Legend of Kay Anniversary

 Wii U
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Aug 17, 2015
    80
    Fans of the original title should absolutely experience this version and as well as all fans of 3D platformers.
  2. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Jul 27, 2015
    80
    It’s not a perfect game, but it features the most important aspect of any game: it’s fun as hell.
  3. Cubed3
    Aug 20, 2015
    70
    For those who love adventure games with a splash of action and platforming, it is definitely worth checking out. Likewise, fans of the original will be pleased to know that, other than the visuals getting an upgrade, the game itself remains identical to that of the PS2 version.
  5. Nintendo Life
    Aug 7, 2015
    70
    It's clear from the get-go that Legend of Kay was a labour of love, and this shines through in this re-release; despite showing a few wrinkles here and there the game stands up surprisingly well by modern standards.
  6. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Sep 30, 2015
    65
    Legend of Kay: Anniversary is a questionable re-release, but most mascot platformer fans should give it a go at some point. [Issue #17 – September/October 2015, p.72]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. 3DJuegos
    Aug 19, 2015
    65
    A good update of an interesting PS2 platform adventure designed especially for kids.
  8. Brash Games
    Aug 30, 2015
    60
    It is a decent wee title for a budget release, but I cannot recommend this to any type of real gamer, it’s good for what it is, just not for someone wanting a varied challenge.
  9. XGN
    Aug 13, 2015
    60
    Legend of Kay is an update of an old PS2-game. It's not that great in comparison to other PS2-platform series like Rachet & Clank or Jak & Dakter. We have seen better platform-action.
  10. FNintendo
    Sep 8, 2015
    40
    While its platforming mechanics are overall competent, there's virtually no improvement whatsoever over the original and the visible result is that of something which stopped in time one decade ago, even in the visual component. Having some new elements would be welcome too, but that has also been left out of this anniversary edition.

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best Wii U Game of 2015
19
#19 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2015
23
#23 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 40
  3. Negative: 8 out of 40
  1. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 10, 2015
    8
    Legend of Kay Anniversary
    bringing back the good and unfortunately the bad.
    Legend of Kay Anniversary is an HD remake of a PS2 game from    Legend of Kay Anniversary
    bringing back the good and unfortunately the bad.
    Legend of Kay Anniversary is an HD remake of a PS2 game from 2005 and unfortunately this remake feels like nothing but a fresh coat of paint was added.
    Legend of Kay is a 3D platformer and pretty fun 3D platformer, there is so much to love about this game, its colorful, the characters have charm and levels are highly varied to prevent repetitiveness.
    You start the game out in a catvilliage to learn about these evil gorillas and rats trying to take over the land, so you train with your drunken sensei and you set out into the world to take these gorillas down.
    along your journey you’ll find crystals that boost your score to unlock collectibles such as concept art and weapon skins at the end of every level, you’ll find health upgrades, magic upgrades, and new armor and weapons.
    I really loved picking this world apart for its secrets and platforming my way through.
    You never know what the end of one level will take you or even where the middle of the level will take you, you could end up in a classic epic boss battle, riding a wild boar, in a swamp, a city, a cliff side,
    progression is so refreshingly unpredictable
    What isn’t refreshing though is the combat
    The combat is very button mashy, not too many moves you can do, and enemies really take forever to kill,
    not only do they seem to be damage sponges, but they spam the block button like your little sister that doesn’t know how to play fighting games.
    This usually isn’t a problem if the battles are small, but most of the time you’ll be lucky to face less than 4 enemies at a time and while you’re trying to break their defense you’ll be getting cheap shotted from behind.
    I didn’t have too much trouble until about halfway through the game though
    the difficulty spike was intense and hopping right in at nightmare difficulty from the start didn’t help either.
    There are some lifesaving pickups such as bombs and hornet nests you can find randomly or buy at a shop to bring into battle with you, and there are save shrines that revive your health and tons of extra lives around, but the health revival doesn’t even completely replenish your health and neither do the extra lives making them essentially useless.
    I’m not sure what the developers were thinking with the extra life system
    I know you couldn’t defeat the spam blocking crocodiles with armor and full health, so were going to let you try again but this time starting with 25% of what you had to begin with.
    You’re better off backing out into the main menu and reloading your last save point rather than use an extra life.
    Speaking of head scratchers, this is 2015 and the game has camera controls from 2002
    they’re sticky and really give you no freedom, this can be insanely frustrating when you’re trying to slice through enemies or platform with the already stiff feeling controls that have plagued 3d platformers outside of Mario since forever.
    I felt like I died more times thanks to the camera than my own human error.
    It felt lazy to me that the developers wouldn’t go into the actual game and make it better, bring it up to today’s standards.
    I can’t imagine the team running around and saying wow, these camera angles are perfect, let’s not do anything to them, because honestly, they’re crap and out of all things, ruin this games overall experience the most.
    Despite the stiff controls, damage sponge enemies and crappy camera, I still loved my time with Legend of Kay Anniversary and I believe you will too,
    I really wish the development team put more love into though
    This game really had potential to reach the mid 8s to lower 9s
    For What it is

    3D Platformer: 8/10
    Overall:
    7.5/10    … Full Review »
  2. Jissu
    Aug 19, 2015
    10
    One of those games that is overlooked.

    Whereas yes the voice acting is atrocious and the dialogue is so dumb sometimes, it doesn't take    One of those games that is overlooked.

    Whereas yes the voice acting is atrocious and the dialogue is so dumb sometimes, it doesn't take away from the experience.

    If you love 3D platforming, this is definitely the game for you. It has some puzzle elements in it as well.

    You can get a good 14 hours in this game. Definitely worth the purchase.    … Full Review »
  3. Wizrad
    Apr 25, 2017
    6
    While I did enjoy my time playing through this roughly 12 hour game, there were some issues that hindered the experience, preventing the gameWhile I did enjoy my time playing through this roughly 12 hour game, there were some issues that hindered the experience, preventing the game from being a classic in my eyes.

    Good:
    - great atmospheric music
    - tight platforming segments
    - good ramp up with difficulty
    - environments are full of character
    - somewhat deep and challenging combat system
    - the comical story, and voice acting...

    Bad:
    - voice acting is terrible, and the writing is just cringe worthy.. but kind of a plus?
    - camera control just never felt right, it isn't bad per say, but not up to modern industry standards
    - the combat is flawed, and just never feels "right".
    - the map system is annoying to use, just wish there was a map screen to use.

    Overall: Fun game, and a decent game for the price. Worth a play.    … Full Review »
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