Nerd Mentality

REVIEW: Marble Saga Kororinpa

Posted May 14th 2009 by Yshua Machado.

When I was a kid, the video game industry was just developing and consoles were years from becoming commonplace in every doe-eyed, adorable, slightly A.D.D. , little boy's entertainment arsenal. In these dark days, we were forced to use our imagination to create our own adventures. My brother and I would collect as many random house items, anything from wooden spoons to shoe laces was fair game, in hopes of constructing a complicated course through which we could allow a marble to roll on it's own with minimal assistance.  If we succeeded there was much rejoicing and the prerequisite high five. If the marble didn't make it, we would of course blame it on each other and storm off to play on our own. Well once again, the media has somehow plucked an amazing, but forgotten idea out of my brain and turned it into an IP that we can all enjoy. Marble Saga Kororinpa, for the Nintedo Wii, employs the the simple concept of tilting the stage to guide your marble through a maze like course, while collecting items on your way to the goal. Easy. Until you become obsessed with figuring out which corners to jump over or bounce off of just to cut a couple of seconds off of each of your times!

When you start the game, an ant named Anthony explains to you that his colony is in danger, and you are the only one who can help him acquire the magic Sunflower in order to save them. Aside from a few comments about cookies and Anthony urging you to be careful when you get too close to the edge of a stage, there isn't much more interaction with your six legged friend. Lack of a cohesive story does not, however, detract from the fun.

From the world map, you select which stage and level to play, then you can select from over a dozen different marbles as your avatar. Each one has its own stat and skill rating as well as unique features (the 'cat ball' meows as it rolls and makes hilarious sounds when you roll into objects at high speed) Just before you begin each stage, a distant aerial view of the entire level is displayed; this actually proves pretty useful if you're interested in collecting all of the crystals and item sets in the game, specially since there is no camera control to speak of. The levels are more than just floating platforms to traverse, you have to maneuver around or utilize the countless obstacles littered throughout. You'll find anything from pinball bumpers that forcibly change your course, fans that blow you off of the edge and spring boards that will either help you across chasms or hurl you right over the side of the platform. There are even a few instances when you have to carefully tilt your marble to the edge and twist the entire level around so that you end up on what used to be the bottom or the stage. Other features include a decent multi-player mode where you can race to the goal against up to three other players, a stage creation mode in which you combine items collected in the main game to create different pieces and obstacles that can be added to your custom levels as well as more than 25 levels designed to be played with the Wii Fit balance board. Controlling the game this way feels a bit less precise but the novelty makes up for it.

Closing Comments

With its intuitive gameplay, intelligent level design and a fair amount of customization, Marble Saga Kororinpa would have benefited from a slightly better camera vantage to avoid unnecessary frustration on some of the trickier turns and a little fine tuning of the sensor to prevent the entire world from sometimes literally spinning out of control. Otherwise, this game provides a fun and somewhat addictive experience. Just don't be surprised if you hear that cat marble's annoyed meows in your sleep.

Tags: Marble Saga

Posted in: Reviews, Gaming

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