to instantly recentre it behind Bakeru. Which is a bit annoying when sprinting as you have to hold down the X button, so no way to move the camera at the same time. Unless I'm missing something.

Anyway, can't wait to properly get my teeth into this over the weekend.

[Glen-i]

It's on my eShop wishlist, but my limited income means I'll have to wait for a sale.
Very much want to play it after the demo.

[Dcubed]

I will get round to playing Bakeru at some point, but right now, my priority is the Ace Attorney Investigations collection.  Have waited a literal decade and a half to play AAI2, and that’s getting prioritised over anything else.

[RedShell]

This scene gave me a chuckle:

Spoiler

Is Bakeru supposed to be like Goemon or Ebisumaru?

Anyway, I've made quite a bit of progress in this now (up to stage 30) and have found all of Scoop's trivia and the 3 collectables in each stage so far. I really like how you can jump back into a level and grab anything that you might have missed the first time around, then quit to the world map but still keep whatever you just picked up. Especially as some stages can be surprisingly large.

Turns out there's another thing to collect in certain areas too, which is really fun to search for...

Spoiler

...hidden Tanuki.
They shape-shift to look like part of the scenery but with a subtle (sometimes very subtle) difference to be able to spot them.

Unlike the majority of Scoop's hiding places and the standard collectibles, these can actually be pretty tricky to find, but it's super rewarding when you do.

I love how everything that you collect then ends up...

Spoiler

...inside your ship.
The hidden Tanuki and girls you rescue will start gathering in there and all your collectables gradually decorate the interior too, really nice touch. It's also hilarious how the ship is just a giant teapot, which can then transform into the "Impact" robot for battles.

While I don't think the game is as easy as some people have made it out to be (I've managed to get Bakeru killed many times already ) there's no doubt that some of the Henge abilities you unlock are ridiculously overpowered!
Especially...

Spoiler

...the one that gives you increased range and automatic targeting with... fishing rods?

That thing completely destroys anything in your path!
It's meant to be limited by the Henge meter (which depletes while using those abilities) but seeing as enemies also drop an item that replenishes the meter, and you can kill so many of them so quickly, you get to use it for way longer than it feels like you should be able to.
Although I have to admit it's great fun seeing numerous enemies exploding into loads of colourful pieces and golden coins! Really satisfying.

In a way I'm still getting to grips with the controls though, not entirely sold on the idea of using the L + R buttons for separate left and right attacks. It is kind of interesting, but as I mentioned before, it also comes at the expense of a way to recentre the camera. Have gotten a bit more used to it, but it does seem like I'm spending way too much time managing the camera during gameplay than I'd like. And while separating attacks does provide some cool opportunities for doing combos and other flashy stuff, I reckon it would've also been fine if both attacks alternated automatically and were simply mapped to a single face button in a more conventional control scheme.

Plus, my index fingers weren't prepared for this amount of activity.

Game is a lot of fun though, I love how vibrant everything is. Some of the stages have so much stuff going on there's a real festival atmosphere to them.
My favourite so far has to be...

Spoiler

...this tropical themed one that's set on the deck of a cruise ship.
There's a giant water slide in the middle of it and the whole thing just has such a lovely summer vibe going on.

Dig the music on it as well:

Another cool aspect is how much humour they've managed to include via the gameplay itself. There are some enemies in this game whose sole purpose is to...

Spoiler

...annoy the player!
Like characters holding on to girders that suddenly spin around every so often to comically knock you back, this enemy type then get conveniently placed on thin platforms where you'll be shoved off if you're not careful.

Another level features insanely fast rickshaw carts that come out of nowhere and will bounce you out of the way or towards an actual hazard.

It's hilarious stuff.

I think the game probably has more in common with the 2D Goemon games than Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. The presentation and humour (while not quite as wacky) is certainly very reminiscent of that legendary N64 game, but gameplay-wise Bakeru is a pure action platformer. Nevertheless, it's an incredibly entertaining and polished experience (you can tell Good-Feel have picked up a lot of their style from collaborating with Nintendo over the years ) and it's proving to be thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm really glad that something this quirky and niche was given a chance overseas.
Hopefully there's enough interest in it that we'll see more from Bakeru in the future, and perhaps it could also motivate Konami & Nintendo to get together and bring some of the Goemon titles to NSO, would be the perfect time to do so.