Kickle Cubicle

"Kickle? What kind of name is that?"

Puzzlers are usually either boring or just plain suck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not speaking of all those obscure titles that never made it past a grumpy old salesman. No, I'm referring to overrated titles such as the Lolo series. Lolo this, Lolo that - you'd get sick if you really believed all that was told about little Lolo who, in addition, is nothing more than a lifeless blob blessed with the ability of jumping around and pushing crates or whatever is suitable enough to be moved around. Good Lord, that was a long sentence, wasn't it ? Anyway, now comes Kickle who makes Lolo look even more stupid, as if that was ever necessary.

The game is called Kickle Cubicle and is on the NES, just like the aforementioned garbage. There is a big difference between the two titles though and if you cared enough to look at the score, you should already know what this is. Of course, your constant sessions of Super Smash Bros Melee may have annihilated your ability to think but what do I know ? On the other hand, I do know Kickle Cubicle is a great game although it does have its fair share of problems.

In a world comprising of every possible fruit and legume you could ever think of, it is up to Kickle alone to combat some evil forces and to rescue some idiots of noble blood. Idiots, noble blood ? Haven't I seen this somewhere else ? Whatever ! In order to make it to the evil schmup behind all this, Kickle must hence grab three red bags on each stage. But doing so is, obviously, not as easy as it seems. Our little friend must deal with enemies too and must avoid various obstacles that would be so pleased to send him back to where he belongs.

The big innovation lies in the fact that Kickle must ironically rely on the enemies themselves to beat each stage until he has to face an always-tough boss. By spitting ice-balls, Kickle transforms the regular enemies into bricks and he may then use those to reach the red bags. These ice-balls also enable Kickle to dispose of most other fiends as he just needs to turn them into ice before kicking them. Other than killing enemies, the kicking option turns into a creating-pillars one when there are no enemies around which allows Kickle to trap enemies.

As Kickle beats stage upon stage, he then needs to face a big boss which requires some precise timing and a lot of luck to defeat. Because, let us say it, the bosses in this game are too hard. Getting to defeat one without losing at least a life in the process denotes pure luck. And considering how most stages themselves are extremely easy, this is a big drawback even more so if you consider that Kickle Kubicle is intended for kids. Since it is a kiddy game, most stages are quite easy but like I said, the learning curve isn't much of a problem.

Kickle's cutesy designs are a big change from what was offered in Lolo. Lolo-fans will now argue that my point is just to stab their favorite games but I'm just comparing an overlooked title to another which was mistakenly referred to as ''beest puzzler EvaR u fool!!''. The stages are merely of the infamous blocky type but in the end, this works out brilliantly and if anything else, makes things easier. Enemies are quite varied and range from cannons to owls but it's a pity the bonuses stay the same throughout the whole game.

The dialogues that automatically pop up after you beat a world are very hilarious and add to the no-frills atmosphere of the game. Obviously, such a thing should be expected from a puzzler where the hero finds it normal to talk to carrots but this is very refreshing and a nice addition. Bonus stages can be unlocked too to increase the lifespan of an already long game - weeks are needed to beat Kickle Cubicle. Moreoer, these bonus levels are insanely hard and really increase the overall difficulty if you found the game too easy.

The music is blatantly taken from those silly platformers and while not bad, tends to hurt the game due to its repetitiveness. An upbeat theme would have been more appropriate, specially in a game where there is a time limit to beat most levels. Moreover, due to the length of the game, it can get sickening particularly if you reach one of the tedious bonus stages. Sound effects too seem to be blatantly missing because most actions don't even benefit from suitable onomatopoeia.

If you are looking for a game that will take weeks to beat, look no further ! Kickle Kubicle is a huge puzzler. Although most stages are pretty straightforward, the sheer amount of those is more than enough to give the game a solid lifespan. Of course, replay value cannot be associated with it since once you've beaten it, you already know what to expect of each level - unless you are one of those SSBM players I talked about in the introduction.

Final word : We don't need Lolo, we need Kickle ! Besides, Kickle would utterly trash Lolo in a battle. Remember, Lolo cannot attack. On the other hand, Kickle can. But he really doesn't even need to do so since he is featured in a much better game. I'll leave that piece of info to sink into your zombified mind now.

~ Score : 8 ~

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/02, Updated 11/09/02