UFO 50 Retrospective Part 11 - Kick Club
Soccer Bobble
This one is one of my favorites of the collection. Kick Club is a single screen action arcade game, in the same vein as Bubble Bobble. Games like this, inspired usually by Bubble Bobble, were quite commonplace back in the day, especially in arcades. They were tough as nails, and fun as hell with friends.
In Kick Club you play as either a guy or a girl running through sports themed worlds. You’ve got net sports, olympic sports, ice sports, and ball sports. Your only defense against the denizens of these worlds is your trusty soccer ball, which you can kick, aiming with the d-pad, to defeat enemies. As they’re defeated, you’re awarded junk food. Quite fitting for a fitness themed game, obviously. You can chain enemies to get better junk food. Go for the high score!
It’s a simple game. Ten levels for four worlds, the last level being a boss fight. There’s not much to it and it’s not too long, but it is a tricky little game. Quite challenging. You’ve gotta learn all the enemies and their patterns! It’s a really fun one though, and the music is REALLY catchy. I wake up some days with this in my head.
I don’t have much more to say about this one. The credits give special thanks to Chun and Smolski’s childhood coach, and the local burger joint, but it’s still made by the core team. It’s just a cute and very fun game. Apparently there was a VS mode that was planned, but didn’t make it in in time. Honestly, the game is fine without it. The co-op is prolly loads of fun, too.
9/10