PixlBit

Well folks I was going to do both of these anyways as part of a series of Hudson series of unique titles you may not have played. And while I wanted to do it in alphabetical order, I didn't want to seperate between these two games due to alphabetical order. And because they are both fairly similar I didn't want to do two very similar, but seperate reviews. So today on Bargain Bin Buys I present a special 2 for 1 review! This week we have Kororinpa: Marble Mania & Marble Saga: Kororinpa. Both of which cost me only $10 each!

 Tilt control inspired gaming was on a bit of a roll during the Wii's run. But even before the Wii could show evryone tilt controlled games could work with motion controls, Super Monkey Ball revived the genre with its first outing on the GameCube in 2001. The premise was simple, roll a monkey in a ball through a series of maze like death traps to reach the goal. After this we got such titles like Mercury Meltdown Revolution, focusing on a more puzzle heavy play style, and of course there was Katamari, the eccentric ball rolling game that saw you gathering everyday objects with your strange magnetic orb.

The first step that Kororinpa takes away from the formula is the difference in the titling. Kororinpa is fairly generous in terms of how slowly your marble moves.The vast, maze-like kevels of the game can be tilted farther than any game has let you do before. This allows far more extreme level design, allowing vertical walls to become floors as you flip a course on its side or upside down. There are dozens of ways to take advantage of this, and the route you must follow twists and turns creating some thrilling and occasionally confusing paths to the end of the level.

The infuriating downside of this is that I didn't evolve octopus arms. Unfortunately, Kororinpa forgets my shortcomings at some of its more challenging points, and I found that my arm reaches only to a certain point.

Another difference for Kororinpa is that the emphasis on completing a level shifts away from speed and towards collecting crystals. Though there is a timer, there is no time limit which allows you to putz around the corses and carefully plan your next move. In each level you must collect all orange crystals before crossing the finish line. Additional hidden green crystals are tucked away in challenging areas that are harder to reach, but do not have to be collected. They do open secret worlds and count towards 100% completion however.

A welcome positive change is that if you fall off the track you do not have to collect the crystals again. You may have to restart from the checkpoint or beginning of the level you reached, but at the very least it doesn't force you to collect these all over again. In later levels there are several alternate routes you can take, though some of them demand huge risk and often blind jumps. Replacing the jump button with a flick of the wrist to leap in the air is a nice idea, but it is not accurate enough to trust in it.

There are some problems when it comes to the camera. It seems to get tangled up in the scenery some times, and also when you find yourself rolling towards the camera you often can't see ahead of you.The best gameplay mechanic is the option to change the style of marble you use, with more being unlocked as you play. Some are simply visually different, but others are heavier and faster, though all this really means is that you can revisit the earlier levels to achieve faster times. If you are anything like me you'll use the slow, but steady panda ball for your green crystal/tough stage completion.

The graphics are fairly simple in terms of design. What this means is that levels made of say candy feature a board inspired with chocolate wafers to cross or spinning cookie platforms. It won't appeal to most, but if you are a sucker for cutesy, innocent, and colorful graphics, Kororinpa is a standout for Wii titles. The audio is undeniably catchy, with it's simply nature sound effects or it's easy listening presentation. Not to mention a few hidden gems (Bomberman tracks anyone?)

There is a simple two-player split screen mode which is a nice touch, but not fully expanded upon other than a simple race to the goal segment, but the game is filled from top to bottom with nice details and more than enough gameplay to fill that hole. Gentle and frustrating in equal parts, on the whole Kororinpa is a worthy addition to any Wii library.

Personal Opinion: 7.5/10- A heck of a lot of fun. I enjoyed this game and it offers so much to do!

Critical Opinion: 6.9/10- Style, presentation, and a lot of indepth gameplay make this a winner. A lack of checkpoints and some wonky camera movement as well as asigning the jump mechanic to a flick of the wrist is not a positive and the game can get quite difficult.

Overall Determination: 7.2/10- What a Bargain!

Marble Saga: Kororinpa

Marble Saga:  Kororinpa is the follow-up title to Hudson's Kororinpa:  Marble Mania. Marble Saga:  Kororinpa doesn't break new ground, but it offered up enough of a difference and a huge amount of levels to pick from, along with a level editor that you could use to create levels and share them with friends via the Wii online system.  Some Balance Board levels also make an appearance as well. There's a lot more packed into Marble Saga:  Kororinpa than the original, including oddly enough a story mode. Fans of the first game should find plenty to love about the sequel.

The story is a bit odd to say the least and it tries to tie the different stages together, which is really unnecessary, but then again I played a mini game compilation about rednecks that had a story as well, so who am I to judge on story standars? In the story,  there's a small ant named Anthony who wants you to traverse the stages in an attempt to locate pieces of a magical tree stump, which leads to some type of promised land called Stump Temple or something. The developers decided to try their hand at a story and I'll give em kudos for having something unique, even if it is unecessary to have in a games about marbles on courses going through space. The pieces that the ant tasks you to find, do serve a purpose outside of the story, as they'll help unlock various items for the level creator. 

Marble Saga:  Kororinpa controls exactly the same as its predecessor, so you'll tilt the Wiimote in a vertical or horizontal direction and then move it so that the level mimics your movements. I don't really want to get too much into this as I explained it a little earlier. The goal is still the same. Roll around each maze/level, and collect a certain number of crystals on each stage in order to activate goal. There are about 10 levels in each "world" that you can visit, with a couple of unlockable bonus stages for each world.  The difficulty starts off easy enough. Later stages definitely provide a challenge, especially if you're attempting to complete levels for the different medals (bronze, silver, gold) or trying to collect green crystals, which leads to unlocking additional marbles.

The game is quick to introduce new features as you progress. One of the earliest is the sliding platforms that move along in the direction you're tilting the board. Another feature is the magnetized rail; if you have a marble underneath it, it'll automatically pick up the marble, allowing you to traverse larger gaps and get from one section to another before setting you down. You still have to control it during these sections however, and if you don't time your landing well, you can easily fall off the board and have to start all over again.

Marble Saga: Kororinpa is a little more forgiving when it comes to checkpoints in a stage than its predecessor. Marble Mania only featured one checkpoint per stage, with only the later levels providing more than one, but even early on in Marble Saga: Kororinpa, you'll come across levels that provide quite a few checkpoints, which definitely alleviates the frustration you feel after you fail an area a few times in a row. 

The camera angle problem carries over from the original title.  A few levels have you manipulating the board to the point where you'll need to flip it upside down. When you try to do this, the camera flips out, and it's really difficult to keep your balance when the camera is moving every which way.

The other thing I didn't get into much, and this was a bit of a surprise for me, was the level creator system.  I was really hoping to spend a few hours coming up with some really random and crazy ideas, but the menu system and overall design were such a chore to work with that I couldn't get into it.  I also hated that I had to unlock pieces to get anything decent or interesting to work with.  Granted, there are some basics that have already been unlocked for you to use, but so much stuff was locked that it meant I had to search every nook and cranny of the single-player game to find the tree stumps.  After a while, I stopped trying to use the system altogether because I found it to be such a disappointment.  I'm sure some players managed better than me in finding the tree pieces to unlock the level creator items and build some very interesting levels, but this definitely wasn't what I'd wanted or expected from the level creator.

The balance board stages are a neat idea, but it doesn't work. You're going to have a lot of trouble being precise enough to complete these stages with the Wii Balance board. There's nothing wrong with the idea, but with a game that's all about balance and precision in the first place, using the Balance Board is going to be a challenge for most players.

The soundtrack in Marble Saga: Kororinpa exceeds the original Marble Mania, and while tracks are repeated a lot within worlds, the music fits the game very well and has its own unique style.  I won't say that it's entirely worth playing just for the soundtrack, but it's something that fans of video game music should at least listen to. 

Visually, the title is on par with the original, maybe a bit brighter overall. The areas and stages are all new however,if you've played the original, you've seen the stages before (a candy world, space, etc.), aside from the design, they're fairly similar.  The same goes for the marbles themselves, and there are a lot of repeats here from the original, which is somewhat disappointing (Thankfully they included the panda again).  The new Mii ball is pretty cool, but I was expecting to see a few more new marbles than what was included.

I enjoyed Marble Saga: Kororinpa quite a bit. If you enjoyed the original, then you'll definitely enjoy this one, and if you missed out on the first, then give this one a go. The gameplay is really solid and well worth checking out.

Personal Opinion: 7.6/10- Just what you expect in a sequel with added additions, while keeping the main mechanic in tact. Lots of fun and lots of variety!

Critical Opinion: 7.4/10- The additions are fairly uneven and unecessary from the story, balance board, to the editor, however the increase in checkpoints and even better music and mechanics means it manages to be a sequel that outdoes the original.

Overall Determination: 7.5/10- What a Bargain!