Gnomes are such adorable little creatures aren’t they? No wonder that some people decorate their gardens with statues of them. Perhaps that is why the development team behind Geki Yaba Runner Deluxe decided to use a gnome as the main character.
There’s been a lot of mobile titles about characters automatically moving forward, with the player only being given control of the jumping ability and/or limited movement to left or right. The recent smash hit Super Mario Run is a testament that there is still life in the genre. So it’s a pleasant surprise to find such a concept on a Nintendo 3DS title of all places. In this title player control a gnome hell bent on gathering as many socks as possible.
In order to do so, our short hero must avoid the various obstacles in the way. The character automatically moves forward in side scrolling environments. All players have to do is jump to avoid obstacles and perform certain abilities introduced with progression. It’s actually refreshing to see these abilities being put to good use. Each of them slowly introduces a new way to challenge players. At first completing levels is pretty straightforward, given that it’s only necessary to jump to avoid the obstacles. But by introducing new abilities and obstacles, the title makes it less likely for players to become bored of completing levels later on.
In fact, it all seems to come together once more than one ability is used in a level because it makes it much more interesting to complete it. It’s aqlso necessary to gather a certain number of socks in each level to complete it. This means that players get well acquainted with the various abilities, since it’s necessary to use them to reach certain paths in advanced levels.
Oddly enough, there were some rare occasions where the frame-rate performance of the title seemed to suffer in levels where a lot was happening on-screen. These were mostly contained to areas where the character is running against a wind current, whilst jumping and using abilities to avoid obstacles. It didn’t majorly impact the overall quality of the title in a negative manner, but it still felt vital to mention.
Now the abilities that the gnome has at his disposal do make for some interesting changes in how the title is played. One such ability transforms the gnome into a horned demon like creature that can break through tree trunks and prevent him from being swept away by a tornado. Not only that but using the same ability when jumping or falling will result in the gnome descending faster – handy for finding new paths in a level or avoiding a nasty collision. Slowly introducing these abilities makes it much easier to adapt to them and eventually quickly use them whenever it’s necessary to do so.
As expected, the levels do get longer later on and that makes the idea of including checkpoints even better. It means that players are less likely to become frustrated at the prospect of restarting a section, rather than the whole level. Even more so when the gnome dies after just one hit. The gnome dying might become a frequent occurrence in latter stages where it feels like really quick reflexes are the only way to get through elaborate sets of obstacles. It definitely feels like the title might have benefited from an option to slow down the dwarf , even if only slightly, to make it easier for those of us who might not do so well under pressure.
Those that may struggle to complete levels later on can make use of a skipping feature. However, this can only be used once and the only way to regain the ability to skip another level is to complete the previously skipped level. It seems like it might have been a useful idea to make it possible to skip at least two or three levels using the skip feature. Still, the use of checkpoints for the levels at least makes it more feasible for even those who are not so skilled at video-games to eventually complete tougher levels.
There is no denying that in short bursts, this is a title that offers plenty of hours of entertainment. Not only does it contain plenty of levels, but they feel varied enough to warrant trying to complete them all. Even if the title could have done with a wider set of locations to include as backdrops for the levels. The music soundtrack is also cheery enough to fit in with the theme and does the job.
Geki Yaba Runner Deluxe isn’t exactly going to redefine the side scrolling video-game genre, but it’s entertaining enough to be played in short bursts, which is ideal given the system that it’s been released on.
