Classic NES platforming fans, rejoice. Venture Kid succeeds where even Mega Man’s creator failed when trying to capture that classic Blue Bomber feel. Even with minor flaws, Venture Kid will scratch the itch for Mega Man, and if you’re lucky, scrub the memory of Might No. 9 from your brain.
If you are looking for a stroll down Mega Man-memory lane, Venture Kid offers a solid nostalgia trip down the side streets of the genre’s general neighborhood. Platforming feels tuned to the best examples of the era. Taking heavy influence from classic NES titles, Venture Kid captures the 8-bit age with pitch perfection, even if it misses the mark in other places.
Addictive and challenging 8-bit platform, run and gun homage to Mega Man. Probably my favorite in the genre. Plus, it has multiple modes and difficulty levels to round out the gameplay and make it enjoyable for anyone. And the music, some of my favorite chip tune tracks ever.
Great Platform Game inspired by the Mega Man Series. Nice Gameplay, very charming Level-Design, beautiful Soundtrack. Summarized: The Game is a lot of fun!
All in all, Venture Kid is a retro platformer that plays fairly well, but lacks the excitement or inspiration of the Mega Man series it tried to model. With such a wide spectrum of games in this genre that push the limits of what an action-platformer is capable of, something so vanilla is going to get lost and overlooked. Unless this is the first such game you’ve ever played, you’ve likely seen everything offered here somewhere else.
For short, nostalgic blasts of fun Venture Kid succeeds in almost every respect. While there's fun to be had here, it's painfully clear that, just like playing the game itself, everything is just going through the motions. The excellent soundtrack may even be enough to warrant a dabble, but with nothing new brought to the table, there's no reason to spend your hard earned cash, when the games that this owes so much to its design and creation can be purchased. There are a lot worse than this, sure, but be aware that once completed the first time, multiple revisits are unlikely. Fun? Certainly, but with little variation in gameplay or level design there is not enough for this to stay interesting in the long term. With a little more risk-taking in development, a craving of individuality, and a creative spark, Venture Kid could have gone far.
Venture Kid is the sort of game that understands how blatantly it borrows from previous genre luminaries yet makes no effort at even attempting to surpass them; this is very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ sort of experience. Bearing that in mind, it’s inevitably the kind of game that you’ll spend a few hours on, think “Well, that was… fun”, then move on and never return to it. Still, it does what it sets out to do – copying the Mega Man formula – and, when viewed as the sum of its parts, it does a reasonable job. If you’ve played all the Mega Man games to death and simply must have more, you could do a lot worse than playing through Venture Kid. If you don’t fall in this camp but are still looking to scratch that retro action platformer itch, then we’d suggest you pick up one of the numerous Mega Man collections already available on the eShop instead. Why play the imitation when you can ha ve the original?
Venture Kid tries so much to pay tribute to the old 8 bit games, starting with Mega Man, that it got lost along the way. Without any original content to show, this mobile game delivers nothing new on PC or Switch, and lacks the length or level design of the great games it constantly quotes.
"Venture Kid"
Reviewed by: Carless Yen
Developer: Snikkabo AS
Publisher: FDG Entertainment
Platforms: Steam, Switch
When you first see Venture Kid it is impossible to think it wasn't inspired by the iconic Mega-Man games. So many similarities from the look of the main character, the enemies, from collecting power-ups from bosses. So many things that really mirror the original classic. Is that so bad though? It surely wasn't to me. I really loved playing this title, and couldn't step away from it.
You play as Andy a young kid trying to stop the evil Dr. Teklov from building a dangerous weapon disguised in his fortress in space. Sounds a lot like Mega-Man there as well i know. You battle through 9 levels all with unique levels and bosses. I actually enjoyed some of the bosses more then original Mega-Man bosses. Some really made you think and prepare for them. Bosses like giant cats, Grim Reapers, and even Mummies. I won't spoil any more, but they are really cool, and fit the level designs well. The power-ups you receive from them are different as well. Things like double jump, bottle rockets, boomerangs come in handy as you make your way through the levels.
The level design is great. It is very much 8bit with awesome chip tune from Matt Creamer. Some of the levels I enjoyed more then Mega-Man as well being that there are more then one direction you can choose to go. Many secrets are hidden, and that is a very pleasant change to the genre.
There are also different modes to be played, and even a easy mode for the newbies to Mega-Man clones. Something I very much think was needed, because some of the Mega-Man franchises felt nearly impossible to complete at times. I think it does very well in emulating all the things we love about the original at a very affordable price. The game is a little short I give it that, but there is tons of replay value, from finding all the hidden items, to just being so fun you'll certainly return to it over and over. I really see this being a game people would enjoy speed running as well. Especially Nintendo fans.
Pros: Great Chip tune music
Unique Bosses and Power-ups
Plenty of replay and speed running potential
A very good Mega-Man clone
Spot on controls on all Plats
Tons of hidden items
Cons: I really can't think of anything but game length
Overall: 9.3 One of the best Mega-Man clones out there. great introduction to the genre for young fans. A can't miss for fans Nintendo fans.
What do I think of Venture Kid? It is very reminiscent of the Mega-Man games with its level structure and always ending with a difficult boss. With said boss rewarding you with an item that empowers you to beat the next boss. Each power helps you move little closer to your goal, but I would have liked to have seen more creativity in some weapons.
There’s a range of different modes to play such as Classic, Adventure and Survival mode. As well as one hidden mode to unlock.
There’s even extra incentives to keep playing after you’ve beaten the game. For instance there’s treasure hidden in every level and even achievements to unlock.
My only real negatives are there are no online leaderboards for speed-running runs or survival mode. Furthermore, I would of liked to have seen extra content with a more lasting appeal.
The game does offer 3 difficultly settings if you want to increase the difficulty of your runs. However, for most veterans of platforming titles, Venture Kid will be completed in few hours at most.
It’s not the most in-depth platformer and takes inspiration from other well known platforming heroes. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that I’ve enjoyed my time with Venture Kid. It’s a pleasant romp through some good old fashioned platforming.
And with a cheap price point, I think its worth picking up.
SummaryVenture Kid is a lovingly crafted 8-bit retro action platformer that goes beyond just pixels and chiptunes. It shines with excellent level design, highly entertaining action levels, responsive controls and a great variety of bosses.