Kororinpa review

When Nintendo first revealed the Wii, the possibilities for the puzzle genre were immediately apparent. Kororinpa is an early attempt at realising this potential, but ultimately falls way short of the goal. Suitably dubbed "ball-rolling maze game", it is a freeform version of marble madness with no restraint in terms of design or cuteness.It could be argued that Hudson have taken inspiration from the world of Animal Crossing. Although there is no story (simply the courses exist for you to overcome) you must roll your ball across ever increasing difficulties, leaping obstacles and reaching the end. The courses are divided into five areas which stretch out below the maze, which is conveniently suspended above this picturesque backdrop. The majority are static canvases, with later levels such as the city (night or day) providing a constant stream of traffic or the obligatory zeppelin cruising past your stricken vantage point.Hudson have in theory pitched this game at the younger end of the Wii demographic. The nearest we have to characters are the balls themselves, which come in all shapes and sizes. The main reward from the game is to unlock more balls, as well as hidden courses. Both come via successfully completing each level, but also finding the hidden green jewel and obtaining it on every map. The balls are rated in terms of difficulty (speed, response, slide and bounce), with the panda being the most stubborn (in speed terms) but at times the most successful in overcoming later courses. You also have a basketball, a ladybird, a beach ball and so on. Some elicit sounds when dropping heights or crashing into barriers. In audio terms the panda ball could suffer from flatulence, with its bizarre audio sample.The difficulty curve is well judged, slowly introducing more complex courses and tougher obstacles within each layout. The first two themed areas allow you to come to terms with the Wiimote and the ease of control. Really, for the first few courses you don't appreciate just how simple it is to control your ball through motion. Before too long you're taking on courses with ease, but do dispense with the strap later on, as you'll be tightening a noose around your wrist. At first you start while simple navigation and bends without barriers. Soon holes are introduced, with cannons, magnifying glasses and bobbled surfaces adding to the mix. However the criticism is there just isn't enough on the board to challenge. The obstacles themselves form a good basis, but Kororinpa lacks the variety we expected.It is only later on that you really feel Kororinpa approaches anything that could be described as a modest challenge. Gamestyle whizzed through all the coures on offer (fifty in total) within a few hours, and only on a handful did we struggle at first to reach the goal. Those where we did falter were mainly due to the problems associated with the game camera, which struggles to cope with multi-layered courses, or the game map that lacks options so you can plan your route. The main issue with Kororinpa's design is that it does not allow freedom, as you need to collect each red jewel on the map to unlock the exit. Unlike Super Monkey Ball where you can invent your own shortcuts and reach the end in record time.The comparison with Sega's simian primate series is very relevant given its recent debut on the Wii. Both titles take advantage of the Wii's motion control, but in graphical terms and difficulty are miles apart. While the former can be explained partially by the fact Kororinpa is aimed at a younger market, visually it already looks outdated. Whilst supporting 60hz, it does at 50hz manage to provide those lovely black borders Gamestyle had believed were banished to a previous era. It also looks tired, with backdrops appearing blocky and frankly being nothing better than we'd have seen on systems four years ago. The textures and resolutions also solidify this belief, while the audio is bland and non-descript.Yet all of these issues could have been overcome if more courses were on offer, and the difficulty curve was allowed to stretch out. However just as you are beginning to be entertained by Kororinpa, its all over. Frankly this would have been better placed as a budget release as outside of the main mode you only have a standard two player offering or the option to beat your previous best time. As a distraction for a few hours its worthwhile, however with Super Monkey Ball already on the shelves and Mercury soon to follow, that position is already under threat.