Back in the 90s, 2D platformers starring cartoony animal mascots were all the rage, thanks to the popularity of Sonic the Hedgehog.  One of the more prolific examples of this was Aero the Acro-Bat, who managed to get a sequel and a spin-off starring Aero’s rival: Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.  Recently these games have been re-released onto modern consoles, and I’ve been lucky enough to review the first Aero and his sequel.  And now it’s time for the spinoff game.  Aero’s rival Zero’s forest homeland is being destroyed by the evil lumberjack Jacques LeSheets and now Zero must go off and defeat him.  Zero will use ninja throwing stars and dive moves to defeat enemies and bypass obstacles in this 16-bit 2D platformer.  It’s available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.

Zero is quite nimble and has a lot of moves at his disposal.  He can run, jump, do a double jump spin attack, throw stars, and dive.  The diving part takes a bit of finesse, so much so that they even give you practice rooms early on to get the hang of it.  You can press a button to dive down, and if you have enough room you can then dive forward and then up for even more height.  And you’d better get the hang of this move because later stages require that you master it.  You can also do a smaller version of this move that doesn’t do much.  Some stages have you ride a jet ski over river rapids and toxic waste, too.   Collect items like coins, extra lives, and more throwing stars along the way.  As a later 16-bit title, the graphics are very nice and so is the character animations.

I have two main problems with this game.  The controls are a bit slippery and Zero can run fast but has a hard time stopping.  And that dive move is really tricky.  Plus the game gets way too hard too quickly.  Luckily just like the last two re-releases, you can turn on lots of cheat codes to give you infinite lives, invincibility, and even a moon jump for unlimited spin jump attacks.  Plus you can view artwork, the manual, and sprites.  So if you are a fan of these types of games, you may want to check this one out.

Kid Factor:

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  Enemies just disappear or fall down when defeated, and Zero has lots of Looney Tunes style animations when he gets hit.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, and younger gamers may find this one too difficult.  Luckily the cheats can help with that.

Tags: Game Reviews