Kaze And The Wild Masks

This green stuff is bad for you

Don’t you hate it when instead of getting to chow down on your veggies they turn around to eat you instead? So goes the curse that’s struck the Crystal Islands, which also turned heroine Kaze’s pal Hugo into a cute little hovering creature. Time to mask up, collect crystals, and platform your way to uncursing the land.

It’s a simple game, for the better. There’s a responsiveness to Kaze’s movement, with ground pounds, spin attacks, and rabbit-ear-twirling hovering for good measure. All of this takes place in worlds wonderfully rendered in pixels, taking you through the standard array of themed stages (forest, water, fire, all the classics). Attention has been paid to keeping platformer ‘flow’ alive, and it feels great to jump from foe to foe and stay moving.

At various points Kaze will find a ‘wild mask’, which transforms her and allows her to wield the powers of the animal it depicts, like flight or the ability to dive underwater. Rather than power-ups, these are built for specific sections of the level.1 They keep things fresh, but are used sparingly.2

There are quite a few levels, and mastering them can be a challenge as each has not only the letters ‘K’, ‘A’, ‘Z’, and ‘E’ to collect, but also two unique bonus challenges, a special crystal for collecting 100 smaller ones, and time trials. A nicely done Casual mode adds an extra possible shield and additional checkpoints to help everyone bop killer carrots on the head.

Oscar Taylor-Kent