Sunday, June 26, 2016

1PanelReview Konami Krazy Racers


Here's a little quickie I wanted to review before another Konami crossover title.
 
What it is: Konami Krazy Racers, known as Konami Wai Wai Racing Advance in Japan and Krazy Kart Racing on mobile


Which is: A Kart racing game
Created by: KCEK/Konami Corporation
Year: 2001
Available on: Game Boy Advance, iOS, Android and the Wii U Virtual Console

A blast from the past! Konami Krazy Racers is a kart racing game from Konami. It was actually a launch title for the Game Boy Advance.

This is pretty much a Konami mascot party racer in the same vein as Nintendo's Mario Kart, Naughty Dog's Crash Team Racing or more recently Sega's All-Stars Racing games. So it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from it. Only, starring a bunch of classic iconic Konami characters from such series as Castlevania, Metal Gear and Gradius!

What's Good about it: Konami Krazy Racers is a pretty fun little kart racing game! It's fun, colorful and with a pretty interesting presentation to boot!
The game was actually used to showcase the graphics of the GBA, which kind of match that of a slightly more powerful Super Nintendo. Despite the limited hardware of a portable device the game looks great. And even controls pretty well.
The game uses the famous "Mode 7" effect to simulate 3D.
It's a pretty decent racing game all things considered. You can even jump or break and combine both for a few maneuvers.
Throughout the race tracks you can find red and blue bells which grant you the usual special items such as quick attack or speed-boosts. You can also find some coins which you can spend in a shop.
The game has 12 characters, each with their own specs. The main character of the game here is without a doubt Goemon, from Ganbare Goemon/the Legend of the Mystical Ninja series. There's also Ebisumaru from the Legend of the Mystical Ninja series as well, Takosuke from the Parodius series, Dracula the main antagonist of the Castlevania series, Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid (!), Pastel from the TwinBee series, Power Pro-kun from the MLB Power Pros series, Moai and Vic Viper from the Gradius series, Nyami and King from Pop'N Music and finally an obscure one Bear Tank from Rakugakids!
The game allows 8 characters per circuits.
Finally the game can also shine through a 4-player multiplayer mode, where everyone needs a gamecart.

What's Bad about it: In my eyes all this game really lacks is some characters from other franchises, specially those series more popular outside Japan (which Konami has plenty of).
And it seems they did take note from that as they later smartphone port would add those much deserved characters. And just look at other Konami crossover party games later since then...

Overall: Konami Krazy Racers is a fun little Kart racer.

It's a decent little title. Check it out if you're a big Konami fan or familiar with any of those aforementioned series. And if you just happen to like Kart racing games, this is a great Mario Kart clone!

The game received a sequel of sorts with the iOS/Android port titled Krazy Kart Racing, which brought some more popular Konami mascots such as Sparkster from the Rocket Knight series as well as Pyramid Head and Robbie the Rabbit from Silent Hill as well as Evil Rose from Rumble Roses! 

I kind of wonder how this game would have turned out had it received a proper home console release instead...
 

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