Support NeoGAF

[daydream]

A new game by Daisuke 'Pixel' Amaya, creator of Cave Story, 'Kero Blaster' follows a frog with a gun in his quest to.. clean up teleporters? Yes, Kero is all about business. Working for C&F, a company that develops teleportation technology, his task is to rid their teleporter pods of the strange black goo that has infested them. Originally titled 'Gero Blaster' and slated for iOS only, Pixel rebooted and reworked the game, resulting in what we now know as 'Kero Blaster'. The game is rather different from Cave Story as it is not a metroidvania, but a more action-oriented, side-scrolling platformer/shooter.​

Release Date: May 11, 2014
Platforms: PC, iOS
Price: $7.99 (game); $9.99 (game + soundtrack); $4,99 on iOS
Developer: Studio Pixel

Buy it here: http://playism-games.com/games/keroblaster/ (for DRM-free version, nets you a Steam key once it's on there), iTunes

(Note: It is thanks to Playism that we get to play an English version of this and other doujin/indie titles out of Japan on release date! Coincidentally, May 11 marks their three year anniversary. A great way to celebrate, if you ask me!)

Pixel released 'Pink Hour', a short, free episode that is presented as a prologue to the main game.


(click image to download from Playism; click here to download from iTunes)

My impressions:

I think it's a great little five minute thing for several reasons:

1) It hints at the basic narrative premise and character constellation.
2) It gives a taste for the gameplay (the jumping is very Cave Story-like in its floatiness, but the game is much more of a run & gun-affair, more horizontally oriented and "gamey" for sure - there will be hearts & lives)
3) It features two or three music tracks that already sound promising.
4) It possibly hints at the level of difficulty (which would mean that Kero Blaster will be quite tough).
5) It features two (Edit: four since the full game has been released!) endings which indicates that the same can be expected from Kero Blaster.
6) It embraces the recent trend of indies putting out little supplementary episodes to their games (Night in the Woods and Kentucky Route Zero being just two fantastic examples).

The soundtrack will be available on Playism as a separate purchase ($4,99) or bundled with the game ($9,99). Click the image above for some samples!

Destructoid - 9/10

If Cave Story was Amaya's answer to Super Metroid, Kero Blaster is his Mega Man X. It's dense and perfectly paced, just begging to be replayed over and over. If I were to have to introduce someone to the genre of 2D action/platformers, it is probably the game that I'd give them, as it starts off easy-yet-engaging, and ends with giant bosses, swarms of enemies on screen, and everything else you could want in the genre. It's a game you may beat in a day, but will be playing off and on for a lifetime.

Touch Arcade - 5/5

Aside from my gripes about some missing bells and whistles we've come to expect in modern apps, the worst thing I can say about the game is that it ends. Even then, the game almost immediately encourages you to pick up and start playing again, and makes it worth your while to do so. I've no doubt that, like Cave Story, I'll be replaying this a lot in a future, and just like in the case of its predecessor, I'm confident my appreciation for it will only grow in the process.

Pocketgamer - 8/10

This is retro-sloshed shooting at its finest, a balanced and intelligent platforming action game that slips on rose-tinted spectacles and lets you relive the golden age of the 2D side-scroller from the comfort of your iPhone.

KeroBlaster is a rewarding, hugely enjoyable experience that manages to be pretty darn hard, while still making sure you've got a smile on your face every time you play it.

Destructoid interview with Pixel and BudokaiMR2 - PAX East 2014

It was originally kind of based on a comic he (Pixel) used to make, that he wrote when he was in university. [...] It really is a very different kind of game. He said he wanted to make something different than Cave Story, but, you know, his specialty is 2D action games. [...] He decided to go with a more tight level-based system this time.

Polygon report on Playism, Kero Blaster and Doujin in general (feat. GAF's own 'thetrin')

One of Playism's other titles, Kero Blaster, is being built by a more established developer, Cave Story creator Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya. At PAX East, he was programming Kero Blaster — working on the game's soundtrack — as players demoed his game just a few feet away.[...] The side-scrolling platformer-shooter, which controls surprisingly well on an iPhone, is coming to PC and iOS in May.

(reviews as they come)

(Thanks to thetrin for his generous cooperation, and to my sister for her work on all the images!)

 

[Instro]

Been looking forward to this.

 

[Tomohawk]

Didn't know it was on PC already, will get it.

 

[duckroll]

Two more days! I think the most surprising thing about replaying Pink Hour a few times is when I found out it actually had an alternate ending. That was great.

 

[Bob Dobalina]

Is it considered port begging if I ask if anything more ever materialized related to the picture of this game running on a 3DS?

 

[Dog Problems]

I think I'm going to check out the iOS version first. I'll get the PC version (and soundtrack) real soon.

 

[duckroll]

Is it considered port begging if I ask if anything more ever materialized related to the picture of this game running on a 3DS?

You can direct your questions on that to Nicalis. They were the ones teasing that iirc, and knowing them there's probably actually a deal in place to release it on the 3DS in the year 2063.

 

[OnPoint]

Give me this game now.

 

[PandaPedinte]

Nice OT!

 

[metsallica]

Awesome job on the OP, daydreaming (and trin / day's sis!). Wonder if any of the bigger sites will cover this. IGN or a Giant Bomb QL would do wonders.

 

[Aeana]

Still shocked that there's so little buzz about this game considering its pedigree. I'm sooo excited.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Oh man, this is going to be great!!

This is playism exclusive for pc right?

 

[GaussTek]

Yeah, I'm so excited for this one too!

Oh man, this is going to be great!!

This is playism exclusive for pc right?

Yep, it's Playism exclusive on PC. Hope it also comes to Steam in the future (and that Playism sends keys for those who bought it there too! hehe).

 

[metsallica]

Still shocked that there's so little buzz about this game considering its pedigree. I'm sooo excited.

It's honestly making me really sad. We should be on page 10 (100ppp, duh) by now.

 

[RM8]

Will buy and play both versions. Looks amazing

 

[daydream]

Nice OT!

Awesome job on the OP, daydreaming (and trin / day's sis!). Wonder if any of the bigger sites will cover this. IGN or a Giant Bomb QL would do wonders.

Thanks guys! This game deserves all the exposure it can get. I don't know what it is, though, people seem very preoccupied with E3 predictions and sales numbers at the moment. I don't know if they're genuinely not interested or if they're just oblivious to the existence of this game. I'm guessing it's the latter.

Unless they get magically lucky, indies have to put a lot of energy in marketing, spreading the word, drumming up some excitement, etc. If they don't, it can be fatal. I doubt it will be in this case, but it's a downright bummer that so few people are aware of this. I'm guessing it won't be long till we get the first 'why is this not a metroidvania' complaints, either.

Anyway, to end on a positive note, like I wrote in the OT, I really liked Pink Hour. The secretary character is adorable. I have high hopes for the cast of KB as I feel like creating quirky, likeable characters and light-footed witty dialogue is one of Pixel's strenghts.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Like others have said, it blows my mind that this has received little to no real chatter here or on any of the big gaming sites.

I'm so hyped for this.

 

[WhereAreMahDragonz]

I had absolutely no idea this was happening. I will definitely pick this up; Cave Story was amazing and is one of my favorite games ever.

Great OT by the way!

 

[Quote]

Seeing as my handle is from Cave Story, I guess I have to buy this.

 

[CorvoSol]

I'm really kind of excited for this game. I like indie pixel platformers as much as the next guy, and Cave Story was awesome. I don't really have money for it at the moment, but I'll keep it high on my wish list.

 

[Dark Schala]

I think this thread got buried earlier by all of the news/E3/debate threads today. Didn't see it until now!

Still have to try out Pink Hour, but I'm moreso looking forward to the Kero Rhythm soundtrack. That one has the potential to live up to the hype it's been getting in some circles.

 

[Vegivo]

Looks cool 😃

 

[LeleSocho]

I really don't like Kero's sprite and the poorer than Cave Story art style is a bit disappointing but other than that if it's half as good as Cave Story it has good chances to become one of my favourite games of all time.

 

[Hyperactivity]

from Cave Story creator....

Will buy at any cost necessary
Looked at video, style this time is a little more meh, but like it otherwise

 

[Baroni9]

I didn't realize this was being released so soon. Looks great and I'm glad it's coming to the PC now.

 

[Pro from Dover]

I'm all over it like something foul to mean something good.
(Great OT, OP.)

 

[Dash Kappei]

I hate to admit I don't like the art. Hopefully that'll change once I see it in motion.
I wonder how it controls on iOS

 

[gbrewski]

I got to play this on Pixel's iPhone at PAX . Awesome guy.

Does anyone know if an iPad optimized version is in the works?

 

[luka]

I downloaded pink hour yesterday but got distracted by work. Guess I'll try it now!

 

[thetrin]

Great OP, daydreaming!

I'm so pumped to finally put out Kero Blaster. I spent all of yesterday playing through the game to make sure everything was working fine. Normally I'm not a fan of QA, but I loved playing every second of Kero Blaster.

For those that don't know, Amaya-san wore the frog suit at the booth at PAX East. We have some amazing pictures of him in the frog suit looking from a bridge at the Boston skyline.

I really really wanted to use some of those pics as promotional material for the game.

 

[daydream]

Great OP, daydreaming!

I'm so pumped to finally put out Kero Blaster. I spent all of yesterday playing through the game to make sure everything was working fine. Normally I'm not a fan of QA, but I loved playing every second of Kero Blaster.

For those that don't know, Amaya-san wore the frog suit at the booth at PAX East. We have some amazing pictures of him in the frog suit looking from a bridge at the Boston skyline.

I really really wanted to use some of those pics as promotional material for the game.

Thanks! Yeah, I came upon the frog suit when watching a PAX video and since I wanted to include his quote on frogs, anyway (since I personally really do hate them!), I thought it would be funny to include him with his suit.

 

[Kientin]

Got both endings on Pink Hour. I think I've adjusted to the jumping so I'm good to go! Can't wait!

 

[thetrin]

Got both endings on Pink Hour. I think I've adjusted to the jumping so I'm good to go! Can't wait!

Just a quick note: Pink Hour is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than Kero Blaster (though Kero Blaster is no slouch), so if you've adjusted to Pink Hour, you're good to go.

 

[FSLink]

This somehow fell out of my radar, I had no idea this was coming out so soon. I'm definitely in, I love Cave Story.

 

[Kieli]

I'm a very big fan of Cave Story, but I'm not too hot on the low-fi graphics here. Cave had a charm to its graphics (as simple as they were); here, it seems like Kero could be mistaken as any other NES platformer.

 

[daydream]

I'm a very big fan of Cave Story, but I'm not too hot on the low-fi graphics here. Cave had a charm to its graphics (as simple as they were); here, it seems like Kero could be mistaken as any other NES platformer.

No way. I think it has an extra flourish that differentiates it pretty clearly. Indie <-> retro console connections usually don't work out.

I also suspect that, as an artistic vision, the artstyle of KB might be even more accomplished and, above all, coherent than Cave Story, but we'll see.

 

[flowsnake]

Just a quick note: Pink Hour is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than Kero Blaster (though Kero Blaster is no slouch), so if you've adjusted to Pink Hour, you're good to go.

That's kind of a relief...

 

[NewFresh]

Still shocked that there's so little buzz about this game considering its pedigree. I'm sooo excited.

Agreed. I figured Pixel would draw more attention than this.

 

[godofcookery]

It took me entirely too long to start cave story. Wont make that mistake here.

 

[soothe.]

really wish this had an osx port well, i get to play it on ios at least! but would much rather play this on a gamepad.

 

[thetrin]

So, we tried to surprise everyone by putting the game up early, and it kinda killed Playism's servers.

We're working on it. (where are those old school under construction gifs when you need one?)

That's kind of a relief...

Kero Blaster ramps up in a different way, though I don't want to spoil how.

 

[erpg]

So, we tried to surprise everyone by putting the game up early, and it kinda killed Playism's servers.

We're working on it. (where are those old school under construction gifs when you need one?)



Kero Blaster ramps up in a different way, though I don't want to spoil how.

Get your wizards on the job:

 

[duckroll]

Gonna play more Blackthorne while waiting for the servers to be fixed lol.

 

[Ingueferroque]

Looks lovely. Will wait for Vita version.

 

[ErichWK]

I didn't know this was a thing!!! My hype is unfathomable.

 

[E_Darkness]

Looks pretty good and the music sounds good as well. I'll probably get the iOS version and get the PC version later.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Does anyone know if an iPad optimized version is in the works?

What do you mean? Game's obviously going to be a universal app.

 

[thetrin]

Hey all! Playism is up, and Kero Blaster is LIVE!

http://playism-games.com/games/keroblaster/

 

[metsallica]

Bought it while in line at Whole Foods! Can't wait to get home and play.

 

[ThatsMytrunks]

Is there any chance of this coming to Steam? I don't want to double dip on the same platform.