Review
Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri Review (PS2)
Anime clichés and platform-puzzling abound in this upgraded version of the PSP, but was it even worth the effort taken to port it to a new platform?
It’s worth noting – just as a general interest, trivia kind of side note – that Tokobot’s producer, Keisuke Kikuchi, is also the producer of Tecmo’s PS2 survival horror series Project Zero. That’s not particularly relevant to anything that happens in the game or in the way that the game plays, but it is an important bit of background knowledge in terms of what Kikuchi can achieve. Project Zero – which some of you might know better as Fatal Frame – might not be the most polished series in many ways, but its atmosphere, story and group of characters and are exceptionally memorable. Tokobot Plus isn’t really exceptional in any way at all.
The game is a puzzle-platformer that casts the player as Bolt, a young boy studying the ruins of an ancient civilisation. Somewhere along the line, Bolt found the Tokobots – a group of helpful robots that he is about to command. They follow him around constantly, and can be grouped in three different formations: the circle form, in which they group around Bolt, the U form, in which they line up horizontally beside Bolt and the V form, in which they line up vertically behind Bolt. In each of these formations, Bolt and the Tokobots can perform Jointings, which can either be attacks or ways for the Tokobots to form ladders, or other assorted moves that help Bolt on his journey through the various ruins.
Throughout the game, the Tokobots will also learn Overdrives by defeating various other robots. These range from attacks that involve transformations into giant hammers or Samurai warriors, to the ability to turn into a crane, or shoot explosives. The latter types of Overdrive are used specifically when a floor panel allows you to – a kind of irritating hand-holding that never quite stops. Maybe it’s the fact that the game is aimed at a younger audience, but being told when to use specific powers and formations – often quite literally, as your navigator will give you rather unambiguous instructions on how to progress through the levels – just begins to grate after a while. Sure, there are a reasonable number of moves, but the fact that it’s so obvious when to use each of them renders it all a little tedious.
It’s not helped that the actual level design is woefully linear; though you will eventually have to re-enter levels you’ve completed, the initial run through has a very obvious set path. Nor is it helped by the art design of each level, which generally consists of an outside area – normally sunny, with either grass or sand – then an inside area, which all look a little bit similar. What’s even worse is the textures in each of these areas – in porting the game from the PSP, you would imagine that Tecmo might have put some effort into redrawing these, but it seems not. Instead, the game has a washed out, blurred look to it.
In fact, the whole game looks a little too much like an obvious PSP port for comfort, really. There’s a cramped feeling to much of it, though a lot of that can be put down to the title’s greatest flaw – its camera. When it’s not getting stuck on walls or trapped up against walls, it’s responding to the action in completely the opposite way to what you would expect. Ever wanted to fight numerous enemies while your character runs toward the camera? Probably not, but you may as well get used to it – it makes hitting an enemy an immense pain, especially when fighting bosses, and constantly makes the combat sections of the game exasperating.
The game’s music is appalling too, with repetitive disco muzak that seems to loop after only fifteen or twenty seconds. Fortunately, it’s set reasonably low, but it’s still annoying, and another example of just how average the game is.
The character design is also disappointing; Bolt is a mute, hat wearing young boy that could really have come from any piece of anime fanart, and his supporting characters aren’t any better. His navigator, Ruby, is a hard-working but ditzy young girl whose mouth sometimes gets her into trouble, and the owner of the lab is a knowledgeable but absent minded old professor. Then there’s Bolt’s nemesis, Taji: a young man who refuses to fight until Bolt can fully grasp the mysteries of the Tokobots. Getting the picture?
The Tokobots themselves are equally uninspired – the fact that they’re titular characters and the focus of the whole franchise should really have meant that a little bit of time was invested into imbuing them with some character, but they’re so dull it’s painful.
Tokobot Plus doesn’t really have much going for it at all. It’s not that there’s anything really badly wrong with the game – well, expect for the camera – it’s just that there’s nothing that’s terribly exciting about it either. If you’re after a badly paced, bland platformer with gameplay that seemed out of date when it appeared on the handheld two years ago, then look no further.
Top Game Moment: The few puzzling moments that actually involve a bit of serious thought are actually pretty compulsive – though they’re over far too soon.
It’s worth noting – just as a general interest, trivia kind of side note – that Tokobot’s producer, Keisuke Kikuchi, is also the producer of Tecmo’s PS2 survival horror series Project Zero. That’s not particularly relevant to anything that happens in the game or in the way that the game plays, but it is an important bit of background knowledge in terms of what Kikuchi can achieve. Project Zero – which some of you might know better as Fatal Frame – might not be the most polished series in many ways, but its atmosphere, story and group of characters and are exceptionally memorable. Tokobot Plus isn’t really exceptional in any way at all.
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| The time attack mode is far from enjoyable | Overdrives make killing enemies a good deal easier |
The game is a puzzle-platformer that casts the player as Bolt, a young boy studying the ruins of an ancient civilisation. Somewhere along the line, Bolt found the Tokobots – a group of helpful robots that he is about to command. They follow him around constantly, and can be grouped in three different formations: the circle form, in which they group around Bolt, the U form, in which they line up horizontally beside Bolt and the V form, in which they line up vertically behind Bolt. In each of these formations, Bolt and the Tokobots can perform Jointings, which can either be attacks or ways for the Tokobots to form ladders, or other assorted moves that help Bolt on his journey through the various ruins.
Throughout the game, the Tokobots will also learn Overdrives by defeating various other robots. These range from attacks that involve transformations into giant hammers or Samurai warriors, to the ability to turn into a crane, or shoot explosives. The latter types of Overdrive are used specifically when a floor panel allows you to – a kind of irritating hand-holding that never quite stops. Maybe it’s the fact that the game is aimed at a younger audience, but being told when to use specific powers and formations – often quite literally, as your navigator will give you rather unambiguous instructions on how to progress through the levels – just begins to grate after a while. Sure, there are a reasonable number of moves, but the fact that it’s so obvious when to use each of them renders it all a little tedious.
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 |
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| You need to defeat the overdrives in order to use their powers | Upgrading the overdrives makes them considerably more powerful |
It’s not helped that the actual level design is woefully linear; though you will eventually have to re-enter levels you’ve completed, the initial run through has a very obvious set path. Nor is it helped by the art design of each level, which generally consists of an outside area – normally sunny, with either grass or sand – then an inside area, which all look a little bit similar. What’s even worse is the textures in each of these areas – in porting the game from the PSP, you would imagine that Tecmo might have put some effort into redrawing these, but it seems not. Instead, the game has a washed out, blurred look to it.
In fact, the whole game looks a little too much like an obvious PSP port for comfort, really. There’s a cramped feeling to much of it, though a lot of that can be put down to the title’s greatest flaw – its camera. When it’s not getting stuck on walls or trapped up against walls, it’s responding to the action in completely the opposite way to what you would expect. Ever wanted to fight numerous enemies while your character runs toward the camera? Probably not, but you may as well get used to it – it makes hitting an enemy an immense pain, especially when fighting bosses, and constantly makes the combat sections of the game exasperating.
The game’s music is appalling too, with repetitive disco muzak that seems to loop after only fifteen or twenty seconds. Fortunately, it’s set reasonably low, but it’s still annoying, and another example of just how average the game is.
The character design is also disappointing; Bolt is a mute, hat wearing young boy that could really have come from any piece of anime fanart, and his supporting characters aren’t any better. His navigator, Ruby, is a hard-working but ditzy young girl whose mouth sometimes gets her into trouble, and the owner of the lab is a knowledgeable but absent minded old professor. Then there’s Bolt’s nemesis, Taji: a young man who refuses to fight until Bolt can fully grasp the mysteries of the Tokobots. Getting the picture?
The Tokobots themselves are equally uninspired – the fact that they’re titular characters and the focus of the whole franchise should really have meant that a little bit of time was invested into imbuing them with some character, but they’re so dull it’s painful.
 |
 |
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| The best thing about the bonus levels is the static camera | Hideous character design anyone? |
Tokobot Plus doesn’t really have much going for it at all. It’s not that there’s anything really badly wrong with the game – well, expect for the camera – it’s just that there’s nothing that’s terribly exciting about it either. If you’re after a badly paced, bland platformer with gameplay that seemed out of date when it appeared on the handheld two years ago, then look no further.
Top Game Moment: The few puzzling moments that actually involve a bit of serious thought are actually pretty compulsive – though they’re over far too soon.
