Kao the Kangaroo (2000)

When my mom brought “Kao the Kangaroo” home, boxed and all, I did not know what to expect. My little child brain was filled with joy when I first booted it up. It is, and always will be, a classic game that defined my youth, and even today, I still find it fun to play.

In the core, Kao the Kangaroo is a Sonic and Crash Bandicoot rip off that wanted to start a new franchise. You are a cute, little, yellow kangaroo with red boxing gloves and a high-pitched voice. The story is cliché but child friendly. A hunter stole your little Kangaroo buddies, and you need to rescue them. You venture trough different levels and, in the end, fight the hunter and kick his ass.

This is already the first major plus of this game; the levels and their design. There is so much variety and different themes, it is really impressive for a game like this. You first start in the jungle, go to the south-pole, infiltrate a boat, go to ancient Rome, ride a speedboat, go to space, and finally to a tropical island. No level is the same or looks alike and it is just good fun to play them.

The graphics are jolly and colorful. For its time, I still think it looks fine, even today. The animations are nice and run smoothly. There is no clipping or falling trough platforms or anything like that, so overall, I think it is really well done.

There are some boss stages and vehicle stages to complete that are so much fun. The bosses are stupidly easy, but well thought off. The snowboarding, jet ski and crocodile drive levels are the most fun I had with the game.

There is a problem with this game, however. It is a platformer and the only thing that does not work that great, are the controls. The controls are horrendous and stiff and turning, jumping and hitting enemies is all so slow and stiff, it is unplayable at times. Especially the combat. You just wiggle your boxing gloves forwards and hope for the best. There is no indication that you are about to hit first, instead of the enemy. This can be frustrating at times.

What sets Kao the Kangaroo apart for me, is the excellent music. Every stage has its own unique track and they all sound just glorious. It has no right to be this good. I cannot really explain why I liked it so much but this game, along with two other games, are the only ones in which I downloaded the complete track lists and still play them in the background when working or gaming sometimes. It is crazy good and that is all I have to say about it.

The game did not age that well in modern society, especially with the Political Correctness climate we live in now. Play the Maze and Tropical levels of this game, and you will see that the native inhabitants are all very stereotypical. If I were to publish screenshots from this game today, of those levels, I would be burned at the stake.

In the end, Kao the Kangaroo is a surprisingly good game that faded into obscurity. For me however, it is one of the most fun games I have played in my youth, and I will always hold it dear.