Platforming as stale as the concept of a boxing kangaroo.
There was a period in the life of the Super Nintendo and the Genesis when the market was flooded with 2D side scrolling platformers. At the time, it was tough to wade through the junk to find the gems. Sure we still have the same problem today, but it happens in different genres on the current generation of systems. With the introduction of the GBA, I'm afraid we're staring right into the eyes of another 16-bit rehash/remake flood of 2D platformers. Kao the Kangaroo is one such Sonic/Mario wannabe that is hampered by poor game mechanics and unoriginality.
Kao has a decent look to it like most of Titus' GBA games have recently. The character sprites are well drawn and animated. The backgrounds are full of color, and the game moves along at a speedy pace. The downside to colorful backdrops and speedy gameplay is that it makes it difficult to follow the action on the GBA's screen. The enemies appear to blend in to the scenery making for cheap hits during the stage, and if you are running at high speeds, you'll never be prepared for enemy flying at you from the other direction. It just gets too blurry, and the refresh of the screen can't keep up.
So while Kao is nice to look at, it falls apart during gameplay. The control is sharp. All the special moves come out with ease, but it's these very special moves that lend to the broken mechanics. What's the tried and true method to take out an enemy in a side scrolling platform game? Bop em on the head, right? Sonic took this basic concept and added a pinch of uniqueness like spin attacks. Mario threw fire. Kao ran the gamut on special moves, which in and of itself is no fault, but the execution falls way short.
At its simplest, you can jump and punch in Kao with the two face buttons. The jumping (platforming) elements in the game are tight, and that is a reflection on the sharp controls. The punch button on the other hand is practically useless. The little jab that Kao throws barely reaches out past the little pouch on his body. Therefore, it's barely usable for defeating enemies. It's no good for enemies on the ground and too unreliable for taking out enemies running at you or flying in the air (considering you have to be practically touching the enemy to make contact with the boxing glove). To make up for this lack of regular attack, the developers threw in a few more special moves that can hit the opponent. First and foremost, there is no jumping on the enemy's head by conventional means. No, you have to perform a special jump by hit the R trigger in the air. If "special" jumping isn't your cup of tea, then you can also perform a tail whip by hitting down+B. This in combination with the regular punch attack may help you take out most of the enemies. Hitting up+B throws a boxing glove straight across the screen to take out bad guy hovering on the platform you want to jump to, but these thrown gloves are in limited supply, so don't miss! There is not a good default way to attack, and all the special moves do not make a deeper playing experience.
Something else that bugs me is the cheapness involved after taken a hit. In most games, you are invulnerable after an attack. Kao is no different in this regard. After you get popped by a baddie, you flash and take no damage for a brief moment. The catch is that the collision detection is not turned off, so even though you aren't taking damage, the enemy can still push you around. Let's say you jump at an enemy on a platform and whiff your punch (highly likely). He hits you on your way down, and while you are flashing, he continues to push you backwards until you fall off the platform to your death. How nice.
That pretty much sums it up. Kao is simply a good-looking game with broken play mechanics. The precise control makes it playable, but it will seriously try your patience with its pathetic combat system. All I really want is to pounce on their heads. You can do much better in the area of platforming on the GBA than Kao the Kangaroo.
