Nikoderiko: The Magical World is the breakout title of VEA Games and they went big for their major debut. A mascot platformer in 2024 with music composed by the David Wise, you might know Wise from a little game called Donkey Kong Country? It’s clear that the developers had a clear idea of what they were going for when they began development, and when it comes to platformers it’s hard to go wrong with nostalgia.
But is this the right time for a mascot platformer? Especially one with a brand new character who lacks the iconic brand recognition of bigwigs like Mario or Crash Bandicoot? In my opinion, there’s never a bad time for a mascot platformer, but does Nikoderiko deserve to stand among giants?
Nikoderiko: The Magical World
Developer: VEA Games
Publisher: Knights Peak
Platforms: Windows PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X
Release Date: December 6, 2024
Price: $29.99
In Nikoderiko players take on the role of mongoose explorers Niko and Luna who encounter a mysterious island. However they’re not alone, as the cobra Baron Grimbald is also on the island, and he has greedy plans for it and its inhabitants. Along the way, the two mongooses (mongeese?) meet new friends among the island’s eccentric inhabitants.
Gameplay takes part in two different forms, first is traditional 2D platforming, second is 3D platforming segments that spice things up. You get the best of both worlds and neither one is the main focus, both are equally important parts of the game. In classic platformer fashion, Nikoderiko isn’t shy with having cheeky secrets, invisible walls, destructible obstacles, and now and then there are secrets hidden to the side right at the very end or the beginning of a stage (check the left!). Clearly VEA Games knows their stuff when it comes to level design.
Enemies don’t quite hit the same high note as the level design, in particular the cobras that have drills and can’t be slide-attacked from the front just ruin the flow of the stages in my opinion. Boss fights are just the right amount of challenging and thankfully the days of limited lives and restarting the entire game are long gone (retro purists, you can boo me all you want but you know I’m right).
There’s also some control issues, for some reason the D-Pad can be used to play, but not in some menus. There’s also the ability to go from a ground pound directly into a slide, but if you’re using the joystick to control Niko it happens way too easily on accident. The game feels like it was made to be played with the D-pad.
This might be off topic, but too many games inspired by older franchises are needlessly afraid of appearing too similar. I’m not going to do Nikoderiko a disservice by pretending it’s not clearly inspired by Donkey Kong Country even down to its minecart sections, bonus areas, and collecting gold letters to spell out NIKO instead of KONG. We both know what’s going on here.
But so what? We’re being failed on multiple fronts, especially platformer fans. We get a new Mario game once every five years, and far too many “precision platformer” indies, but where are the whimsical mascots and stages that are relatively easy to clear but difficult to 100% with all collectibles? Who said that other developers can’t pick up the slack when the old developers have moved on? I’m certainly not complaining that VEA Games does what Nintendon’t.
Getting back on track, Nikoderiko made the right choice tapping David Wise for their music. The laid back island vibes of the first world stages has an optimistic tone and sets the stage for Niko’s heroics. It’s clear that Wise gave it 100%, I’d go as far as to say most fans will find one song on par with “Stickerbush Symphony”. The little musical stings and environmental sounds tie the whole thing together.
Ultimately, Nikoderiko: The Magical World is the kind of game we need to see more of. Nikoderiko is an unapologetic homage to the classics and doesn’t get caught up in trying to be subversive of the genre.
Nikoderiko takes all the best lessons from the games of yesteryear, and presents them in a colorful package that lands firmly in the all-ages “easy to play, difficult to 100%” box with all the greats of the genre.
