Save Japan from the evil...festivals?

Spike Chunsoft are having themselves a year. In February, they released Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, which is a game-of-the-year candidate for me. Earlier this month, we got Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid, another GOTY option. And now, we’ve got BAKERU. This action game won’t make my GOTY shortlist, but it’s wonderful, nonetheless.

You play as Bakeru, a tanuki who’s able to take on human form. He’s tasked with putting an end to a “bizarre festival” being used by Oracle Saitaro to take over a fictitious ancient Japan. Yes, a festival. When America is eventually conquered from within, I suppose I won’t mind so much if it’s via Geneva, Ohio’s Grape Jamboree.

The great thing about Bakeru is that his weapons are drumsticks. Bro just goes around hitting people as if they’re tom-toms, producing a satisfying boom with each hit. This gives the game an aggressive rhythm that sounds as if we’re being rallied to march off to a war…or a rave.

So, Bakeru charges down highly linear pathways, attacking all enemies that stand (or fly (or float)) in his way. Alternating between the L and R buttons allows you to attack and chain combos with nearby enemies. Hitting L and R simultaneously provides a stronger attack, and holding them down charges up an even more powerful area attack. As you progress in the game, you’ll acquire new attacks unleashed by holding L or R down, for example. There are defensive measures, too. Y dodges. ZR blocks. It’s a very simple combat system you’ll need to master if you want to be efficient; enemies can become a real pain if you’re not using the right attack against them.

Is that enough to carry a player through the game’s 50+ stages? Well, hold on. You’ll occasionally engage in boss battles that, when won, reward Bakeru with Henge Licenses. These allow him to transform in ways that provide unique abilities. He can become very small, for example, to enter hidden areas or float for a bit. He can become very big to cause more damage, take less, and bust through some enemy defenses. The Henge meter depletes while Bakeru is in these states, so the player can’t rely on them for long. Thankfully, the meter fills back up pretty quickly as you take out the game’s numerous enemies.

Still, 50+ stages of, basically, arcade-style combat is a lot, so the developers gave the player more to do. There are trivia notes (rather fascinating ones, at that) and souvenirs to find and collect on each level. It’s very easy to miss these amongst the action’s numerous distractions, so you can expect to replay most levels if you’re a completionist. They also even change up the gameplay, occasionally converting to a racing game or a 3D shooter.

What really helps keep things moving, however, is the variety of the level design. You’d expect the visuals to get redundant, but this “fairy tale Japan” takes full advantage of the diverse settings of Japan’s 47 prefectures…not to mention the occasional cruise liner, undersea resort, and such.

All of this colorful, bouncy action comes with a couple issues, however. Camera angles can become problematic during close-quarter combat. Some of the platforming is trickier than it needs to be, too. And although you can purchase instant-use health replenishments, you can’t stock them. So, filling your hearts back up often requires backtracking to the previous vendor. These vendors also sell power-ups such as bombs and defensive measures that prepare you for the action ahead. You can choose when to use these, and they’ll carry over to the next level if you don’t use them.

The whole affair reminded me somewhat of a linear Super Mario Sunshine, although more so in vibe than in gameplay. The visuals are bright and colorful, the music is upbeat and happy, and the action is frenetic and absorbing. The game never becomes too difficult, although certain segments will definitely be harder to work through. Fatigue will likely set in if you play too many levels in one sitting, but that’s easy enough to alleviate; I found I enjoyed BAKERU best when playing just a few levels before moving on to another game. And although I never cared to backtrack to a level for 100% completion, I was always compelled forward. I imagine it’ll be the same for action gamers of all ages, making this a game that’s definitely worth considering.

And hey, look—there’s a demo to facilitate that! Come join us at the festival (before we smash it down).