Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel Review

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Facts

Talk about Nuts!

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel is a modern rerelease of a classic action-platformer game. It features modern mechanics, such as a rewind feature and cheat codes, yet it also retains the classic game’s core challenge. Was this title worth porting? Find out in this Rapid Review.

To begin my adventure, I was introduced to Zero and the basic premise of the game. There are some nicely drawn animations to showcase the premise, but setting up the scene here does nothing special. The story is simple and straight to the point. I did not waste any time learning about the lore. Truthfully, it was somewhat challenging to read through the text quickly enough before the story progressed. Luckily for me, I did not miss anything major. Despite the relatively unimportant story, I was not disappointed, as I did not think Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel would feature extensive story content. 

On the other hand, I came to this game for the gameplay. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel looks particularly interesting in the trailer due to the wide range of movement abilities that the main character has. Having now played the game, I can confirm that Zero does not disappoint. He can move around and jump as expected. However, he also has unique glide and dive bomb abilities that both function well and are not overly empowering. Combining all these elements to navigate levels was a lot of fun, and helped Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel stand out in comparison to other platformers I have played.

Location, Location, Location

I also enjoyed how levels were laid out. In addition to the traditional rightward-facing levels, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel had a decent bit of levels featuring verticality. I often jumped up different tree branches or atop outward-facing stones to move around in levels, even though the game was wholly linear. Though this is a simple thing, it made exploring these levels a lot more engaging than they otherwise would be. Each of the areas I explored also featured unique elements that made them fun to explore. One area featured slippery slime as opposed to the traditional ice world, which was cute, and memorable. Additionally, each level in Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel features a bunch of checkpoints, which makes navigating each area very fair. 

I thought the difficulty in Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel was done very nicely. For any given level, I would get three lives, which I could use. If I lost a life, I would begin from the closest checkpoint. However, if I ran out of lives, I would need to restart the level. The setback was somewhat frustrating, but not overwhelmingly so. Additionally, I enjoyed that the developers included options to adjust this. These ranged from featuring unlimited lives to invincibility. It was nice to see these features included, especially since some of the segments of the game can get challenging. 

Lethal Warrior

In addition to platforming challenges, each of the stages featured a variety of different enemies to combat against. While they were fun to dismantle, many of the enemies were somewhat tedious to defeat. Some could be taken out by the ranged shurikens, and that was fine. However, others had armour at some points, meaning if I wanted to take them out, I needed to wait for them to go through certain animations. This was not a huge deal, but many of the traditional enemies left me wanting something more. 

I will say, however, that some of the enemies did a particularly excellent job of forcing me to use my whole move set, which I enjoyed. One enemy is immune to ninja stars and then wields a steel beam, which he can either hold above his head or swing at me. If I attempt to attack him from above, he will use the beam as a roof, retaliating against any attack I use. However, if he swings at me, I can attack him while he is processing. This is a very neat concept, and I thought it was super fun. However, after the first couple of attempts, (which was especially prevalent when dying and having to restart a level) it became a bit tedious to wait for him to attack me. The traditional enemies were a bit of a mixed bag.

Putting the Pieces Together

The bosses on the other hand were great. They were consistently vulnerable, which was a lot of fun. It meant I could always feel in control, and I never had to wait for specific conditions to be met. Moreover, being able to attack constantly, I had to learn what each one was vulnerable to. This meant trying different techniques as I went. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel has some great boss fights. I will say, it was a bit disappointing that health carries over upon death. It made some of these fights a bit too easy, as even if I did not truly grasp the mechanics if I had lives left over, I could easily brute force my way through. That should not undermine anything though. These fights are a lot of fun.

Moreover, I was very impressed with the sound and visual design too. The sound effects in Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel were on point. Flying through the air felt satisfying since I could hear the wind whistling beneath my wings. The music was nice too. It has a classic retro feel to it yet it is catchy and enjoyable. 

The visual designs are also standout. Simple animations have incredible charm put into them. When different things damage me, I see a brief animation showcasing exactly what happened, which is very cool. I got to see myself crushed and incinerated more times than I would like, yet each time I was impressed by the style of the art design. I will say, however, that the extra features menu did not have the same art style whatsoever. It was fine that it did not use the same art style, but it was quite unappealing. Still, as a whole, the game looks great and stands up today.

Ending it All

I had high hopes for Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel and I was not disappointed whatsoever. The game has style, runs well, and stands out as unique compared to other games I have played. Sure, the game is short, coming in at under two hours, but the price point is right for the game. Though I had some mild annoyances with the game, I found it as a whole to be a lot of fun and certainly value for money spent. I enjoyed playing through it. 

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

You can purchase Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel on the Nintendo eShop here.