FREEDOM PLANET (WIIU)
Sabrina DiDuro’s Freedom Planet would go through a peculiar journey to launch. First started in 2011 with the intention of being a Sonic fan-game, the independent developer feared the shadow of that franchise would loom over her creation and a new property would allow more creative freedom, with the story and characters requiring a complete redesign as a consequence. After a successful Kickstarter campaign and launch on Steam in 2014, GalaxyTrail would bring the platformer to Wii U just over a year after. Luckily for Nintendo fans, Freedom Planet’s charms and quirks would translate perfectly to the console. Still a comforting throwback to the days of old, while refreshing the formula to appeal to modern gamers.
On the planet Avalice that is governed by three nations, Sash Lilac and Carol Tea are two friends who enjoy secluded life in a hidden treehouse. But the source of the planet’s energy is under strain, as each nation relies on the Kingdom Stone to power their lifestyles and this naturally teeters the factions towards conflict. Throw in an invading alien force who is stirring the pot behind the scenes and the situation becomes a ticking time bomb. But with the heroes of the story becoming involved, along with help from Torque the shell-duck and Milla the Hound puppy, there may be hope still. The story is rather substantial, told through lengthy and fully voiced cutscenes which paint a surprisingly dark tale at points. The voice work is inconsistent, with some characters sounding like they auditioned for Resident Evil. However, this doesn’t detract significantly from the game’s strengths and while this yarn can seem a tad predictable in the early stages, it’s worth sticking with.
Freedom Planet is an immaculate love letter to 16-bit platformers and has plenty of its own ideas too
Freedom Planet essentially picks up where 16-bit gaming left off: a 2D platformer with speed pads, a barrage of alternate paths that can lead to secrets and a rising difficulty that crescendos at the end. Each of the 14 stages is typically split into two acts with a boss fight at the end, often dwarfing our playable character. These prove a real highlight, with skill and patience required to overcome their patterns. Level design is great, with a healthy dose of corkscrews and loops that ape Sonic the Hedgehog in its heyday and plenty of incentives to slow and explore. Rather than the typical Rings system, characters can take hits and regain health using red leaves while gems earn extra lives after collecting 200. You can freely continue should you lose all your lives, though on the harder setting, a restart costs gems. The difficulty settings prove well balanced, with lower settings allowing for more relaxed play with regeneration while Hard more closely apes the classics GalaxyTrail was inspired by.
Each character’s move set also feels modelled on icons of 16-bit. Lilac builds speed the quickest and can perform a dragon boost move, seeing her bouncing off the walls like Ristar, meaning she’s the best for Time Attack as she can bypass normally longer paths. Carol is a slower brawler, with a flurry of kicks proving potent against the myriad of foes. Gas canisters allow her to ride her motorcycle, a fun way to speed past foes as well as access higher ground. Lastly, Milla is quite unique. She can dig certain ground to unearth goodies, pick up objects to throw and float high in the air. She can also conjure a defensive shield to reflect attacks and even gelatinous cubes to chuck at foes. While you end up repeating levels a few times during subsequent playthroughs, they feel different enough thanks to how each character handles, often setting you on a different path that the others cannot take. Couple this with some unique stages only certain characters can explore and each playthrough feels substantial enough (and different enough) to warrant replaying.
Each character’s move set also feels modelled on icons of 16-bit. Lilac builds speed the quickest and can perform a dragon boost move, seeing her bouncing off the walls like Ristar, meaning she’s the best for Time Attack as she can bypass normally longer paths. Carol is a slower brawler, with a flurry of kicks proving potent against the myriad of foes. Gas canisters allow her to ride her motorcycle, a fun way to speed past foes as well as access higher ground. Lastly, Milla is quite unique. She can dig certain ground to unearth goodies, pick up objects to throw and float high in the air. She can also conjure a defensive shield to reflect attacks and even gelatinous cubes to chuck at foes. While you end up repeating levels a few times during subsequent playthroughs, they feel different enough thanks to how each character handles, often setting you on a different path that the others cannot take. Couple this with some unique stages only certain characters can explore and each playthrough feels substantial enough (and different enough) to warrant replaying.
There are two modes of play. Adventure Mode includes all the cut-scenes while Classic Mode streamlines the experience with almost all the story removed. Time Attack lets you replay each stage while aiming to trim down your completion time (a most satisfying endeavour) as well as mop up any missing collectibles. Each stage features 10 cards which reward concept art, music tracks and sound bites. Performing certain feats also rewards Badges, something akin to achievements, and some prove tougher than others such as completing the game without losing a life. For the asking price of £10.99, it’s quite a substantial game.
Freedom Planet’s key strengths lie within its presentation, a near-perfect throwback to the era that inspired it. Bright and colourful sprites, a cavalcade of oddball creatures to fight and gorgeously crafted backgrounds culminate in a tremendous visual style. The anime-esque designs of the world, with an almost-oriental culture of mythology, prove notable too. Performance is usually strong and beating each boss sees a stylish slow-mo effect come into play. The sound side, bar the whiffy voice acting, is also great. The soundtrack’s eclectic mix of guitars, synth and xylophone work very well, adding a distinctive flavour to each stage. The effects are appropriately retro, a bit crunched and fitting with the visual style.
Freedom Planet’s key strengths lie within its presentation, a near-perfect throwback to the era that inspired it. Bright and colourful sprites, a cavalcade of oddball creatures to fight and gorgeously crafted backgrounds culminate in a tremendous visual style. The anime-esque designs of the world, with an almost-oriental culture of mythology, prove notable too. Performance is usually strong and beating each boss sees a stylish slow-mo effect come into play. The sound side, bar the whiffy voice acting, is also great. The soundtrack’s eclectic mix of guitars, synth and xylophone work very well, adding a distinctive flavour to each stage. The effects are appropriately retro, a bit crunched and fitting with the visual style.
Freedom Planet picks up the baton from classic 16-bit titles like Sonic and Gunstar Heroes and runs with it, crafting a great throwback platformer. It plays extremely well, benefits from well crafted stages and feels nostalgic, while adding fresh touches to the games that inspired it. Those not groomed on those games may find the learning curve steep and the voice work is perhaps the one modern element that doesn’t fit so well. But when all the elements click together, it proves a gratifying adventure. Anyone with fond memories of the aforementioned platformers would do well to seek this out.
|
VERDICT
”Freedom Planet picks up the baton from classic 16-bit platformers and runs with it, crafting a great throwback platformer, if you can overlook of some minor frustrations.” OVERALL: 8/10 |