Kero Quest 64 Preview: Froggy Fun!

Developed by Stratobox and set to be published by GalaxyTrail, Kero Quest 64 is an upcoming 3D Indie-Platformer where you must lead Kero the frog on an adventure to gather Mystical Shards and save the day. As the title suggests, this game is more than a little bit inspired by platformers of the Nintendo 64 era. The big twist here is that the team behind this one is composed of a collection of experienced Super Mario 64 ROM hackers who are now taking that experience to create an original title.

I have had something of a casual interest in the N64 Rom hacking community; I’ve enjoyed the few titles I’ve played but haven’t gone too far into it. Part of that is due to work commitments. And part of that is due to the difficulty of them being rather inconsistent. And I’m happy to say that isn’t the case here. Besides being a bright and fun title, Kero Quest 64 features a smooth difficulty curve and a lot of charm that has made it fun to preview. However, let’s hop into the details.

Kero Quest 64 is currently slated to release on PC. A demo can be downloaded on Steam where it can also be wishlisted. At the time of writing, Kickstarter is currently live.

Story – Once Upon a Toad

In Kero Quest 64 you play the titular Kero who, and you might need to sit down for this, is on a quest. This young froggo is trying to stop an evil prince from collecting the Mystical Shards scattered throughout the kingdom. I will admit that at this point in the preview build for Kero Quest 64, the story is largely absent. And that is fine, gameplay is king. And that isn’t to say that the game lacks any text, flavour, or otherwise. Even at this stage, the game features a collection of fun text delivered by the game’s colourful cast. Sometimes funny. Sometimes informative. And all are presented clearly and succinctly.

Kero Quest 64 features little story at the moment, but that is understandable.

It is all charming enough for what is needed at the current moment. And this helps the game to have its sense of personality. Beyond this, the in-game text and UI are easy to understand and read. I will grant you however that I didn’t read much of the tutorial text the first time around. This is mostly because of the gameplay which is, well, rather ‘familiar’, but more on that in a moment. At this point in development, it is a case of “so far so good” with Kero Quest 64, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Gameplay – Lick ’em!

As mentioned at the top of this preview Kero Quest 64 has been developed by a collective of Super Mario 64 Rom Hackers. And as such the gameplay, both from a mechanical and ‘vibes’ point of view has a very distinct flavour of the aforementioned title. With the game’s visuals feeling in lockstep with many of the high-quality hacks that have been developed for the game was of late. Seriously, some of those hacks have the production value of full indie titles. But enough about the design! As it isn’t there where the echo of Mario 64 carries over. As the controls feel very much in the spirit of it.

Kero Quest 64’s controls a very Super Mario 64-like.

Note that I say “In the spirit of it” and not “Identical” or words to that effect. Sure, if you play with a controller then it will feel very close to how Super Mario 64 handles. With many of the moves from that carrying over. So if you know how to play that one, then you know what to expect here. However, again, it is “In the spirit of”. It isn’t quite one-to-one. The timing of certain moves and actions is slightly off in comparison to its inspiration. Now this isn’t a bad thing, as it helps to create a better identity for it, and the differences are something that you can get over with time.

Don’t Croak!

Even if you aren’t familiar with the prior mentioned retro title the difficulty curve of the game is smooth enough that it gives you time to familiarise yourself with how the game works. It is very consistent. So this isn’t a case of a retro-inspired indie game starting easy and then getting uncomfortably difficult after a couple of levels. Levels grow more complex and difficult as the preview goes on. And I’m certain the difficulty will gradually build as the game progresses in the final build. But in the here and now it is smooth sailing and I look forward to seeing how the developers can build on the already tight controls and mechanics.

At last, a tower section in a platformer that didn’t stress me out.

The core of the gameplay is great. However, there are still a couple of areas I feel that are lacking with Kero Quest 64. Firstly I think that there is a lack of hints for where the fragments you need to collect might be; sure the game isn’t especially difficult but I fear later levels might descend into players just wandering about trying to figure out where a fragment may be. Secondly, I’m not sure how to feel about the backtracking in the game as it stands; the levels aren’t separate worlds and there is something of an open-world feel. For example, to get certain blocks to spawn in one level you’ll need to activate a switch in a level further along. You can then come back and do whatever you need the blocks for.

Hopping Good!

For the time being at least it seems the backtracking is local; it is kept to a small selection of levels and without you needing to go back quite as far as other similar titles might go. And so long as it doesn’t get too repetitive or ask for backtracking that goes too far it will be fine. It’s clear that the people behind this know what they are doing. They are experienced with making games like this (well, hacks, but you get the idea) and I do have faith that they won’t overcook this or take it down a strange direction gameplay-wise.

Kero Quest 64 has variety, and football!

All in all, I have to say that I’m more than pleased with my time playing Kero Quest 64 for this preview. It is a fantastic realisation of classic 3D platforming. And it is still in its early stages! Sure, mechanically speaking it owes more than a small debt to Super Mario 64. Like I said earlier, it plays almost exactly like that particular title. But it does have enough of its own character to give it a unique flare. I’m excited to see where it might go next. And even in this current build, it is a ton of fun. And has been something I’ve really been needing as of late.

Graphics & Audio – Frog Rocking Beats!

I won’t lie, one of the big reasons I chose to preview Kero Quest 64 was because it was a Nintendo 64-themed title. I have reviewed more than a few recently with Corn Kidz 64 and Pseudoregelia that fit that bill. But I will admit that I am a tad strict when it comes to retro-inspired titles. Especially those based on machines I grew up with. And I feel that with the N64 especially you either get people that vastly underestimate what the machine was capable of or they overestimate it. This either results in titles that look so cartoonishly basic it is absurd or look far too recent to be authentic.

Kero Quest 64 feels close enough to being authentic; I think the texture work looks too modern in some areas and the soundtrack sounds more like a SEGA game than a Nintendo game. However, the argument can be made that this is more reflective of what the N64 was capable of. Even if some developers at the time didn’t take as full advantage of it as they should. But hey, my obsessiveness about authenticity aside the game looks great. It has some wonderfully well-created worlds that are brimming with colour and flare. And yet none of it looks out of place nor is hard to navigate.

Kero Quest 64 was previewed on PC.