Kurukuru Kururin is a strange little title... it was only released in Japan and Europe, it’s pretty unheard of, and is a moderately rare game (don’t worry! You won’t need to spend £100 to get your hands on it!).
So in celebration of the GBA’s 10th birthday, I have been playing this game all day trying to complete it, and let me tell you! It’s not an easy task!
So now, with my fingers half falling off with playing on my old Original DS AND typing, I give you.... NGN’s Kurukuru Kururin Review:
Story:
The storyline is very straight forward. While similar to the whole “save the princess” routine we see in Mario, instead we have Kururin’s brothers lost (10 in total). And Kururin has to fly around the 10 lands in order to bring them all home to mum! But how does Kururin fly across these lands? Well he has to fly around in his helicopter-thingy! Anyways each world consists of 3 levels (you may think this is a bit little... it’s not), and have very challenging level design. Oh and did I mention Kururin is a bird? Just uhhh... thought I might say...
And that’s about it storyline wise...
Controls:
GBA so not many buttons:
D-Pad: move
A or B button: go faster
A and B together: go very fast
L or R: use your horn... doesn’t really do anything but is still fun!
Oh and there is another feature, while in the start zone you can change the size of your heli! Just press SELECT while in the start zone and you can change your size with a range of 3! This is a godsend during the hellish later levels! However! It prevents you from being able to get a star on the level (you’ll understand what that means if you read on)!
Music:
Ah... about that... yeah I don’t know who did the music for this game! I missed it in the credits and I can’t find it anywhere online! So he’s unknown!
Anyways the music in this game is good! It fits, but it’s not the kind of stuff I’d put on my iPod (or 3DS sound)! Although it fits the game, it does get a bit annoying! And while you’re focusing on a really hard bit, more often than not it disturbs you and you die! I prefer playing this game on mute, with only the occasional flick of the volume slider! But that’s my opinion! It could be different for someone else!
Gameplay:
The gameplay is what makes this game! Not storyline, not music, yet gameplay!
You fly around in some helicopter type thing, and must fly through narrow passages without hitting the walls or other obstacles. Each time you hit a wall or the like you will take damage, 3 strikes and you’re down.
Apart from the initial start zone, there are some pink “heal zones”, just fly on to these to heal yourself!
There are some other gameplay elements though: for example the star! You can go back to replay any level in order to earn a star! To earn a star on a level you must pass the level being full size, and not be damaged at all! Get damaged once and you can’t earn the star! It’s not a vital element to the game, but it adds replay value, and it is fun every now and again to get the star on a level! But getting a star on every level is a near impossible task!
Although at this point you think this game is easy with the 3 level worlds, and whatnot... let me tell you this:
It’s not!
The game can be hellish at times, not giving you a heal zone, making it nearly impossible to pass through somewhere; it can just get horrible!
Also, the game can get a bit repetitive... it’s just the same thing over and over again, and that takes away from the replay value a little bit because of how hellish the last levels are! You don’t really feel like going back to the game after playing the levels, because it’s pretty much the same old thing!
There is also a “Make Up” page where you can change the appearance of your heli. And this is fun! I like the snake one best!
There is also a “Practice” mode, and this is just what is says on the tin! You can practice any level, or see a demo showing you the best route through the level! This sounds like it takes the fun away but really, when you see how hard this game can get, it REALLY helps!
Another mode is called "Challenge Mode": this sees you going through shorter levels than the main game, and adds a LITTLE bit of replay value... but it isn't really different to the other levels apart from it's length... I think this game should have more mini games! But basically all you do in this mode is go through super short courses, compete for highscores, and try to earn a star on each course! Which is pretty much just more of the same!
The last mode is VS mode... I can’t really comment on this ‘cause, lets face it, who has the cable to connect the GBA anymore? Yeah... my point exactly... But I’ve heard it’s fun so! Yeah!
But the only way you can truly understand the gameplay of this game is with a video! So... here’s a video:
Yeah... it’s VERY frustrating!
Graphics/Level design:
Graphics aren’t bad actually! At least for the GBA! This game was released 3 years after the launch of the GBA in 2002, so developers knew how to use the graphics properly by that time! Each level has a little polygonal opening and, I find that nice!
As for the level design, it’s good! Can get a bit frustrating at times but overall good!
Verdict:
Strong Points:
Fun gameplay, good graphics, cute storyline, comfortable controls, designing your ship is a nice little feature, replay value is good but not award winning, music fits, it has a funny name, has a very cute a friendly nature to it, and getting stars can be a fun yet difficult task!
Weak Points:
Replay value is okay yet not something you’ll want to come back to 100%, can get SUPER frustrating at times, music can distract you, VS mode isn’t really that possible to use due to the GBA’s multiplayer limitations, and the difficulty spikes BIG TIME (really! One level you spend an hour to get past, next level you finish in one try).
Overall:
Although this game is lacking in a bit of replay value, and VS mode is rather useless... This game is an enjoyable experience! If you want a fun yet challenging game, this is the game for you! Kurukuru Kururin gets a 8.2/10 from me!
Well guys I hope you enjoyed this surprise review in celebration of the GBA’s 10th anniversary! See ya next time!
/Thom Isaacs
