Heroki (NSW) Review

Releasing this Friday on the Nintendo Switch, the formerly mobile-only Heroki gets the review treatment this morning. Scope out why I wholeheartedly recommend the game with my review.

Fun takes flight... this time on the Nintendo Switch.

Over two years ago, I covered Heroki on my iPhone. The game was an absolute joy to play, and it reminded me of the classic types of gaming experiences that were offered by SEGA in the publisher's golden years. Now, Heroki is being self-published by the developer Picomy, and being brought to the Nintendo Switch. With analog and physical buttons being standard for this version of the game, Heroki manages to deliver and delightful time once again on an entirely new platform.

Heroki is a side-scroller where instead of running and jumping, our hero hovers and flies around the labyrinthine levels in pursuit of Emerals and other collectables, all the while reaching each level's goal. Levels consist of some mild and modest backtracking, usually comprised of hitting buttons to open gates and doors in other parts of levels.

Checkpoint markers aren't overly common in levels, but since you're usually returning to past areas in levels, it's not as much of an issue. This is because when you activate one checkpoint and then activate another, the most recent checkpoint is the one turned on while the first one returns to its original state. This means you can return to the first checkpoint to reactivate it and it will serve as your place to continue if Heroki's perishes mid-flight. In theory, you can merely switch between activating a level's two or three checkpoints to constantly record your progress in a level.

Take aim, Heroki, and then bash that enemy with that box!

Our hero doesn't have the strongest disposition to him, so Heroki has other means to take out enemies that stand, fly, hover, etc. in his way. Heroki can carry boxes and boulders, transport them through levels, and by holding the throw button, he can aim where he wants to chuck his cargo, in a fashion similar to Yoshi's egg-throwing in Yoshi's Island. Many times it's to smack a box or boulder into an enemy to defeat the dangerous creature blocking Heroki's way, but other times it's a TNT box to throw at a destructible wall or to carry crates from one section of a level to another to weigh down a switch. Heroki also has the ability to quickly descend, sometimes used to avoid pursuing enemies or hazards, while used more frequently to bash through clouds platforms which can block his progress.

Oh, it's no joke. This frog is about to croak.

In each level, there are five Emerals to collect, and these are the most important collectable in the game to gather, as at the end of each world, of which there are three with eight levels each, it's required of you to have a specific amount of Emerals in order to progress onward. It wasn't a roadblock for me, as I personally enjoyed going through Heroki's levels and thoroughly exploring every corner and area possible, but if you're merely rushing from the start of a level to its goal, not only will the adventure be a breeze but you also will have to return to levels to get more Emerals to proceed to the next world. Understandably, this can get quite irritating when you just want to get to the next world, destroying the pacing of Heroki in the process.

"My, what big teeth you have!"
"The better to guard this Emeral with!"

Other than Emerals, levels in Heroki have two others types of collectables. One of these are six gold letters that spell out HEROKI, as well as a hidden treasure chest that contains anything from more currency to special presents that show up in Heroki's home back in the hub town. Everything is hidden well with plenty of secret alcoves and areas in levels that require you to keep an eye on your surroundings for suspicious-looking walls, floors, and ceilings.

In order to 100% a level, you need to get every Emeral, spell out HEROKI, and find and open the treasure chest in one run. It can be vexing occasionally, as sometimes you're gated from returning to past parts of levels, meaning you're potentially locked out of a perfect run. Regardless, 100%-ing a level is merely an optional task to create more replay value in Heroki's relatively short campaign.

Heroki is about to make sure this particular puffer fish puffs up for the last time.

Outside of Heroki's 24 levels, the game has a hub town where you can do a variety of tasks and small quests for its denizens. Since there aren't any achievements in the Switch version, doing most of the quests in the town doesn't really serve a purpose other than earning lives and more currency, which is a bummer and confusing why in-game achievements didn't travel over from the iOS original. Currency collected in levels can also be used to purchase a wide assortment of items, such as lives, power-ups, and even new colorful trails that follow Heroki upon flight.

The ability to use an actual analog stick and physical buttons on the Nintendo Switch version of Heroki instead of touch controls like the mobile version makes it so there's a greater sense of precision in Heroki's movements. Touch is still possible for menus, but for everything else, there's more accuracy in using analog controls. Well, that's save for using a power Heroki learns after the first world, where holding down the X button allows the player to draw a line of any type on the screen to activate a gust of wind. There aren't too many calls for precision with this power, but when there are, the speed at which the cursor moves in addition to how imprecise the analog movements are make for a more difficult control setup than what was originally found in the mobile version. Trying to push a ball through a curved passage by guiding it through with gusts of wind can be an effort in utter frustration.

Heroki is a gorgeous game to look at, and part of that can be attributed to the jaw-dropping lighting on display in the game. Flying through a vine-filled vista while in the distance, the sunlight peaks out through a flower in the background is just an amazing sight to behold. Heroki is a beautiful game, and it manages to stay a relatively steady frame-rate the entire time as well, which is a great bonus. The music is suitably catchy and gels well with the flying, floating, and box-toting gameplay Heroki possesses.

Alley-oop! This cactus enemy is about to have a blast--literally!

While the analog controls bring both a blessing and a curse in some regards to Heroki, it was an absolute pleasure to return to Picomy's game with the Nintendo Switch version. The lack of in-game achievements cuts away some of the game's longevity, and locking progress behind collecting Emerals can be a bit of an annoyance if you aren't already hunting for them. That notwithstanding, for its relatively inexpensive price and the amount of entertainment I got from the game, Heroki takes flight and soars high with one immensely enjoyable game.

[SPC Says: B]

Review code provided by Picomy.

Heroki (iOS) Review

On SuperPhillip Central's march towards March, we have a new review to share together. It's a mobile game that is currently exclusive to iOS devices. It's Heroki, and it absolutely surprised me with its quality.

Fun takes flight

There are just some games that take you back to your childhood. For me, my childhood was defined by two video game systems: the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis. Both saw a wide array of mascots, but since we're talking about a game published by Sega for this particular review, let's focus on the latter. The Sega Genesis saw many mascots, obviously Sonic the Hedgehog, but many others such as Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, Alex Kidd, and many more. It's why it's so amazing that Picomy's Heroki looks and plays just like a Sega game from the publisher's Genesis days, and that is very much high praise.

Heroki has you taking the titular character with a propeller on his head for a spin through 24 colorful and delightful levels spread out across three worlds. In each level, you'll have to defeat enemies, dodge obstacles, hit switches and buttons to open doors, and reach the goal ring at the conclusion of each level.

Levels are spread out affairs where there is some backtracking in them; usually when you hit one button to open a formerly sealed door in a portion of a level you've already visited. The backtracking didn't really annoy me, save for the underwater levels where Heroki's movements are slowed down just slightly. Otherwise, outside of water, Heroki moves a decent clip, making any need for backtracking not as tedious as it might sound.

One of the 120 Emerils that Heroki can stumble upon. Can you collect them all?

Heroki himself has an arsenal of moves bestowed onto him. For one, he can grab and hold crates, and then he can aim and throw at foes to dispatch them (somewhat similar to how Yoshi throws eggs in the Yoshi's Island series). If Heroki needs to descend quickly, one tap of a button does this, also allowing him to crash through blocks made out of clouds.

This big blue croc stands/sits/rests between Heroki and this Emeril.

Each level is scored by how many collectibles you gather. In total, there are six golden letters to find which spell HEROKI, five Emerils that when you gather enough unlock new moves at the end of a given world, and one treasure chest that houses presents for Heroki's home or extra lives. These collectibles can be out in the open like many of the HEROKI letters, but to find the Emerils and treasure chests you'll need to search high and low, far and wide, and so forth. Many borrow from the New Super Mario Bros. playbook and place them behind fake walls, ceilings, and floors. However, each have a geographic hint to them such as marking or crack to assist.

Ah, the golden 'H'! The first of many letters to find in this level!

Outside of venturing through levels, Levantia is the safe bastion away from danger where Heroki can chat with the locals, stock up on helpful items, participate in various mini-games, and explore to his heart's content. While Levantia is a nice excursion to the game, it isn't by any means a necessary place to visit regularly unless you're eyeing some of Heroki's achievements.

There are three touch control styles to Heroki, and my personal favorite of these options puts a virtual joystick on the screen wherever you touch in order to guide Heroki around. The virtual buttons also allowed me to use his special moves such as a dashing bash through walls and doors, a move that slows everything down, giving the player enough time to draw a path for a wind gust. This wind gust is great for turning on fans, removing sand piles, dissipating poisonous smoke, and moving certain objects.

No worries-- Heroki is definitely pulling his weight on his adventure.

The other two control styles for touch controls are pushing, where you move your finger on the screen, and Heroki will move in the opposite direction of your digit. Finally, there is the pull option, where you drag your finger around the screen and Heroki follows.

A problem with all three of these control styles, however, is that you do not get an optimal amount of precision with any of them. Instead, there are moments where Heroki will move too far in one direction, perhaps even unintentionally run into an enemy, causing him damage. Thankfully, Heroki is such a beginner-friendly game, and there are plenty of checkpoints that death isn't too big of a punishment.

Don't mind Heroki, Mr. Cactus and Mr. Condor. He's just passing through.

If you have one (and you really should for some iOS games), an MFi controller works wonders with Heroki. Controlling the game is an absolutely joy with an actual d-pad and buttons, each assigned to a different power of our propeller-ed protagonist. Still, even without a controller with tangible buttons, Heroki is a pleasure to play.

Aside from being a pleasure to play, Heroki is also a pleasure to look at. The game is absolutely gorgeous, offering stunning characters models, colorful graphics, beautiful backgrounds, and everything running at a steady frame-rate for the most part. It's as if the artists got out a big fat crayon with the color name printed on its side being "awesome." The music of Heroki is suitably charming as well, bringing with it cheery themes that don't offend the ears by any stretch of the imagination.

Movement is a bit more sluggish when Heroki is underwater.

Like I said in the introduction of this review, Heroki really does feel like an artifact from the Sega's Genesis days-- obvious technological advances not withstanding. Although the touch controls are imperfect and there is some backtracking to be found that some might find tedious, Heroki is a well designed, breezy game that seldom failed to put a smile on my face. Whether it was while searching high and low for a level's hidden treasure chest or taking on the final boss in a dramatic showdown in the lightning-filled clouds, Heroki is a wonderful gem of a mobile game throughout its ten-hour duration. Fly on, Heroki. Fly on.

[SPC Says: B+]