My First Eight Playstation Games, Part 4: the Platformers

(this is the last post of the series. The earlier ones are here, here, and here.)

7. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

I’ve read people complain about Croc being one of the most poorly conceived characters of any videogame, and frankly I don’t understand the hate. Sure, he’s a uber-precious plushiebaiting rendition of an animal nobody would want in their backyards, but it makes sense to me for him to be like that. Check the youtube video and see how he was brought up.

Also, who exactly were they comparing him to when they ragged on how poorly designed he was? I prefer him to most of his contemporaries of animals/anthropomorphs with attitudes.

Crash Bandicoot has that pedophile grin:

The grin! 

Jersey Devil has that corny mad scientist dark motif (don’t be too hard on Jersey Devil though, because I love that game):

Yeah, I’m DAAAARK!

Gex the Gecko obnoxiously tries to be cool by throwing one-liners, wearing shades and starring alongside a Baywatch emeritus:

I’m like, totally rad, dude! 

Knuckles the Echidna has that fake dreadlocks and that sneer (no pictures. Sorry, I’m too lazy to search for Knuckle’s pics).

Bubsy just plain infuriates:

STATEMENT T-SHIRT!!! 

Spyro the Dragon has a voice so deadpan that President Arroyo sounds like a master of elocution in comparison:

See, his friends are in peril and all he does is say “looks like I’ve got things to do” like he’s a hard-boiled dragon. Show some emotions, jeez!

Anyway, in case we’ve forgotten, we’re talking about this game:

Croc is a crocodile trying to save his surrogate father while wearing a backpack. He’s minding his own business, and he’s the one getting the hate? Okay then let’s compare soundtracks. Hum me the songs of any games Crash, Jersey Devil, Gex, Knuckles (okay, at least some games with Knuckles have decent songs), Bubsy, or Spyro appeared in. Okay times up, didn’t think so. Now how about we listen to Croc’s?

Croc Theme (Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin, Martin Gwynn Jones)

Croc is not a Mario 64 beater that it positions itself to be, but so aren’t Gex and Spyro etcetera etcetera. I like the titular character Croc because he does not look like relics of 90s cartoons, and that he has greater motives than all other Mario wannabes. When I first saw his opening movie I couldn’t help thinking, “I want to save his father NOW!”

And it isn’t easy to do so. The game plays a lot like Mario 64 but it is much harder. For most part the game plays smoothly, and collecting gems and saving Gobbos (creatures that look like balls of fur) have their charms, but there are times when I couldn’t see where to jump at because of bad camera angles. So even though I liked Croc I hoped for a sequel that would fix the camera and the difficulty. Part 2 eventually came, but along with pointless Jello endorsements it wasn’t as good as part 1 and it didn’t bother fixing old problems while bringing hosts of new ones, effectively killing all possible sequels.

8. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

Just when I’m getting tired of writing, I find out that I haven’t described Klonoa yet. At the beginning of the story Klonoa, a dog with big ears, finds a living magical ring named Huepow. They travel together throughout the game - Klonoa jumps and floats while Huepow fights. Huepow’s power is the highlight of the game, because he does not hurt anyone so much as turn them into a ball that Klonoa can either throw to other enemies or use as a spring to jump even higher. Really, this game is competent 2D platformer and it plays a lot like Super Mario Brothers. It’s near-flawless and its only drawback is its being too easy, but since it’s obviously aimed for younger audiences anyway, I was cool with that. Better they play this game than soulless movie-licensed games, right?

Sadly, those soulless movie-licensed games have sold more than this game, even if it has a very vibrant look and some catchy tunes. Sequels are made anyway, and with Klonoa’s most recent appearance in Namco X Capcom, it’s clear that Namco hasn’t forgotten about this dog.

Well, who can forget him? The story is minimal, as I’m mostly just watching Klonoa and Huepow becoming inseparable buddies. Yet, the game ends with one of the most powerful revelations I ever saw in any videogames. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve never been as heartbroken in any game as I have after watching Klonoa’s ending. Not in Final Fantasy VII or Metal Gear Solid or any of those games that belabors with tons of epic cinematic presentations, but in a game about a dog. And really, if a game of this simple nature is enough to make a few people cry, imagine what can happen in the future of videogame storytelling.