Over the years, it has happened all too often that some games developed in Japan, however interesting, remain confined to their native land. Other times, however, even if a certain game manages to arrive in the West, it often becomes a niche title and is talked about far too little despite the fact that it deserves better treatment. This is the case of BAKERY which after almost a year since its Japanese release is finally coming to Europe thanks to Spike Chunsoft.
Despite being distributed by such a famous company and being developed by Good Feelsoftware house known for titles such as Yoshi’s Woolly Worldthe imminent arrival of the game is going a bit unnoticed. But don’t worry, after having spent dozens of hours in the company of the very likeable protagonist of this adventure we will take care of it Akiba Gamers to tell you about it in this very detailed review! Are you ready for a colorful trip around Japan?
- Title: BAKERY
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)
- Analyzed version: Nintendo Switch (EU)
- Type: Action, Adventure
- Players: 1
- Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
- Developer: Feel-Good
- Tongue: English (lyrics), Japanese (dubbing)
- Release Date: September 3, 2024
- Availability: digital delivery
- DLC: Nobody
- Notes: released in Japan as “Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!!”
We reviewed BAKERU with a Nintendo Switch code provided to us for free by Spike Chunsoft.
The Life of the Young Tanuki Baker is about to be completely turned upside down. After saving Sun of the Issun clan, the tanuki will in fact find himself involved in a mysterious event that is putting the whole of Japan in danger. TheSaitaro Oracle is in fact trying to take over the nation by making it enter an endless Festival, and has now spread its troops throughout all the Japanese prefectures. The enemy has even made the brainwashing to some of the most famous heroes of Japanese folklore, and Bakeru is the last hope to bring peace back to Japan.
Armed with a drum Taiko capable of exorcising eviltreasure of his tribe, Bakeru will begin a journey that will lead him to explore 47 Japanese prefectures to try to stop the plans of the evil Oracle. During his adventure he will also be able to count on his transformative powers and some precious allies, but only after saving them from the clutches of the opposing army. The dawn of a new hero is about to rise!
Drumroll Please
From a gameplay perspective BAKERY is an action title with a strong exploratory component in a platformer style. In the role of Baker we will have to venture through many colorful game levels, facing hordes of opponents and collecting many collectible objects. In combat we will exploit the powers of our Taikowhich will serve us not only to hit enemies creating devastating combos but also to defend ourselves and reflect their projectiles by parrying with the right timing. As we progress in the adventure, Bakeru will learn new techniques for his Taiko, allowing us to perform charged attacks, lunges and even spinning attacks to easily defeat all opponents.
Another feature of Bakeru that will prove essential both in combat and during exploration is his ability Hengewith which it can assume different forms. If at the beginning of the adventure we only have the form available Nowith which we can shrink to cross otherwise inaccessible paths and make jumps over a greater distance, during the main storyline we will unlock forms more suited to battles and which will allow us, for example, to easily attack from a distance or to significantly increase our physical strength.
Personally I found the gameplay to be BAKERY simple but very effective. The many levels present within the game are in fact all different from each otherand will offer us some environmental puzzles and alternative paths to collect all the objects present. The title in fact has a very strong component collect-a-thon which will truly delight all fans of this genre. The only flaw found is perhaps the excessive ease present in some levelsthe difficulty curve in fact remains stable for almost the entire duration of the game and there will be very few stages that will really put us to the test.
Super Robot Taisen?
Another very important gameplay element present in BAKERY concerns the variety of its levels. In addition to the action-packed exploratory phases, in fact, you will find some stages in which, on board the faithful Browskywe will have to face a real race against time in courses full of obstacles. Our adventure companion will in fact be able to transform into different vehicles, including a racing car, a snowmobile and even an airship equipped with missile launchers and lasers to counter opponents.
Continuing with the adventure we will also unlock challenges against gigantic bosses and, to defeat them, we will have to transform our spaceship Bunbuku into a robot capable of truly powerful attacks. Each boss will have a different action pattern and on board our robot we will be able to attack, dodge and defend ourselves from their offensive moves. By landing our hits we will fill a bar with which we can perform very powerful special moves. The mecha can be upgraded, but the improvements will depend on how many Tanuki we have saved during the adventure.
I really appreciated the variety in the gameplay of BAKERYalthough not all contents always work perfectly. The controls for boss battles will in fact be a bit too cumbersome, especially when it comes to moving the robot, and this takes away that sense of frenetic action seen in the rest of the game.. Very interesting instead is the idea of linking the power-ups to the rescue of the Tanuki scattered throughout the different levels of the game, which will force us to pay more attention during our adventure.
Ninja King Bang Bang
From a technical point of view BAKERY is characterized by an interesting artistic direction, although with some problems to keep in mind. The graphics are truly an explosion of colors, starting from the game world and its many levels to explore. I really appreciated the design of some of them, as well as the stylistic choices for the creatures that we will face during the adventure. During my test on Nintendo Switch I found some sporadic frame rate dropsbut nothing too annoying or dramatic to completely ruin my gaming experience.
The sound department is also very pleasant, in particular thanks to a very lively soundtrack made up of a mix of modern music and more traditional sounds of Japanese folklore. The Japanese dubbing is also truly appreciable, while the fact that the text localization is only in English could turn up the nose of all those players who are not so comfortable with the English language.
The narration of BAKERYas simple as it is, is really fun. Those who know a little about Japanese folk literature will find in the game many references to some of the most important characters of this genre, revisited in a humorous way that fits perfectly with the tone of the game. From its premise, BAKERY It’s a title that doesn’t take itself too seriously and that will try to make us smile on more than one occasion..
Who do we recommend BAKERU to?
If you are a fan of 3D adventures and love to hunt for dozens and dozens of collectible objects, BAKERY is the title for you. Despite some small problems, the title developed by Feel-Good It’s really very enjoyable and fun. Not to mention that the discounted price before release This is truly an offer not to be missed!
- Huge variety of levels to tackle
- Perfect for collect-a-thon lovers
- The combat system is dynamic and fun…
- …But the sections on board the robot are too cumbersome
- Some sporadic frame rate drops on Nintendo Switch
- The difficulty level is perhaps a little too low
BAKERY
A carefree adventure in Japan
I have to admit that I’m a little sad to see how the imminent release of BAKERY in Europe is going a bit unnoticed. The title published by Spike Chunsoft It is in fact really very enjoyable to play, with a very interesting level design and a simple but very fun combat system. Furthermore, thanks to the presence of hundreds of collectible objects, the game has managed to pleasantly stimulate the collect-a-thon part of my brainleading me to wander far and wide through each level in search of every hidden object. Of course there are some technical problems, and the difficulty curve could have been a bit steeper, but despite this I feel like recommending BAKERY to all those who are looking for a light-hearted adventure steeped in Japanese folklore and comedy. Don’t miss it!
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