Platformation Time Again: The “WAH” Heard All Around The World & Ubisoft Oldies

the Nintendo back catalogue offerings have been very little and mostly minor, so i was surprised to see all of sudden some old Ubisoft titles surface as part of the N64 Classics app, Rayman 2 not so much, but i did not expect at all to see a rerelease of Tonic Trouble, a mostly forgotten Ubisoft platformer-puzzler of that era that can be seen as a sister game to Rayman 2, which in return has been re-released to hell and back, and one whose N64 version isn’t exactly the most praised or definitive, but it’s good to have that too, since the two games kinda go together, in a way, and will be available on the service (which does require having the Expansion Pak tier of NSO subscription) on Dicember 17th, so very soon indeed.

Also, this happening a mere month after i bought an used copy of Tonic Trouble on the N64 is definitely a timing of all time, but what can you do?

I could take this as a sign of sorts, but the full lenght review for that on the rubric will have to wait at least until May.

Even more surprising, is the Gamecube Classics for Switch 2 adding off Wario World, the only 3D platformer outing for the “evil Mario” himself still, one i had mixed feelings about but personally felt it needed a follow up of sorts, a second chance since it’s not exactly a great game, even when it came out the Gamecube had way better platformers to offer, but i do have a fondness for it.

I did actually review that at detail before, but i’m gonna play it from scratch on the Switch 2 Gamecube app to see if i changed my mind about it or not, so expect that kinda extended rewrite somewhere early 2026.

Platformation Time Again #4: Pac Man World/Pac Man World Re-Pac PS1 | PS4 | GBA

HISTORY

Pac Man needs no presentation, so ingrained as an icon of videogames from their golden era of the arcade machines, that even your grandma knows what it is.

But the 80s were far gone even back when Pac Man World released in late 1999 for the original Playstation, and Namco Bandai was struggling to find how to reinveint his legacy franchises or make new successful ones in the wake of the financial recession in Japan at the time.

Pac Man World was made specifically to celebrate the series’ 20^th Anniversary, and Namco (not yet Namco Bandai) figured to play it fairly safe: 3D platformers were on the rise and “all the rage”, everyone with some cash to spare was throwing mascotte characters at the wall to see what would stick or syphoon some of the leftover bread from the success of Mario and Sonic, heck even Bubsy tried this new fangled substance known as 3D by injecting it between its bobcat toes.

So why the fuck not, since Namco did have a popular mascote character already, one that was iconic and synomous with videogames and not a pantless cat with a shirt, the formula had already had its success stories so there was a blueprint and a track record to try emulate, Pac-Man was becoming old enough to drink in most countries, so fuck it, we’re going platforming in tridimensional fashion… and it was a success.

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Platformation Time Again: Fall Pac

So i was gonna review Pandemonium (the first one) this coming september, but schedule woes and the kinda surprising announcement of the Pac Man World 2 remastered (as Pac Man World 2 Re-Pac) of last week had me opting for the almost complete review i already had in the bag for the remaster of the first Pac Man World game.

Even though i would have liked to feature a 2D platformer before getting back to the 3D ones, and then review the originale release of Yooka Laylee when we would have gotten a date for its remaster-remake, i have a lot to say about that… but guess there’s no rush, in a way.

And yes, i didn’t quite expect it since while PCW Re Pac did sold decently, i’d figured Namco wasn’t gonna bother remastering the other 2 Pac Man World titles… but guess we’re getting the whole trilogy.

And that weird Pac Man metroidvania thingie, Shadow Labyrinth.

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[EXPRESSO] Donkey Kong Bananza NSWITCH2 | Potassium Primus

Holy banana Batman, this is some primo 3D platformers with some bonkers mesh of a Red Faction style terrain-enviroment destructibility, an 3D DK platformer (with some stylings taken from both Mario Odyssey and Bowser Fury) that plays with the open world idea without being one for the sake of it, and often feels like the recent Zelda mainline games, with climbing, falling down and how it handles challenge rooms/levels.

The plot sees DK going on a island where they’re mining a new kind of banana-gem, encountering an odd talking rock, that (in a reverse Jojolion twist) turns out to be a very young Pauline, whom DK then travels with – Wreck It Ralph style – by exploring the many layes of an abyss leading to the planet core, where a special vein of “Banandium” is located, apparently able to grant any wish, which is why the greedy Void Kong and his underlings are also after it and want Pauline for unknown reasons..

Gameplay it’s a mesh of lot of things from DK games, Mario, other Nintendo games, and a lot more, but done in a way that is original, fresh, and unique, managing to feel and play new even when old time fans might see some crazy ideas as “remixes” of old DK staples (especially from the Country series), it looks great, runs mostly well, and it’s a treasure trove of stuff to find, all fun and constantly rewarding, it’s a massive world full of secrets to find, that is also constantly fun simply indulging how you can break almost everything in a level, even more with the weird “Bananza” transformations that go from “DK SSJ4” to weird hybrids.

I will have a proper review for it down the line, let’s just say this is a Switch 2 MUST HAVE.

Halfway (?) through Donkey Kong Bananza

So this is just a quick post, not gonna get into any detail since i would love to feature this into a Platformation Time Again big ass review, and i’m gonna do a quick EXPRESSO review once i beat the game…. which i apparently i’m just barely halfway through, from have i’ve been told, and that already is telling this maybe should have been the launch game, this is stuff that sells you on the console, that good.

(i’ve played platformers that were about the same lenght- can’t specify because the game doesn’t keep an internal playtimer – and nowhere as good AND dense of fun stuff to do)

It’s an impressive game, it’s basically a modern 3D DK game done by most of the core Super Mario Odissey team at Nintendo (which you can tell by how it handles costumes and special collectibles), with the main new mechanic being the ability to basically destroy and burrows almost everything in the level, almost mixing a touch of Red Faction destructible enviroment but done in a “sandbox” way, despite the game not being open world, the approach is that you’re encouraged, rewarded and if not required you might find unthordox ways to reach a certain collectable by digging in certain ways or tearing and throwing different types of terrains around.

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Introducing “Platformation Time Again”

If you happen to be a long time reader or followed any of my previous italian blogs (not ruling that out), this announcement will feel like a deja-vu, but yes, i’m starting over this column about platforming games with a brand new format and a “when i can” irregular posting.

If you have no idea what i’m talking about and somehow skipped the “column about platforming videogames” part just above, yes, this will be a column about platformers, with in depth, structured reviews with no regular cadence, a new entry/review will basically happen when i can actually set time aside to play and dissect a game, so irregular cadence it is.

And yes, it will be all written a new from scratch, so don’t worry about that.

Not much in the way of rules, just i don’t plan to review hacks or bootlegs, at least for now, but i doubt this rule will change over time. Just making this clear.

As to why, i’m a big platformer buff, so i missed doing these, hence are we again. 🙂

Also, i might be commissioning a request for the column’s logo later down the line.

MIGHT.

The first entry/review for Platformation Time Again will hit later today, bye!