GoNintendo 'End of Day' thoughts - Quick and Dirty review: Marble Saga: Kororinpa

I told you I’d have the review for today’s ‘EoD’ thoughts! I really hope you enjoy the review, and I also hope that it pushes you to pick the game up! Trust me, it’s definitely a winner. I’d like to go play some more right now, but I think it’s best I head to bed! I’ll see you guys in a few, short hours.

When Kororinpa: Marble Mania hit the Wii, I was all over it. One of my favorite games is Marble Madness, and anything that even remotely resembles that game will find a very welcome spot in my library. While I didn’t expect much from the game, the end result actually left me extremely happy. K:MM actually won over a few of my very hard-to-please friends…I’m looking at you, Deux! There was indeed much love for the game, but I never expected to see a sequel get made. I mean, come on…how many others really had an interest in rolling a panda-shaped marble around a dessert kingdom?

Well, I guess a hell of a lot of you liked the premise! Hudson has said that the first game actually did really well for them, which is why they jumped on development of a sequel. That puts us where we are now, with the recent release of Marble Saga: Kororinpa. Sure, the title may be confusing when compared to the last game, but who the hell cares?! We get more wacky marbles, more nonsensical landscapes to traverse, and even Balance Board support! Good to have you back, Kororinpa.

What Works

Marble physics - There’s literally one thing to do in this game, and that’s roll a marble around various levels. If the marble didn’t control well, the whole game would be shot. Lucky for us, the marble physics have been tweaked this time around to make for an even better experience. While you may think the marbles are a bit ’sticky’ at first, that’s only because you have a small selection of marbles to work with. Once you unlock other marbles (with different difficultly levels), you’ll find a marble that works well for you. Some slip, some slide, some seem like they’re stuck in mud. No matter how skilled you are in marble-rolling, there’s a marble that’s just right for you.

Controls - The Kororinpa series is still one of the best uses of the Wiimote to date. Hudson got it so right when SEGA got it arguably wrong with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. While I thought the wand-style grip from the first Kororinpa was just fine, this time around they’ve added a horizontal grip. So basically, you hold the Wiimote in NES-style positioning, and then twist/tilt/turn to navigate the levels. Seriously, between these two modes you should be perfectly fine. I have absolutely zero gripes about controls…and in this type of game, that’s a very good thing.

Level design - This time around, Hudson really went all-out on the level construction. About halfway through the first world, you’ll end up seeing a bunch of variety in the way levels are constructed. While each world retains a theme (desert, spooky, arts/crafts, ect.), the actual level layouts and paths are really planned out well. You’ll definitely find yourself both entertained and challenged. Not only do you have to make it to the goal, but you’ll need to grab gems along the way. Add to that special green gems and another item to collect, and you’ll be twisting the Wiimote in all sorts of directions to hunt down your objectives.

Music - While not as good as the first game’s soundtrack, MS:K still has a lot of great tunes. You’ll definitely find yourself humming along with level tunes. You might even hum them through your teeth, as you fall to your death over and over. The soundtrack is fun, perky, and nicely matches the different locations. I wouldn’t mind having this collection on my iPod.

Modes and features - All the modes that were in the original Kororinpa are back, plus some new ones. Multiplayer has gotten the jump from two to four players, there are time trials charts to challenge yourself with, a very workable stage builder, user-created level sharing, online rankings, download levels created by Hudson, and there’s even exclusive Balance Board levels. Sure, the design of these balance board missions may not be up the snuff with the main game, but it’s definitely an extra worth checking out. Just seeing effort put into all the extra goodies is a plus in my book.

What Doesn’t Work

Map - As I said above, each level features multiple items to pick up. There are main gems that need to be collected in order to open the goal. Finding these is never a problem. The issue comes up with the secondary items. These are well hidden, especially when you get later into the game. Other than slowly navigating levels to find these items, you can pause the game an access a scrollable map to hunt them down. Unfortunately, the map doesn’t really let you look at the levels as you’d like to…you have to work around the available options. I found myself really studying the opening level preview, which rotates the entire playspace once again. It’s definitely doable, but it’s not optimal.

Camera - The game’s camera does a good job of keeping up with the action, but when you play a game where you’re constantly worried about flying off of edges, I’d sure like to have some more control. There really aren’t any camera controls to speak of. You have to leave the direction up to the game itself. Like I said, it does do a good job, but I like to have a set of free camera controls just incase things get dicey.

Frustration - You will indeed find yourself ready to whip the Wiimote across the room from time to time. It’s the same type of feeling you get from all games of this style. Monkey Ball, Marble Madness, Kororinpa…they can drive you to the point of insanity when you can’t navigate a level after the 50th try. It’s not really a downside for me, because I know that element exists in this genre. For others, it might be quite a painful experience.

Marble Saga: Kororinpa is a fantastic follow-up to the original. I’d say it even manages to best what Kororinpa: Marble Mania pulled off. There are some minor complaints that might nag at you once or twice, but overall this is an extremely solid title. A game built perfectly for Wii controls, and a franchise that I hope to see continue on for the console’s lifespan.