Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Step aside, Super Mario Sunshine--it's time for me to play some Shake Kids!

At long last, "the day" has arrived.

No, not the day I sell my body (or soul ... or whatever else) so I can afford to buy a PC Engine LT and still have some spending money left over for other games and systems.

Rather, it's the day when I can finally start playing through the classic (not really) Japanese PlayStation platformer, Shake Kids!

Actually, I've already spent about an hour with this delightfully odd import, so why don't I share a few early impressions of it here rather than make you wait for its eventual "Great Gaymathon" review?



Before I chat about Shake Kids' graphics and gameplay, though, I thought I'd share a few thoughts on its packaging, which can be seen in photos throughout this post.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to say about this Digital Kids-developed, On DiMand-published title's cover and disc art, or even the contents of its instruction manual, as all of it can be summed up with what sometimes seems to be the Internet's favorite word: meh. (The game's logo is especially atrocious, if you ask me.)

To be honest, its likely some would describe its graphics, soundtrack and gameplay as "meh," too, although I'm personally finding both aspects to be at least somewhat appealing in the early goings.

A good part of the appeal for me is in the game's oddball setting and premise--the latter of which puts players in the shoes of one of two characters (a fairly generic-looking boy or girl) who, for some reason currently unbeknownst to me (I can't understand the story), use cocktails shakers as weapons against the assortment of baddies they encounter during their side-scrolling adventure.


Strangely, said cocktail shakers quickly return to their owners after they've been thrown, as if they're chrome-plated yo-yos rather than shiny bar implements. Most enemies can be taken out with a few well-placed hits, by the way, although that's not the only option made available to players. Another: after scooping groups of baddies into their shakers, gamers are transported to an alternate reality that can only be described as a disco-ball-topped dance floor, where they shake their butts (and everything else) until the trapped enemies expire.

As for why you do this: I have no idea. It's cute and reasonably fun, though, so who really cares? (The same can't quite be said about the rest of Shake Kids' gameplay, I'm afraid, which, at least in the early stages, is too straightforward for its own good.)

All of the above is portrayed in rather rough (graphical) fashion, it has to be said. Of course, it's clear from the second you start the game that this title's makers, like many of their counterparts at the time, struggled with the transition from sprites to polygons.

Still, I find its blocky graphics to be pretty charming in a Rankin/Bass Productions (of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" fame) sort of way.



I do wish the game's artists and designers had gone a little further with its look, though. Too often, Shake Kids' locales and even enemies are the definition of drab. A few more touches like the house that's shaped like an octopus (encountered at the very beginning of the game) could have made the final product so much more enticing.

Thankfully, drab is the last word I'd use to describe this import-only title's music. Of course, it's hard to hate on a soundtrack that's so full of energetic, late-1990s flair.

I'll continue to poke and prod at Shake Kids! in the coming days and weeks in the hopes of experiencing enough of it to be able to produce yet another "Great Gaymathon" review. In the meantime, you may enjoy checking out this YouTube clip, which shines a light on a number of the elements I've mentioned here.

16 comments:

Justin Difazzio said...

Yikes. And...yikes. That video...so late 90s. So polygonal...so muddy. Interesting concept, though.

michaelstearns said...

Glad to know the music at least is good, that was one of the things that really struck me about the video when I saw it before (I imagine the chances of finding a ripped soundtrack are slim to none). Good music can really make a difference in a game like this.

sharc said...

holy shit, someone else that played shake kids


this game is so deliriously bonkers that it kind of makes up for how mediocre it is.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha ha! You always have the most spot-on responses, Justin. And, yes, this game is *very* late-90s--in pretty much every possible way :)

thegaygamer.com said...

I wouldn't say it's amazing or anything, Michael. And some are sure to say it's cheesy. I like it quite a bit, though.

thegaygamer.com said...

YES! I bought it simply because of how bonkers it is. I mean, kids who attack enemies with cocktail shakers, mentors/bosses who are cocktail shakers (I think), trips to alternate-universe disco lounges, etc. What's not to love? Oh, the gameplay? Eh, at least it's not terrible. Kind of boring? Yes, but that's OK with me in this case :)

Roddrick Allen said...

Well well. No wonder you took a break. This game certainly looks like an interesting play.

Kimimi said...

With adorable box art like that it's got to be worth a go :D

michaelstearns said...

I liked what little I heard! :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, Roddrick, it's certainly interesting. Good? I wouldn't go that far :P If you can find it for a few bucks, though, and you like weird games, I'd say go for it.

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, maybe if I can find some easy way to rip the soundtrack, I can send it to you. i don't suppose you know anything about that??

thegaygamer.com said...

You like the box art, Kimimi? Actually, I think the main piece of art is nice enough, but I kind of wish the cover had been designed a bit better. Oh, well, that's not why I bought the game--in this case :)

michaelstearns said...

I do not, or at least I didn't before now. :) But I wasn't able to get anything that worked on my machine, so I can't say if there's really an easy way or not! No worries about it, but if it's something you want to try messing with a bit, I was trying the sound programs at Zophar's domain here: http://www.zophar.net/utilities/psxutil.html

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks! I'll give it a look. I dumped a few PCE, PS1 and Saturn *games* back in the day, but I don't think I've ever dumped a soundtrack. I'll see what I can find out...

michaelstearns said...

By the way, the one thing I did know before is that it's possible to more or less play the raw files via winamp plugins. I have plugins for Saturn and PSX audio, which I think is super cool! So there's that method and there's also dumping to a wav or other audio format as well. You might have already known that, but now you definitely do. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

I didn't know that, Michael, so thanks for sharing it! I'll do some digging into all of this myself this weekend, OK?