Kemono Heroes is a 2D action Platform Game for the Nintendo Switch, developed by Mad Gear Games and published in 2020 by Nippon Ichi. A release for other platforms (including Steam), published by JanduSoft, is planned for release sometime in 2024
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In a fantastical version of Japan inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, the Moon God Tsukigami has decided to wreak havoc, turning anyone who falls in the moon's gaze into stone. To save the day, four Ninja Masters band together and set out for Mt. Fuji to confront Tsukigami at the peak. They are:
- Fudemaru, The Leader and a fox with the ability to transform.
- Hanako, a flying squirrel who can glide through the air.
- Miyuki, a cat who can use her claws to climb to high places.
- Yu, a monkey who can climb across ropes & vines.
The game emphasizes Co-Op Multiplayer, allowing each ninja master to be controlled by a different person so up to four people can tackle stages in tandem. Each stage involves navigating platforms while beating enemies with a variety of weapons and skills, which can be upgraded periodically with money collected during gameplay. Stages comprise different areas throughout the game, and each area contains at least one boss that must be beaten in order to progress.
This game provide examples of:
- Achievement System: To reward the player for doing things like fully upgrading their weapons & abilities, performing certain actions in-game, or clearing the game with certain criteria. There's even an achievement for getting every other achievement.
- Asian Fox Spirit: Fudemaru, whose special Voluntary Shapeshifting ability is common among foxes in Asian folklore.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: Stage 3-3 involves riding a cloud through a storm that scrolls automatically. The same is true for the second run through, except that time you have to do it on foot.
- Bottomless Pits: As is typical for a 2D action platformer, bottomless pits are present here, though they only damage you like normal rather than being a One-Hit Kill, and don't override Mercy Invincibility. Unless you play on Hard difficulty, in which case they are a One-Hit Kill.
- Cat Ninja: One of the four Ninja Masters, Miyuki, is a feline ninja dressed in a purple and yellow version of typical ninja garb, wields a sword and throws kunai like the others, and can use her claws to climb walls in a manner not unlike actual ninja climbing tools like the shuko.
- Continuing is Painful: Depending on how good you are at the game, continuing can cause problems since it costs money to revive yourself. Money that could otherwise be spent on upgrading yourself, which means if you don't either take care not to die or otherwise grind for money to offset this, you can wind up underpowered for the later parts of the game, especially if you're playing on Hard.
- Double Jump: All four Ninja Masters can double jump.
- Dual Boss: Fujin & Raijin, the bosses of Area 3, are fought at the same time.
- Fake Longevity: Upon completing every stage once you're tasked with doing so again inside the Spirit World in order to reach the Final Boss. There are some changes made to the second playthrough though; you keep your weapon upgrades, some areas are structured slightly differently, and enemies - including bosses - are all tougher.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: During the first run through Area 2, the ghosts which turn objects into obake are completely intangible and can't be killed until they possess something. When you play through the stages again in the Spirit World however, you're also a spirit by that point so you can kill them just fine.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: The threat of being turned into stone by Tsukigami is taken seriously plot-wise because it's presumably permanent. But don't worry, if you get turned to stone during any stage where that's a hazard, it'll soon wear off.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: Two guys and two girls make up the Ninja Masters.
- Goomba Stomp: The ninjas can hop on the tops of enemies by connecting with a dive kick.
- Guide Dang It!: You can perform a long jump by jumping during a dive kick on the ground, but the game never tells you this.
- Hero of Another Story: The Tanuki warrior fought at the end of Area 2 is implied to be this, since he's the only fight in the game who's only testing you and isn't actually out to get you. Further alluded to when you encounter a statue of him among many others that appear to be made in commemoration of noble warriors of the past, and when you meet him again in the Spirit World, he doesn't even fight you again but instead just congratulates you on making it so far in your journey.
- Jidaigeki: Takes place in a Japan with this sort of setting.
- Meaningful Name:
- Each of the Ninja Masters have names that relate to them in some way. Fudemaru essentially means "bushy one" which fits a fluffy fox like him, Hanako means "flower child" to go with her flowery disposition, Miyuki means "beautiful snow" in reference to her white fur, and Yu can either mean "hungry" or "assistance & repaying kindness" since he's one of the heroes.
- Tsukigami is the god of the moon in this setting, and its name literally means "moon god".
- Minimalist Run: Invoked by the "Broken Run" achievement, which asks the player to beat the game without ever entering the shop - meaning no upgrades to their stats or weapons, or any healing or stocking up on magic between stages.
- Monkey King Lite: Yu's headband and bracelets bring to mind the Monkey King proper.
- Moon Rabbit: The Minions of Tsukigami have protrusions on them resembling rabbit ears, offsetting their otherwise very otherwordly/alien appearance.
- New Game Plus: Continuing from a finished run lets you start a new one with all of your upgrades available from the start.
- Ninja Log: How the life system works - when a character dies, so long as they have a life left, their body will simply turn out to be a log while they drop back into the stage no worse for wear.
- Not the Intended Use: If you spam the grappling hook at just the right angle while hugging a wall, you can quickly scale it without having to use Miyuki's climbing ability.
- Our Dragons Are Different: A huge Eastern dragon appears in the background of stage 3-3, and after the boss fight even serves as the mode of transport to the next area by letting the ninjas ride on it. Subverted during said boss fight, where it gets temporarily turned against the player and has to be avoided. It also shows up at the end of the game to save the ninjas from falling off of Mt. Fuji.
- Power Copying: Fudemaru's transformation ability lets him use the attacks of any creature he can turn into.
- Proactive Boss: Throughout the final stage of Area 3, the impending boss characters Fujin & Raijin will periodically fly in to attack the players before you can actually fight them. You can temporarily defeat them here for some extra money though.
- Retraux: The overall aesthetics of the game hearken back to The 16-bit Era of Console Video Games.
- Shout-Out:
- As described under Unorthodox Sheathing, Fudemaru sheathes his sword like Haohmaru after beating a boss.
- The achievements have quite a few of these, such as one for collecting enough treasure in-game titled "DA-DA-DA-DAAA!" while another, for killing enough ghost enemies in a certain way, is called "I'm Not Afraid of No Ghosts".
- Stock Ninja Weaponry: Each character wields the stock katana and kunai from the start, while bombs become available as well after progressing enough.
- Sword Beam: One weapon upgrade obtained through progression allows the ninjas to shoot a beam from their katana by holding down the attack button.
- Taken for Granite: What Tsukigami inflicts on the inhabitants of Japan. If a player is hit by a blast from the moon in any stage where it's a hazard, this will temporarily happen to them as well.
- Tanuki: One boss is a tanuki Samurai.
- Technicolor Ninjas: The Ninja Masters all wear brightly colored outfits, though given they're not trying to be particularly stealthy in this case it's a non-issue.
- Tengu: The game's first boss.
- Trapped in Another World: The true fate of anyone Tsukigami turns to stone - when this happens to the ninjas themselves, it's revealed that the soul of everyone who was petrified is trapped in the Spirit World. Only with the use of a MacGuffin the ninjas acquire can anyone return to their body and escape.
- Unorthodox Sheathing: Fudemaru's victory animation after beating a boss has him throw his sword in the air, turn around, and catch it in the sheath, just like Haohmaru.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Fudemaru can acquire the ability to transform into any non-boss enemy by hitting them with a Paper Talisman. It only lasts for a set period of time or if the player undoes it manually by pressing the button again, and taking damage causes him to revert instantly.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Neither Fudemaru nor Yu wear a shirt, though Fudemaru's cape hides this better than Yu's scarf.
- Wall Crawl: Miyuki's special ability allows her to climb walls using her claws.
- Weird Moon: The moon turns into an eye ball whenever it's about to turn something to stone. It's also apparently floating within the atmosphere right above Mt. Fuji, since it lands on top of the mountain once Tsukigami is defeated.
- Yōkai: Plenty serve as enemies throughout the game. Fudemaru himself might be a Kitsune if his transformation ability is innate.
