Kung Fu Rabbit Review

Kung Fu Rabbit Review Image

After a weary day training your disciples, the last thing you need is to find they’ve all suddenly been abducted by a malevolent force. That’s precisely what happens in Kung Fu Rabbit when Universal Evil strikes and kidnaps your eager trainees. Yet in doing so makes a grave mistake… letting you escape.

Whilst Kung Fu Rabbit’s premise may not be its strongest point, there’s much to enjoy from this intricately crafted platformer. Originally developed by cTools Studio for iOS and Android devices, it is Neko Entertainment that finds themselves enlisted to transition the game to Wii U.

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Structurally, Kung Fu Rabbit proves simple enough to grasp within minutes. Your newfound quest to recover your followers will see you required to navigate increasingly tricky terrain, as you jump across chasms, slide your way down walls, dodge fatal gunk, and give patrolling enemies a sneaky karate chop from behind.

Perfect scores are awarded for successfully gathering conspicuously placed carrots, of which there are three ordinary and one golden, whilst rescuing the lost disciple trapped within a murky purple sphere at the level’s conclusion becomes your ultimate objective.

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The retention of such short-form design clearly echoes the game’s mobile origins, working well toward attracting the casual audience that Nintendo themselves are ever keen to tap into. Lusciously stylised visuals and audio further allow the game to stand out from the crowd, crafting a Japanese-infused experience that proves far more memorable than most.

Gathered carrots may be expended within the in-game Dojo, and it’s here that Kung Fu Rabbit becomes its most inventive. Players will find a selection of single-use items, artefacts, outfits and automated power-ups, each granting their own novel twist on the overarching experience.

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Items include Soul of the Rabbit, which allows you to place a checkpoint within a level, whereas the Power Aura rids you of all enemies. Meanwhile, artefacts grant permanent effects, Carrot Juice enabling you to jump higher and run faster, Claws slow you when sliding down walls, whilst the Feather can slow your falling pace.

Natural progression rewards you by unlocking bonus levels, meaning that there’s plenty to sink your teeth into. If that’s doesn’t satiate your appetite, then there’s a far more brutal Hard Mode awaiting you post-completion.

Whilst hardly a ground-breaking entry within the genre, Kung Fu Rabbit decries its mobile origins to perfectly transition to the Wii U. Smartly executed, gorgeously presented, and leveraging a great deal of challenge, it’s everything we’d look for in a Nintendo eShop release.

Version Tested: Wii U
Review copy provided by Neko Entertainment

9/10
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