Kung Fu Rabbit is a platformer that first premiered on iOS and Android devices in 2012. Since then it has released on the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and most recently on the PlayStation Vita.  Next week it will come to the PlayStation 3 as a digital title.  This title from Neko Entertainment was highly acclaimed and received several awards as a mobile title. Does Kung Fu Rabbit maintain this quality as it jumps to the PlayStation 3? Keep reading to find out!

Story

In Kung Fu Rabbit, the player controls the titular Rabbit who is a practitioner of Kung Fu.cm During the game the Rabbit must travel through 80 levels to save his disciple rabbits abducted by the Universal Evil, a group of black, gooey invaders. As a game that was originally designed for mobile platforms the story is very sparse and what is there is portrayed through brief still frame cutscenes, similar to what was used in Angry Birds.

Gameplay

As I mentioned in my introduction, Kung Fu Rabbit is a platformer and it takes a few cues from other successful games in the genre like Super Meat Boy as it uses a very similar wall jumping/sliding style.  As the player progresses from level to level the game adds more challenge through harder level design, moving platforms, and new obstacles. None of these concepts are new by any means, but they have been around since platforming games were invented and they continue to work here.

Throughout each level there will be 3 regular carrots and one larger golden carrot to collect. The golden carrot is worth multiple carrots and are normally in harder to reach spots of the level.  Once enough carrots are collected they can be used to purchase power-ups, upgrades, and other items from the Dojo. Due to the relatively small size of each level, there are no waypoints. Instead, dying means that the player is returned to the beginning of the level. This can be slightly frustrating, but there is an option to spend carrots to purchase a place-able waypoint for the level.

Graphics and Controls

Kung Fu Rabbit looks very much like a mobile game. The graphics are not ugly by any means, but the visuals combined with the interface has a very phone/tablet vibe.  This is of course unsurprising considering the game’s roots as it seems to be a direct port. The game is very colorful and is cute, but if you are looking for a game that is crisp and highly detailed this is not the game for you. Character design and models are pretty simplistic, but get the job done. Probably the most visually inspired portions of the game are the backgrounds in each level, but there are only a few of these and they are repeated pretty regularly.

The game has very simple controls and is easy to pick up. However, as I played I couldn’t help but think that perhaps this game would feel better with its original touch controls.  Jumps felt a bit floaty and controls generally felt a little imprecise. This only became an issue when precision was necessary in the most difficult sections and otherwise was not a huge issue.

Verdict

In the end, Kung Fu Rabbit is a pretty standard platformer. I enjoyed my the 3-4 hours (if you go back to collect every carrot in every level it could easily take double that time) it took me to play through 80 levels in the game, but I am someone who enjoys platforming games. If you are not a fan of this genre, then there is nothing about Kung Fu Rabbit that will make you change your mind. Even though I really enjoyed the game, I still struggled to shake the feeling that I was just playing a mobile game on my PlayStation 3. If you enjoy playing mobile games on large screens or enjoy solid platforming then this game is definitely for you!

Recommendation Level: Medium!

*Kung Fu Rabbit will be released in North America on August 19th. It will be available digitally on the PlayStation Store. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review.

Discuss:

Will you be picking up Kung Fu Rabbit?