I enjoyed playing the fourth installment of this series a lot more than the recently released remakes. I played all the original ones back in the day on the PlayStation, but these didn’t stand the test of time as well as this fourth installment, which clearly benefits from big improvements that were necessary to make this an enjoyable experience.
The game feels very snappy and accessible. Details like the circle around your shadow when you jump and a death counter instead of a life counter are a few of the many updates that were made to make this game a lot more playable in the current day and age. All of a sudden I had to think about Super Meat Boy, which in retrospect is actually a quite similar type of game. The strengths of Meat Boy’s modern version of platforming challenges have made their way into this franchise very fittingly without feeling stolen.
I have to make a remark about the excellent old school cartoon vibes. It feels like the team hired an excellent art director with a heart for old school Warner Brothers cartoons, with many references and hints to slapstick cartoon humor I’ve enjoyed from shows like Lode Runner and Animaniacs. The seamless transitions between game and cinematics, and the high amount of cinematic storytelling throughout the levels really make you want to keep playing the game.
The first (N. Gin) boss has some excellent hard rock/Guitar Hero theme, and fun platforming play is an excellent example of how the art styles of different worlds blend together with their end boss and narration during gameplay. Nice detail: typical end boss barks during levels are not repeated when you die, which annoys me in many games where I have to play a hard part over and over again.