Welcome to Palombia!
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure is a 2½D platform game based on the Marsupilami franchise. It was developed by Ocellus Studio, published by Microids, and released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Steam on November 16th, 2021. Unlike most licensed games, which focus on the cast of the work they are adapting, Hoobadventure focuses on a mostly original cast, with the setting and the Marsupilami species in general being the main thing it's adapting. The story: three Marsupilamis named Punch, Twister and Hope accidentally release an evil ghost from a sarcophagus that washes up on the Palombian beach. The ghost proceeds to turn the local wildlife into his brainwashed minions, and it's up to the Marsupilami to defeat him and free the animals.
Mechanically, Hoobadventure is similar to platformers like Donkey Kong Country Returns, Rayman Origins and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. The game originally had three worlds: City, Jungle and Temple, but a free update in December 2022 added the dinosaur-themed Hidden World. Each level has several feathers or dinosaur eggs to collect (the quantity varies by level), as well as a hidden "dojo" where you can complete platforming challenges to earn tickets that let you access bonus levels.
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure provides examples of the following tropes:
- 2½D: The game is a 2D side-scroller, but has a 3D artstyle similar looking to games like Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.
- Advancing Boss of Doom: Several levels in the Hidden World feature a Spinosaurus chasing you. You can't kill them, and a single touch from them (while not knocked unconscious by running into something) results in a One-Hit Kill.
- All Deserts Have Cacti: There are cacti in the Hidden World. Some of them are even growing sideways out of walls.
- All There in the Manual: The 3 playable Marsupilamis are only named in promotional material, and even then it's never specified which name applies to which.
- Amphibian Assault: Some of the enemies are hopping frogs. Green ones can be stomped, but purple ones are invincible.
- Aquatic Sauropods: Some of the platforming sauropods can be found in water up to their necks.
- Big Bad: The evil ghost is the one responsible for Mind Controlling the inhabitants of Palombia, and the main threat in the game.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: There are beetle enemies as big as the Marsupilamis (who seem to be about the size of cats).
- Blackout Basement: The first Temple level has a spotlight following the player and everything else hidden in the darkness.
- Bonus Level: Each of the three main worlds has a stylized bonus level where you can grab hundreds of fruits to get extra lives, but you need enough tickets to access them (four tickets the first time, six tickets every subsequent time).
- Bragging Rights Reward: The Time Attack medals and gold fossils (awarded for beating a Cataclysm Mode level without losing a life) don't do anything other than showing that you met its requirements as well as contributing to 100% Completion.
- Brutal Bonus Level: When you finish the Hidden World, you unlock Cataclysm mode, which remixes the Hidden World levels to make them much harder, usually by adding more enemies and environmental hazards. You have infinite lives while attempting them though. Additionally, you earn a fossil for beating a Cataclysm level, and if you manage to beat it without dying, said fossil becomes golden.
- Button Mashing: You finish each level by mashing to eat a big fruit. In boss levels, you mash to beat up the boss in the end.
- Character Catchphrase: The Marsupilamis have the iconic 'Houba!', like in the original comic. It plays when you start the game, Start a level, unlock a new level, and at several other points in the game.
- Cranium Ride: You can ride matamata turtles, Pteranodon, and sauropods.
- Dem Bones: The evil ghost resembles a blue skeleton without legs.
- Dragged Off to Hell: After all of his crystals are broken, the evil ghost promptly gets forcefully dragged out of the dimension through a portal. Judging from the look on the ghost's face as well as him desperately trying to escape the portal, where he was sent to probably isn't a great place to be.
- Easy Levels, Hard Bosses: The game's levels are pretty easy when not going for 100% Completion, but the boss levels contain precise platforming, scroll automatically, and have less checkpoints than the main levels. That said, they're still not extremely difficult if you're good enough at platforming.
- Evil Laugh: The evil ghost laughs, points and even wipes away a tear if you get hurt in any of his levels.
- Excuse Plot: The plot is extremely simple, to the point where it borders on No Plot? No Problem! territory: A Marsupilami accidentally opens the sarcophagus of an evil ghost who then Mind-Controls the inhabitants of Palombia to work for him. The plot of the Hidden World DLC is even more simple: One of the Marsupilamis comes across a giant Springy Spore, jumps on it, and gets launched all the way to the Hidden World.
- First Town: The City world, a colorful Palombian town similar to the Sand Kingdom or Disney's Encanto.
- Fog of Doom: One level sees you platforming on titanosaurs whose heads are poking through the fog. Predictably, the fog kills you (or maybe it's the fall that does it).
- Gentle Giant Sauropod: All the sauropods in The Hidden World are harmless, either platforming for the player or being background characters.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: The boss fights with the ghost are like this. You advance on the boss, chasing him through dangerous platforming gauntlets until he gets tired and stops to gasp for air, giving you the chance to attack.
- Goofy Feathered Dinosaur: The Hidden World features feathered theropods, and thanks to the game's cartoon art style, they look pretty goofy, though several of them are fearsome.
- The Goomba: Coatis are the most common, and therefore weakest enemies in the game. Their only attack is Collision Damage, and their small size allows them to be dodged easily. Similarly, the Hidden World contains Velociraptors who behave the same as Coatis, with the only differences being their appearance and larger size.
- Ground Pound: Of of the Marsupilamis' moves, the "Spin Attack" consists of the Marsupilami rapidly flailing its tail while moving downwards quickly, decimating all enemies below (Except for Spiny-type enemies).
- Headbutting Pachy: The Hidden World have Pachycephalosaurus that run around with their heads lowered. Unusually, these pachycephalosaurs have spikes on their skull roofs and tails as protection from tail and roll attacks, though they can be defeated by jumping on them.
- Indy Escape: Several times. The Jungle has gigantic rolling fruit, the Temple has classic rolling boulders, and the Hidden World has a rampaging Spinosaurus. Getting hit by any of these results in an instant death.
- Invincible Minor Minion: Any enemy with a blue aura around them, like bats and some of the frogs, is invincible.
- Jungle Japes: The fittingly-named Jungle world. It features plenty of vegetation, bouncy mushrooms, and enemies such as bats, beetles and frogs.
- Law of 100: Collecting a hundred fruits gives you an extra life. Unfortunately, lives are pretty meaningless.
- Level in Boss Clothing: The only "boss" in the game is the evil ghost, and his levels are all about chasing him through a typical platforming gauntlet. If you get to the end-of-level button mash, you've already won.
- Mayincatec: The Jungle and Temple worlds have Aztec and Inca motifs, and the evil ghost wears an Inca-style headdress.
- Meaningless Lives: Fruit are so common that it becomes nigh-impossible to run out of lives, even with the Law of 100 in place, similar to New Super Mario Bros. 2.
- Mercy Mode: The easiest difficulty setting outright disables you from taking damage, with the only way to die being any One-Hit Kill hazard such as Bottomless Pits and Spinosaurus.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The game's Big Bad is a skeletal Mayincatec-themed ghost with Mind Control powers.
- No Name Given: The evil ghost is never named in-game.
- Palette Swap: Punch, Twister and Hope look different (one is the standard yellow, one is dark blue, and one is orange with a hibiscus in her hair), but aside from some cosmetic victory animations, they are completely identical.
- Plot Coupon: Feathers in the three main worlds and dinosaur eggs in the Hidden World. You need a certain amount to unlock hidden paths and additional levels.
- Portmantitle: The title is obviously a portmanteau of 'Houba' and 'Adventure'.
- Prehensile Tail: The Marsupilamis have prehensile tails, and can use them to roll, attack enemies and instantly zip to distant targets.
- Prehistoria: The Hidden World, a dinosaur-themed world with savanna, clifftop, swamp and volcano settings.
- Quirky Ukulele: Used throughout the soundtrack, befitting the game's tropical setting.
- Recurring Boss: The ghost is fought at the end of each world.
- Savage Spinosaurs: The Hidden World has Spinosaurus that will chase after you, and getting hit by one will result in death.
- Shout-Out:
- A lot of the names of the game's achievements are this.
- The achievement for finding your first feather is called "Catch them All.".
- The achievement for getting a multiplier over 20 at the fruit at the end of each level is titled "Faster than his Shadow.".
- The achievement for getting your first medal in Time Attack mode is titled "Gotta Go Fast!".
- The achievement for moving a total distance of 50 KM while rolling is titled "Ka-Chow!".
- The achievement for clearing all the classic challenges is titled "It's over 9000".
- The achievement for collecting all the eggs twice is titled "Stonks".
- The achievement for killing all the enemies in the Spinosaurus chase sequence in the hidden world is titled "Leerooooooy Jenkiiiiiiins!".
- One level in the Hidden World is called "Running Down That Hill."
- A lot of the names of the game's achievements are this.
- Shown Their Work: Many of the dinosaurs and pterosaurs have rarely depicted but scientifically accurate features, like dorsal spines on the sauropods, pelican-like throat pouches on the Pteranodon, a tail-fin on the Spinosaurus, and feathers on the coelurosaurs!
- Smash Mook: There are blocky Thwomp-like enemies that move vertically or horizontally, trying to crush you. Some of them are spiky, but others are safe to stand on.
- The Spiny: Dimetrodon in the Hidden World. You can't jump on them, but you can tail-slap or roll into them.
- Springy Spores: There are bouncy blue-and-yellow mushrooms throughout the game. Anything with the same blue-and-yellow coloration is also bouncy, including some enemies.
- Tail Slap: The Marsupilamis' main attack is to tie a massive knot in their tails, and thrust them forward, all in the span of half a second.
- Temple of Doom: The Temple world, an Incan pyramid full of devious traps.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Surprisingly subverted. There are several Tyrannosaurus in the Hidden World, but they are non-interactable background characters that make no attempt to harm the player (though one can be seen fighting with a Suchomimus). They are also feathered!
- Time Trial: Beating each level once unlocks the Time Attack challenge for that level, where you can earn medals for finishing fast enough.
- Tough Armored Dinosaur: There are ankylosaur enemies in The Hidden World which pound their clubbed tails on the ground sending small earthquakes, but they can be temporarily flipped over so their undersides can be used as trampolines. However, this is subverted by the other ankylosaurs and Stegosaurus which are non-interactable background characters.
