SPACE CHANNEL 5 VR: KINDA FUNKY NEWS FLASH
Last seen racing with the rest of the Sega family last generation, Ulala makes her long-awaited return to the spotlight in the rhythm antics that made her name in the galaxy two decades ago. Although creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi isn’t involved in this belated sequel (Grounding Inc is, however, formed of ex-Sega staffers), like his other beloved game, Rez, Space Channel 5 has been reimagined for PS VR, which feels like the way it should have been played all along.
Forget the quaint idea of tapping buttons to dance to a beat – in Kinda Funky News Flash, with a pair of PS Move controllers you literally do have to copy your opponents’ dance moves, while the movement tracking makes new moves, such as striking poses, possible. The way the original games required you to memorise the rhythm and sequence meant that it was often easier if you did dance along (or at least tap your feet), so using motion controls while immersed in the game’s retro-aesthetic world is a no-brainer.
You’re not playing as Ulala herself but rather one of her new rookie reporters (who also conveniently stands to the side behind her during missions, which means you can follow her cues rather than having to go by memory). It’s a cool way of making you a participant while still letting you admire Ulala as the star of the show.
The new ‘three consecutive strikes and it’s game over’ rule is pretty lenient considering if you recover in one sequence the strike count will reset, and if even that’s too much you can just opt to play the game in Safety mode without any penalties. But there’s another unintended easing of difficulty as you can pretty much cheat the rhythm mechanics. If your opponent’s moves are ‘left, right’, there’s nothing stopping you from stretching out both arms in a T-pose and they’ll register as correct.
FLASH! AARGH!
Kinda Funky’s greatest weakness, however, is that with just four levels, the comeback is far too short-lived to justify its price of admission, especially when there are far more interesting and replayable PS VR music games you could play at a fraction of the cost. In fairness, the original Space Channel 5 was a short game, but then it also provided a challenge, and New Game Plus offered new routes in each stage. By comparison, Kinda Funky’s levels aren’t only shorter and essentially set in one location owing to the PS VR format keeping you on the spot, the additional modes are also woefully lacklustre (calling a casual-friendly tutorial version of the first level ‘Arcade mode’ is surely false advertising).
There’s still fun to be had if you follow its rules, and just like last year’s Shenmue III, it’s another trip down memory lane for hardcore Sega fans. But you’ll likely have your fill of nostalgia if you just download the free demo.
VERDICT
While PS VR ought to be a natural medium for Space Channel 5, it’s hard to see Ulala as more than a nostalgic opening act for the rest of the competition. Alan Wen