Floating Runner: Quest for the Seven Crystals

Floating Runner and The Quest for The Seven Crystals was a 3D action-platformer released on the PSX in 1996 and developed by XING. The game centers around a once-peaceful Crystal Land, brought to harmony by six magical crystals, and fated to ruin by the evil King Zaurer, who tainted them with chaos. A righteous priestesses and greedy bounty hunter are all that stand between the land's kind citizens and an eternity of fear.

These two brave soldiers -Lay and Cress- are your choice of playable characters. Both control exactly the same, and both are capable of the same things: jumping, running, shooting, and dodging. They can fire while performing any other action, and dodge left or right infinitely and instantly, ensuring they control rather fluidly for a pair of early-age polygonal protagonists.

Choose your savior of existence.

And they had better, because Zaurer's twisted worlds sure don't take it easy on them. Each stage commands its own theme, both through the aesthetic and architecture. Ancient underwater caverns are illusory and harbor many deceptive jumps, while the depths of a ferocious volcano overflow with a gauntlet of enemies. No two of the fourteen stages feel alike, and all of them bring the player to someplace new, surrealistic, mesmerizing, and most importantly: unique.

Digging into the meat of these colorful wonderlands, a pattern emerges in their design: they are built to carry you as high as possible. It's hard to put to scale on the PlayStation's hardware, but Floating Runner is perhaps the most vertically oriented 3D platformer there is. Even the game's few hazards, from boulders to spiked pillars, are little more than literal stepping stones to higher places. It's a beautiful way to build progression, and its only downfall -pun intended- is that one can't actually see just how high they've climbed.

As bewitching as it is bizarre.

But a world would be nothing without something to inhabit it. In this case, the stranger the better. The enemy design presents an eerie feeling of familiar animals twisted into something else. Rat-like creatures scurry and leap about, featureless wasps swarm you aggressively, and snakes slither around spastically. When confronted with enemies like this -not only native to a specific world in appearance, but in behavior- the game shows a strong, persistent personality.

Sadly, all of this can seem rather confusing -and even unfriendly- to first-time players. You're given unlimited continues, and it's perfectly possible to dash through stages in disinterest. Only when met with an obstacle not as easily overcome are you forced to consider your actions, which could easily become cause for frustration. There is meaning to this madness, however, and the key lies with the player's patience.

If eventually prompted to take things slower, either through trial and error or curiosity, another layer of Floating Runner is revealed. Hidden throughout the six worlds are several secret weapons, extra hits, and something far less tangible: experience. Gaining new weapons encourages experimentation, eventually revealing the above-mentioned enemy design, and in turn better preparing players for precision platforming. The more you're willing to learn, the more rewarding the game becomes.

Go left instead.

This, appropriately enough, is best expressed through the sole boss battle. If hastily rushed to, the final confrontation with Zaurer will only offer tedious torment. But, if ascended to slowly, it reveals itself for what it truly is: a climax in mirror to your own. Every attack thrown is a perfect reflection of skills learned and obstacles overcome: as vulnerable to perception as Floating Runner itself.

In that way, the game speaks volumes more about itself than I ever could. Hidden amongst initial confusion and exasperation is a beautiful work woven together with powerful personality and surrealistic allure. Whether a fault in the game's design, or creative commentary on its own nature, Floating Runner is only as memorable as you allow it to be. Make your climb a good one.

Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns Again

The Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns Again is a licensed game released in 2011 and developed by Griptonite Games. It is in fact two games released in tandem under the same title. One is an action-platformer utilizing motion controls and a heavily cinematic approach to mimic the structure of the television series, and the other is a puzzle-platformer in the vein of Lego Star Wars or The Lost Vikings. I'll be talking about the latter.

The story and presentation of Dr. Blowhole Returns are entirely faithful to the television series, featuring the same voice cast, self-aware humor, and expressive (although not as much) characters. And while it also emulates the rounded episodic nature, each event neatly drifts right into the next, ensuring the overall story is both self-contained and enjoyable as a whole.

The actual gameplay centers around the four titular penguins, and navigating them through increasingly complex stages using their signature abilities. While things start out slow, and take a while to build into something more, the slow introduction of gimmicks for each character climaxes by the end of the first world, ensuring everything beyond it is far more entertaining.

Nearly every stage begins with the penguins at individual corners of the map, and tasks you with re-uniting them to reach the goal. Thanks to the above mentioned abilities and variety present in the level obstacles themselves, there's a surprisingly distinct feeling to each outing. This is achieved not only through consistently fresh variations on core puzzles, but an occasional introduction to an entirely new obstacle, or a bit of personality from the show itself made into a context-specific mechanic.

While the puzzles don't often require much head-scratching, they do demand actual thought and attention. Between moving each penguin where they're needed, the level obstacles, and the pleasantly organic humor, the game is always entertaining. Repeated concepts are given new spins throughout, and much like the narrative, the game mechanics drift forward seamlessly, creating a very satisfying conclusion in the final chapter.

Even aside from the puzzle-platforming goodness, there are hidden chameleons throughout each stage for a bit more challenge. They offer no bonus when collected, and are almost entirely removed from the rest of the game's design, but are a fairly entertaining diversion. In addition, there are three somewhat standard mini-games -with surprisingly entertaining quirks- to be purchased with snowcones found in surplus during the adventure.

All of this blends together in an ultimately well-rounded, thoroughly enjoyable package. It presents the player with approachable, thoughtful puzzle design, drenched with copious amounts of bubbly music, charming voice acting, and unlockable entertainment. Through and through, Dr Blowhole Returns is a very good example of a solid licensed game.