Legend of Kay Anniversary

 Wii U
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
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  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 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    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    … Expand
  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 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.
  3. MiOdd
    Aug 12, 2015
    4
    Upon starting the game you are immediately presented with a boring story, poor dialog and terrible voice acting. The first hour of the game was a drag, forcing you to talk to uninteresting NPCs and complete overinflated tutorials. My first impression was bad but I remained hopeful that once I got into the action, the game would improve. It did improve slightly but it wasn't enough.

    I    Upon starting the game you are immediately presented with a boring story, poor dialog and terrible voice acting. The first hour of the game was a drag, forcing you to talk to uninteresting NPCs and complete overinflated tutorials. My first impression was bad but I remained hopeful that once I got into the action, the game would improve. It did improve slightly but it wasn't enough.

    I had hoped there would be less dialog as the game progressed but I found myself always in company of a new NPC I didn't care about and it did really sour the experience for me. All I wanted was some fun, simple, action/platforming. I initially thought the fighting mechanics were unique and fun but the unmanageable camera would place too many enemies off screen and I found myself too flustered to fight effectively, even during the easiest of battles. The game also pretends to be an adventure game in similar fashion to Zelda, you are free to explore and find heart containers and things of that nature, however, the game is actually level based and the chapters begin and end without warning. If you accidentally walk into the next chapter and didn't discover all the items in the last chapter, there is no way to back track. That item or side quest will be lost to you unless you restart the entire game. This was a major turn off for me.    … Expand
  4. MohymanAwwad
    Sep 6, 2015
    3
    The gameplay is horrible and slow. Button placement is really bad and the action in the game is also really bad. One of the worst games i ever played, do not bug this game.
  5. Dogi
    Aug 28, 2015
    8
    The game almost feels like if Ninja Gaiden 1 on Xbox was easier and simplified for kids. That's not a bad thing. They game is a nice mix of Jak and Daxter and Ninja Gaiden rated G. It has some flaws like awful voice acting but you get used to it. The camera can be annoying at times. NG1 had a worse camera and we love that game so it's OK. There is one mission I had trouble with but neverThe game almost feels like if Ninja Gaiden 1 on Xbox was easier and simplified for kids. That's not a bad thing. They game is a nice mix of Jak and Daxter and Ninja Gaiden rated G. It has some flaws like awful voice acting but you get used to it. The camera can be annoying at times. NG1 had a worse camera and we love that game so it's OK. There is one mission I had trouble with but never played a game with a level I did not like. It's not perfect but it's actually pretty fun and esp nice to add to your Wii U collection.… Expand
  6. ricklongo
    Oct 15, 2015
    6
    We're in the midst of a small wave of indie interest in 3D platformers, and the thought of an impending full-on revival of the genre, much like what happened to 2D sidescrollers, makes me all giddy. Of course, there are several different shades of 3D platformers; my favorites tend to be the one that are more open and quasi-seamless (and, I confess, the ones with three bajillionWe're in the midst of a small wave of indie interest in 3D platformers, and the thought of an impending full-on revival of the genre, much like what happened to 2D sidescrollers, makes me all giddy. Of course, there are several different shades of 3D platformers; my favorites tend to be the one that are more open and quasi-seamless (and, I confess, the ones with three bajillion collectibles to track down). Legend of Kay is not any of that; it's very linear in its strict level-based progression, but it does offer fun moments if you look beyond its flaws.

    As you may have imagined, you play the game as Kay, who is an teenage anthropomorphic tiger. After a villanous band of gorillas invade the country and throw its inhabitants into slavery, it's up to him to set things straight. The story is told mostly via spoken dialogue, some of which is delivered in comic-book-like cutscenes. The writing is subpar, which is annoying given the story focus of the game, while the voice acting is mostly bland and uninteresting.

    The game plays as a simplified action title, which frankly isn't a problem in my eyes. I was never really that into the complicated combo system for most modern beat-em-ups, so it's refreshing to come across something less intricate. Going through each stage can be a lot of fun at times, as the game offers pleasant environments with beatiful (if a bit antiquated) graphics and some pretty cool tunes. Some small details are also nice, such as when Kay gets out of a swimming section and proceeds to endearingly shake waterdrops off his fur.

    There are collectibles to look for in each section, but the fact that you can't go back to previously completed locations is very annoying in this regard. Levels end quite abruptly, too, meaning sometimes you won't really be given a fair chance at getting everything. Worse yet, you can't really keep track of available collectibles until you finish each level, making the game's collect-a-thon side a bit pointless. All of this severely dampens the adventure feel of the title, which could have been one of the game's best aspects if done right.

    It should also be said that, technically, the game feels extremely half-assed at places. Kay's damage-taking animation, for example, is so stiff that sometimes you won't even realize you lost energy, leading to some frustrating deaths. The camera is a nightmare, and should have been completely reworked for this version. It's a shame, because it feels that, even with the oversights I mentioned in the last paragraph, this could have been a very good linear action-platformer if only there were more attention to those nagging aspects of the gameplay.

    If you're starved for 3D platformers (as I certainly am), Legend of Kay Anniversary might be worth a try. You'll have a good time if you like simple-yet-effective action, and especially so if open-ended exploration isn't a must for you. I must say I expected more, but the good aspects of the title kept me playing for a decent chunk of time.

    Rating: 6.0    … Expand
  7. Omnimon
    Dec 5, 2015
    9
    Game with a good performance, came from a small producer with a very fun game play, involving game play of the old adventure games with a pinch of Ninja Gaiden. Good remastering and good price.
  8. thealexmott
    Mar 26, 2017
    5
    Got this on a serious sale for like $3, and I still have buyer's remorse.

    The game is fine. It's a passable 3D platformer in the vein of Jak and Daxter. But if you struggle with bad voice acting or overall cheesiness, this game will destroy you like it destroyed me.

    Like I said, the game is fine. But it's NOT worth sitting through dozens of unskippable awful cutscenes.
  9. 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 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    While 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.    … Expand

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

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. 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]
  2. 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.
    Read full review
  3. 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.
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