Dreamcast Star 'Kao The Kangaroo' Is Making A Surprise Comeback On Switch

That song in the trailer is giving me Trolls vibes! Also, the new Kao game is looking good, I like the redesign. I have one of the original games on Steam that I still need to play. Got it awhile back, but haven't gotten around to playing it. This series always interested me.

Looks like a decent snag. Obviously shines in the similar light of your classic 3D platformer like crash, banjo, super lucky tale… has anyone every played these games? Are they any good?

Cool-I’ll give it a go.

I don't know what this is, but it looks really freaking good

Thought this is a port. Well okay then, a reboot (from the OG studios? Well double okay then!) of Kao the Kangaroo, bring it.

Let's see some more 3d platformers.

@Sunsy
FYI, the song that being used on trailer was Move Your Feet by Junior Senior, have ever featured on DDR EXTREME USA PS2.

Btw, Yaaaay....!!!
KAO IS BAAACK...!!! 😃😃😃

@Anti-Matter That's awesome. It was also in Trolls, the main character Poppy sung it at the beginning of the movie. The movie has a lot of cover songs, this was one of them.

Looking forward to this, may give that PC version of Kao a go. I've been curious about this series for a long time, and I missed out on the Dreamcast original.

@TDRsuperstar2 - If "these games" you mean the ones you listed, then yes.

Lucky's Tale is pretty easy, like Mario mainline goal easy. But it has its charm and the movement makes the game enjoyable the entire way through.

Crash, more specifically Crash 4, is definitely an homage to the original trilogy cranked to 11. Very difficult in late game and 100% levels is no laughing matter, but solid follow-up to what made those games known.

Banjo still stands out even for its age, probably still one of my favorites due to the level design feeling very cohesive and not just "floating worlds in the sky."

As long as Kao meets the level of Yooka-Laylee, it SHOULD be good enough to enjoy.

@Paraka sorry I should have specified I meant the Kao games. I’ve played the rest of them, and they were all fantastic!

This looks remarkably similar to Crash Bandicoot, right down to the logo (the color and the font look really similar), not to mention the Crash 4-like key art with the shards and such. That's not a bad thing but maybe a bit unoriginal? The game looks pretty good, regardless.

Never heard of this, but I do love my 3D platformers and physical shown at the end seals the deal for me, count me in

Why does this look good?! I think because the art style reminds me of Jak and Daxter and i would kill for a Crash type remake of that.

Thanks Nintendo Life for doing an article about it. I do want this game.

The original DC game was a bit of a stiff and clunky mess, so any reboot of the series at this point was probably going to be a vast improvement especially since they took inspiration from the modern Crash games.

I have both Kaos on the gamecube. Not really a fan but will give this a try as I did enjoy new super lucky tale

I owned a Dreamcast but don't remember this game. It looks good, in a 2nd tier Crash Bandicoot way, a step down from Mario.

I remember watching Nitro Rad's review of the series, didn't think this franchise would make a comeback for modern platforms but either way this new game looks promising and i'm a sucker for 3D platformers so i'll make sure to look into this

@TDRsuperstar2 - For Kao specifically, he's been a flounder since conception. His first game is... Alright, nothing to special, but still enjoyable.

The rest of them since have been buggy messes and "gliding" movement, making gauging jumps really frustrating at times.

But from this video, suggests that the latter might not be much an issue, his movement looks smooth, just need to see the combat.

But this does give me hopes for a Vexx return.

Really had no idea what this was until yesterday.

@Paraka Interesting. I hadn't heard of this IP before but the upcoming game looks more promising than I thought when I read the headlines.

I agree with you about the other platformers.

Looks promising, hopefully reviews are good.

@Anti-matter the song was a UK top 3 and big hit internationally. There's more to life than DDR.

The video has a strange pace, but the game looks awesome

I was wondering how old that song from Junior Senior (Move Your Feet) was, so looked it up.. It was originally released in 2002 but became a (at least moderate) hit in Australia back in 2003.. so back when I was in my 20s.. where are the years going? 😱
Never heard of Kao the Kangaroo though, no not even in Australia (😁).. but then again, I never owned a Dreamcast or GameCube either.. It does look the kind of game that I would like though.. I am a big fan of Spyro and Banjo-Kazooie after all.

Me back in the early 2000: I see Roger's son (from Tekken) got his own game now.

Never thought Kao would get rebooted lol. Um, yeah, not excited or anything as the original wasn't much to write home about, but fingers crossed they can make a fine platformer here. Always room for one more

Looks interesting. They could just release a Sega Saturn or Dreamcast in NSO and give the old titles as advertising

@Banjo- - It had its history, that much I can say. Wasn't very good when you line it up to the others released at that time. With Ty, Wrath of Cortex, Jake & Daxter, Conker, Pac-Man World, and even Ratchet & Clank all releasing within the year Kao was.

@Paraka I see. I will check the new game, for sure. Good to have Crash and Spyro back and new ones like Lucky and Yooka-Laylee. Where are Banjo, Kazooie and Conker, though?😅

It definitely seems to be aping the look and feel of Crash Bandicoot 4. But I'm still happy to see the 3D platformer renaissance continue.

Does anyone know if I might like this game?
I do like 3D platformers.

@Banjo- - Sadly that's all on Microsoft. And MS isn't too known to make platformers consistently.

Likely all going to be archived on Game Pass hereon out.

This looks great! Its now on my switch radar.

@Greatluigi I never played the original, but this does look like something 3D platformer fans will love, and I love 3D platformers, and it looks great!

I didn't even know Kao was on Dreamcast, I thought his games were PC exclusive, being made in Poland when console base was pretty marginal.
I knew a new Kao game was in the works, but all I remember seeing previously was the character design. Looks more like Crash Bandicoot than his older self, who had more of a Yoshi vibe.

@Paraka Good luck, Crash and Spyro are own by Microsoft now. They'll be joining Banjo and Conker in Game Pass limbo soon. Banjo is just lucky he gets a once in a life time opportunity to hang out with the legendary Sega (Sega All-Stars Racing) and Nintendo (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) crew for racing and brawling.

It looks surprisingly good!

@Specter_of-the_OLED - Uhhhh, pretty sure that's what I just said.

@Greatluigi You kind of answered your own question!

@Paraka True, it's Microsoft's fault and as much as I love Series X I won't defend them. I hope that they can It would be a shame if they didn't make a new one now that not only they have Rare but Beenox, Vicarious Visions and Toys for Bob. The three of them are very good developers that make this kind of thing. Gregg Mayles still works at Rare and Grant Kirkhope would love to join the project as he's a huge Banjo-Kazooie fan (and the composer). I'd like Leigh Loveday to write the script and story.

@SmaggTheSmug Interesting Polish input. I checked and yes, the new Kao style is more Crash but looks like a kangaroo. The success of Crash's comeback probably motivated them and the game uses Unreal Engine 4 and looks good so if they don't mess the level design and gameplay up, it might be success.

@Banjo- - A distant possibility, but not likely. I do expect MS to downsize a lot of bloat within Activision, maybe even sell off studios. But the likelihood is still there, though minimal.

Best bets now is encourage the spiritual successors to step in. Yooka-Laylee was too much like B-K of old, but if Impossible Lair is anything to go by, they do take critique to heart.

Ah, 3d platformers, when games were more about fun and optional challenge, rather than frustration, being hard to be hard,... When the good games were replayable on harder difficulty with more player experience, not just unplayable because there was no fun way to gain that experience. I know, a massive in therefore automatically basically 'wrong' generalisation, but I welcome them back. Now yhat we've returned to WW2 shooters and circle strafe simulators, this return of a genre is the next big step back for gaming, and back isn't bad.

@Paraka Phil Spencer said they want the new studios to make games they want to make and bring old IPs back so I'm still hoping that Banjo-Kazooie and Conker come back.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/01/xbox-will-get-activision-blizzard-to-work-on-classic-franchises-says-phil-spencer

https://gamerant.com/banjo-kazooie-nintendo-switch-online-smash-bros-return-microsoft-activision/

I wasn't a fan of Yooka-Laylee.

I'm not him but I agree 100% (and I completed Yooka-Laylee 100% LOL).

@TDRsuperstar2 Super Lucky's Tale is fantastic!

I had a Dreamcast from launch day and it was my main system until the Gamecube arrived but I really don't recall Kao the Kangaroo. Perhaps it was so forgettable, I forgot about it.

Super Lucky's Tale has fantastic controls and movement, the characters are charming and the art style is nice, if they make a more ambitious, challenging and bigger sequel where you can also swim, it would be awesome.

....Kao gets a revival before Gex. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! What a cruel, evil world we live in.

@Grail_Quest And Bubsy got a revival, too!

@Banjo- Aaagh! Don't remind me! Insult upon injury!!

I read somewhere (I think IGN) where they pretty much assumed Kao was the Dreamcast's mascot... Imagine living in a world where the Sonic Adventure games are not the first thing you think of when it comes to mascot games. Damn.
Anyway, I own a complete set of DC games with Kao present by default, it wasn't really the most common game to find so I can only assume it didn't sell that well there.

@Grail_Quest 🤣🤣

Well, that's a surprise! Looks pretty cool. I think I'll know what I'll play this summer...

Looks like fun but never heard of this IP before now.

I like how they say "Dreamcast" classic, but I found out about this series on the PS2 with Round 2. It's still a decent game though. I love platformer goodness, so I'm excited for this

Just some reminder for who have never heard Kao before.
The game have GameCube / PS2 / XBOX version too.

@Paraka Nope that's what I just say, I don't see Crash and Spyro anywhere on your comment.

I had no idea this series was on Dreamcast, I'd only played it on Nintendo platforms.

...Though admittedly, I didn't know Sonic Adventure 1&2 on GCN were ports either growing up, I was always just confused to never see Sonic Adventure without the DX in any stores.

@Anti-Matter Round 2 is what I have on Steam, gave it a go this morning for a bit too. Liking it so far. I haven't played it, but I remember seeing the Dreamcast version of the first game a few times in the past.

Is mascot platforming coming back in style or something?

This looks like a crash ripoff. Even the thumbnail looks like crash 4.

@TDRsuperstar2
Crash is good, haven’t played banjo but liked yooka laylee, and luckys tail Is kinda average.

@Specter_of-the_OLED - Okay, so that's gets me curious what this comment means if I didn't specifically say anything with the words "Crash" or "Spyro."

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/01/dreamcast-star-kao-the-kangaroo-is-making-a-surprise-comeback-on-switch#comment6789436

Actually looks decent, I only remember the Dreamcast game back in the day although I never owned or played it