Kung Fu Rabbit (PlayStation 3) Review

By Matteo Carlarino 11.09.2014

Review for Kung Fu Rabbit on PlayStation 3

Whilst platforming in video games are usually a lot of fun, to do it 'with style' can be a completely different story. No matter if it works like a secondary gameplay layer, over an otherwise classic system - as in the latest Rayman instalments - or like a ruthless crash test for willpower and nerves… Either way, it's trial and error galore. How does Kung Fu Rabbit on PlayStation 3 hold up after two previous outings on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS?

Quite an unfortunate day for Rabbit! His dojo got sacked and all his disciples abducted by an evil, alien mastermind, so it's up to the fluffy martial arts champion to grab a sword and go to the rescue. The whole adventure rolls through three different worlds - each one consisting of 20 short stages - plus a fourth, bonus area that unfolds along with the main game's completion. The goal of each stage is still the same of the past Kung Fu Rabbit iterations: to find a way to the exit and free Rabbit's friends from the villain's clutch.

Although that is enough to move on to the next level, there are further tribulations awaiting the trophy hunters out for a challenge. Just to start, four carrots lie around each stage, which need to be collected in order to rank a perfect score… and even if the first three are quite easy to locate, the last one is usually a bit trickier to snag. Also, enemy guards can only be taken down with pixel-perfect attacks to their weak point, since any other move will cause an instant death. Lastly, as the game proceeds, the maps become more and more intricate and cluttered with obstacles, which require extreme precision to get past.

Screenshot for Kung Fu Rabbit on PlayStation 3

At first glance, progressing through the game doesn't feel like an impossible mission, even in such a puny superhero's shoes, and it's relatively easy to breeze in from start to finish. That said, completing Kung Fu Rabbit for the first time unlocks harder, remixed versions of the previous stages, where the difficulty curve ramps up quite a bit, reaching Super Meat Boy levels of inflexibility. Other than doubling its actual content, this gimmick heavily influences the game's pace, since every jump now needs to be carefully calibrated and pinpointed with a fair amount of strategy, making the absence of any time limit a very well-fitting feature.

Considering how murderous each new trap, enemy or falling platform can get during the second playthrough, it becomes obvious when the controls do not work like one would expect. As tight and much improved as they feel - especially compared to the original mobile release - it still happens to get stuck on the wrong side of a jump, or slip from a solid grip for no apparent reasons. This - added to the somewhat convoluted mechanics to use bonus items or special attacks - opens up for some unwelcome prickly moments.

Screenshot for Kung Fu Rabbit on PlayStation 3

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

What seems like a major limit actually turns out to be Kung Fu Rabbit's strongest point: it's a very minute and straightforward video game, which doesn't frustrate with a spiky, disheartening difficulty right off the bat; it lets itself be enjoyed for quite a long time, before putting up a proper challenge. While it may feel like a questionable decision for the hardcore audience, there will surely be a large portion of the public out there who'll just sit down and have fun with the game.

Developer

Bulkypix

Publisher

Neko

Genre

2D Platformer

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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