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See, Nintendo had no direct hand in Barrel Blast’s production, instead opting to farm it out to the plucky young newcomers to the Nintendo scene at Paon. The result is the worst game to feature a flagship Nintendo character since Yoshi’s Story. You’re always left looking for the things the game should have included - proper bongo controls, decent graphics, a bit of character and fun, and how about a sense of speed while we’re at it, Paon?
It’s one thing that it’s so broken by cack-handed controls and another that it mires everyone’s favourite Princess-grabbing monkey in its muck, but the real crime is that it’s so disappointing. Jungle Beat reduced the essence of platforming into a very neat package; everything you could ever want from a good 2D platform game was in there, all played with just four actions - left drum, right drum, a combination of the two and a clap. Even with such a simple setup, the game was layered and complex, fun and frantic. There’s nothing wrong with a simple, solid game, but Barrel Blast is idiotic, shallow and frustrating. Tie it to a bongo rocket and light the fuse.
