#24 - Kick Master

Back when Kid were making games and not visual novels for the Playstation 2, they made some kick ass games that flew under the radar. Whether it was because they released their shit when a console became more and more irrelevant or everything else seemed more appealing at the time, they were pretty damn overlooked. The only game most people remember from these kids is Pepsi Man for the PS1, but ladies and gentlemen, I'll always remember Kick Master above all else.

A lot of it probably relates to nostalgia as the means of getting items is a bit silly - like they scatter about and fall through the ground if you don't collect them in time. Not to mention that there was clearly not enough buttons for what they wanted to do as you'll find certain commands overlapping as you level up. While there are plenty of bosses, only about a third of them are original - the rest copy their moves. But looking past that, not to mention the fact that there are about 20 or so bosses, lies a great game that's a lot of fun to play through. It's always satisfying kicking a demon in the face and watching him blow up, as well as beating a tough boss. The spells - when you can find most of them, as levels have hidden passages - were varied enough to work and are surprisingly useful in the heat of battle. Besides my little issue with an attack or two overlapping, the controls are smooth and easy to handle, meaning death is simply your fault for not jumping far enough or getting hit. Finally, the soundtrack is *bleep*ing awesome. Goddamn, I love listening to the music. Sometimes, I'll just play to listen to the music. Certainly one of my favorite NES soundtracks, probably top 3.

Summary - An intense game about a guy whose kick was too deadly for the MMA circuit.
Score - 9/10

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