There are a lot of elements stuffed to the starting moments of Kitsune Tails before it eventually becomes the punishing platformer that it is that I honestly wish the game had more of. There is an engaging story front and center with an interesting time mechanic as you watch the seasons change right before you progress as you the world you are on. It was something I didn’t expect, to get invested in a game that played like Super Mario: The Lost Levels.
To be fair, it’s not like these elements haven’t come up before in games like Celeste, or even Freedom Planet, but in this particular package, it felt weird and soothing. Of course, when you clear the first level, these elements give way to a much more straightforward slaughter fest of quick-thinking platforming sections that bring you back to a take where developers maybe, I still question, never wanted you to beat their game. The fact that the game does such a commendable job of recreating this experience, with a few stumbles, might be the most shocking part of the experience.
Die, Respawn, Repeat
As stated above, Kitsune Tails plays very similar to that of Super Mario: The Lost Levels, or Super Mario 2 if you are a purist. This is to say that the platforming can run the gambit of challenging, to just frustrating gotcha levels. There are a few levels and bosses in the mix too but in fairness if you can REACH the boss… I mean what are they going to do that hasn’t already been done to you?
In this nature, many of the aspects play like a Mario game, or borderline, with the twist the game is a celebration of Japanese culture. Your Kitsune lead for instance has two forms she can take on, a normal big version of herself, and a fox that acts as her smaller version when she gets hit. She can also acquire powerups, such as a samurai armor that gives her a spear to attack with, these things act as a third life point as well. Interestingly the twist here is some of these items have secondary abilities, such as the spear being driven into a wall to create a platform, which helps add some fresh twists in its own right. The shark suit though just has the secondary power of being adorable and I’m here for it.
Enemies similarly act as stand-ins for elements you might be familiar with such as tanuki with shurikens that act as hammer turtle-like enemies as well as Kasa-Obaki that seem to be great turtles. A standout favorite was the wells in the game that replace a certain green pipe that occasionally has a spirit that pops her head out to block your path. In terms of Japanese culture, these elements are cute and mostly well thought out, but there was a nagging in the back of my mind just how much some things felt identical, or maybe not divorced enough from the source material.
One element that does feel like they went in a different direction is the ghosts and their levels. Each world of the game has one these ghosts are not shy, the second you get to close they will just start flying at you and never stop unless you find a light source. Earlier ghost levels were as fun as a lantern puzzle in which you carry lanterns to keep the ghosts at bay served for a very interesting divergence. This being said, by the end of the game ghosts become the bane of your existence, making platforming go from the fun challenge it already is to a tedious nightmare as you try to balance avoiding their constant assault AND jumping to the platform you had been waiting for.
An additional complaint would be the checkpoint system which feels inconsistent at the best of times. Some levels have areas so traversing to a new one saves progress, while an Ishi-doro serves as a checkpoint in longer levels and areas. Because of this, going through several hard parts in a row becomes the annoyance you might expect it is as dying sends you right back to the beginning of it. These distances can vary wildly so you might have to have a perfect run on six progressively harder sections, while in other a few platforming jumps and you’re safe. Each level ends Torii Gate which, credit where credit is due, you will be grinning ear to ear every time you reach it.
Outside of the main game there are a few things you can do such as hit the arcade in the main town. There are a few simple mini-games here since every game needs to have mini-games now. Thankfully these games are fun, fun enough to get lost in in their own right, so if you ever get tired of dying just take a short break to play as a kappa swimming the river or another of the fun offerings.
Boss fights are also, as stated above, fun but much easier than the game. Most of them have a few moves you need to figure out and then exploit an opening to hit by jumping on their head. In a few boss fights though, damage triggers activate before the move goes off so I often found myself dying to him just standing there, in particular, a crane boss featured later on. They still offered a welcome reprieve though where I felt mostly in control, even when dying a ton.
Steam Deck Compatability
While I played a short amount on my PC, much of what I played of Kitsune Tails was on the Steam Deck. I am happy to report the game runs great on the Steam Deck barring minor control issues. Several points in the game require you to hold a latern with one button while you jump or swim with another in three button layouts to do this required holding the X button while pushing the A button a lot. On a keyboard this issue is less pronouced but on buttons in is noticable.
Additionally there were some mine response issues with the thumbsticks vs using the keyboard though to some these might not even be noticable. Beyond that the entire game runs on steam deck from start to finish with no errors and truthfully, it’s a Mario game on PC, it is the pefect companion for your Steam Deck.
Love Is A BattleField (Where You Constantly Die)
As stated above I was enjoying the story until it, like me, dropped off a cliff. The First World has a constant narrative that concerns a Love triangle between your Character, Yuzu, and another woman, as well as her childhood friend who is also a girl, I think you see where this is going. It’s a twist to the formula that at least offers a refreshing take on the genre. Of course, nothing is that simple, and as the love story grows out it becomes more of an exploration of identity rather than a simple love narrative.
This being said, world 1-1 sets up the narrative that you must save your princess by traveling to get five keys in five worlds. You know, standard fair. The story at this point takes a back seat to the prevalent nature it had in the first world to something that only matters after you beat all 7 levels and the boss of each world. This feels like a sin since the story helped propel me through some of the harder parts. This was probably also aided by the fact that the game is fully voice-acted with a cast that manages to feel nostalgic and engaging, feeling like what Popful Mail might have sounded like, had it had voice acting at the time.
There is also something to be said about the great art style present throughout. Every characters has character art for dialog but that becomes something spare as you progress. Levels have classic foreground and scrolling background designs that off beautiful Japanese-inspired vistas like snow-covered mountains or pagodas. Each sprite in the game is also created with detail so fighting your way through levels never looked better.
There are some parts that come across as weird though in the grand presentation. Yuzu comes across as less experienced in the world than the two rivals for her love. This makes her come off as progressively younger than her counterparts. Additionally, Kiri, her childhood friend is constantly smoking a pipe which, I feel, is usually something older characters do. Since the game never defines these it just felt like there were odd disparities in age, despite her probably being much older being a Kitsune and all.
Just when Kitsune Tails seems to be winding down you are hit with a twist that helps reinvest you for the fact that you are only about halfway through the game. Twisting the genre is one of the best successes that the game has and they keep coming late into your hours of dying. Overall the game and story are probably beaten in around 15 hours which is a decent length for a game of this nature, but due to its difficulty it might take longer, or less depending on the difficulty.
So Many Difficulties To Overcome
One of the things Kitsune Tails does well is offering tools for those who don’t want to suffer through difficulties like a Shinto Priest. There are three difficulty levels with the easiest allowing for instant respawn where you die. The game also has no lives, as those things have become pointless so when you die you return to the last saved point on normal, usually a torch or room entrance.
On the hardest difficulty, the game disables your ability to use items inside the level, only allowing them before you start. Items are the core thing the coins you collect are used for and can change the flow of a level completely. You get hit and simply drop a samurai armor on yourself to get full hits and a spear to aid you, rather than being moments from death. It’s another tool that offsets the progressive difficulty spikes. Gotcha moments feel a dime a dozen in this game with enemies going at you so you jump directly where a shuriken passes, platforms that move inconsistently, THOSE DAMN GHOSTS, and more, making any tool to offset this helpful. The drawback is you only get one use of any so if you fall off a platform seconds after using one like I have, you will regret it.
Verdict
There is a lot to love here in Kitsune Tails, even if the package presenting it isn’t perfect. It is a challenging platformer game that rolls back the clock in some of the best ways. Of course, also present is the experience of frustrating raging at a level till you finally hit that jump and dodge that throwable and hit the checkpoint, ready for the next moment. As a retro throwback and a nostalgia machine, it is a well-constructed game, even if it never reaches the rights of the originals.
The best aspects of the game though use modern conventions to elevate that experience. As a voice-acted experience with a sold story of love and identity, it stands as its own experience worth taking. With difficulty tools, the game also has more ways than just one to experience it so you don’t have to get completely bogged down by the challenge. Kitsune Tails caters to the audience of a specific type of game, but it manage to do so very well.
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Review For Windows PC, Also Available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Linux
A copy of this game was provided by Kitsune Games for the purposes of this review.
Developer: Kitsune Games, Midboss
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Release Date: August 1st, 2024
As Yuzu, traverse a retro inspired platformer of punishing obstacles and enemies to save your friend and maybe more!
PROS:
+Enjoyable Narrative
+Great Art Direction
+Challenging
+Nostalgic
+Adjustable Difficulty
CONS:
-Borders on frustrating more than once
-Several elements feel 'too' similar to a certain game.
-Narrative is top heavy
-THOSE GHOSTS!
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Kitsune Tails
