Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores, but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, all whilst including some lengthy gameplay, to give you, the reader, the chance to form your own impressions and views while reading and watching.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering Nikoderiko: The Magical World by developer VEA GAMES:
Nikoderiko: The Magical World (Nintendo Switch)
Nikoderiko: The Magical World is a third-person, 2.5D platformer developed by VEA GAMES, and published by MY.GAMES. It takes inspiration from the likes of Donkey Kong Country and Crash Bandicoot which, can be seen in the way the levels are presented and the general designs of the characters and enemies. The protagonists for example, are a couple of Mongooses called Niko and Luna and the core enemies of the game are more serpentine in appearance although they do possess arms and legs.
The story of Nikoderiko: The Magical World starts with Niko and Luna exploring some temple ruins for powerful relic when all of a sudden, the game’s big bad Baron Grimbald turns up to claim the relic for himself. Niko and Luna are outnumbered but managed to escape by causing a distraction that sends the relic flying off into the far distance. The game then follows our two protagonists, as they explore the magical world and try to recuperate the magical relic before Barn Grimbold gets his filthy mitts on it.
With the opening cutscene out of the way, we can finally jump into to play the game starting of in one of the seven different worlds. Players can either start their adventure alone or with a friend with one player controlling Niko and the other as Luna. Both occupy the screen at the same time and the screen will scroll with whoever is closest in the direction they need to go. As for whoever is falling behind, they will go off-screen and will be counted down until they return to screen.
Players can run, jump, slide, ground pound, wall jump, and glide their way through each level of the game. They can use animal companions to help navigate areas of the game as well that also have unique abilities. One example is a toad-like creature that can jump quite high and spit out water to hurt enemies. Other means of traversal includes barrel cannons and a number of minecart sections as well in typical DKC style. There are even secret stages hidden in each level that have their own mini goals for you to complete like “Defeat all enemies, collect all stars, etc.,” and by beating these, you will be granted a special key. What the key does, however, I’m not going to tell you.
The main objective is to make your way through each stage and reach the goal at the end. There are a number of collectibles like the aforementioned keys, fireflies, gems, and even name tiles for you to collect and actively explore each stage. Each stage as a number of keys, gems, and name tiles that spell the words “N.I.K.O.” Much like in the original Donkey Kong Country games that had K.O.N.G tiles scattered about in each level.
Its hard to talk about Nikoderiko: The Magical World and not mention Donkey Kong Country as there is so much inspiration that has been taken from RARE’s and Nintendo’s Iconic video game series. So much so, that it is essentially a love letter to DKC and its not just the gameplay that takes so much inspiration, but the music as well. In fact, the soundtrack is not only inspired by DKC but it is actually written and composed by David Wise who composed the music for Donkey Kong Country as well, and anyone who has listened to David’s music in video games, knows just how good it is and will immediately know that this game is also going to have some superb music.
Coming to the end of this review, Nikoderiko: The Magical World is one of those that you could easily pass up on simply for thinking its just a Crash Bandicoot/Donkey Kong Country spiritual successor. You wouldn’t be wrong for thinking that but it would be wrong to pass. It is actually a pretty fun game once you get into it, and while they are points where the platforming can be a little tricky or you didn’t align yourself properly to take out an enemy and causes you to lose health or even a life, it still has plenty of “One More Try” energy to keep you going. I am enjoying Nikoderiko: The Magical World a lot and if you are a fan of DKC or Crash Bandicoot, you should probably check out this game too.
Game Specifications:
Developer: VEA GAMES
Publisher: MY.GAMES
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Platformer, Arcade, Adventure, Party
No. of Players: 1-2 (Single System)
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Price: $29.99
File Size: 11.1 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
